Can the Kendall Band Play On?

It may be one of those instances where giving ink to an item might have the opposite effect than intended. Waiting in the Kendall Station for the next train to take us across the Charles we've heard the echoes of the Kendall Band installation on occasion. It certainly isn't the rule. We'd actually be surprised if a majority of the regular riders know where the hand cranks are that operate the musical art installation. Truth be told we discovered the two cranks, but didn't know there once were six. The Globe piece today will likely have more people scoping out their own chance to crank the interactive art into action. Perhaps leading to unintended wear of the parts still working.

Paul Matisse, grandson of the famous Henri Matisse, created the Kendall Band and installed it when Kendall was renovated in 1987 to accommodate the six car trains that now run on the MBTA Red Line. Over the last two decades the artist himself has put countless hours and dollars into the upkeep and repair of the installation. Just looking around at the grime that builds up on the cottage cheese ceilings in many of the Red Line stations (especially Park Street) it's easy to see the gunk that could cause damage to moving parts of musical art. Funding to the T has made it difficult for service and maintenance operations to keep on schedule, like the public school system it's art that gets the axe first. Matisse is looking for someone, or some organization, to take on the task of preserving the Kendall Band for the future. It promises to be a dirty job for the individuals charged with the actual repair, but a satisfying project for a lover of the arts who wants to be involved in the preservation of public works of art on the first public transit system to embrace them. If we could we might tap the folks two stops down the line at the Straus Center - top notch art conservators, probably used to working on Matisse works.

Image of the Kendall Band from flickr user Dan4th