Port Jervis

Boat House Buggy

Armando Veve
Veve-1
"Boat House Buggy" (2021) © Armando Veve, Metro-North Port Jervis Station. Photo: Gordon Stillman

About the project

Inspired by the carefully curated displays of Victorian dollhouse cross sections, "Boat House Buggy" by Armando Veve showcases prominent symbols, objects, architectural forms, and industries of Port Jervis. This glass menagerie of natural and mechanical scenes serves as a vibrant entrance and point of inspiration for visitors and the community.

The artwork is composed of two large drawings, fabricated into the glass panels by Tom Patti Design, and installed facing each other in the station’s platform shelter. On the track side, the drawing reveals the cross section of the Victorian boat house interior. Intricate machinery calls to mind Port Jervis’s glorious history as an industrial hub. A cargo ship in a glass bottle commemorates the Delaware and Hudson Canal, while stoneworkers prepare bluestone for shipment. Blossoming natural forms represent the community’s love and care for the environment. A diversity of native plants and animals populate the scenes.

On the ramp side, visitors encounter the busy and colorful facade of the fun and hybrid architecture: part home, part boat, part parade float. The artwork plays with light. Transparent windows of all shapes and sizes frame scenes on the opposing side. These windows become peepholes for viewing, generating playfulness and interactivity.

For Veve, “Play in transparency and windows of various shapes and sizes add dimension and an interactive element throughout the work. For the curious visitor, the historical and imaginative scenes in the artwork will illuminate a complex and brilliant portrait of the city.” 

About the artist

Armando Veve is an illustrator and a graphic artist working in Philadelphia. His drawings have been recognized by American Illustration, Communication Arts, Spectrum, and the Society of Illustrators in NY. He was named an ADC Young Gun by The One Club for Creativity and selected to the Forbes 30 under 30 list. His work has been widely exhibited throughout the United States. Veve is the recipient of numerous awards and honors. In 2020, Veve received two gold medals and one silver medal in the Society of Illustrators 63 annual competition.