North Carolina artist Jimmy O’Neal’s “Wheels on the Bus in 7 Cymatic Sonatas,” a public artwork commissioned by Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) at its North Davidson Bus Facility, was named as one of the 50 best public art projects in the 2012 Public Art Network Year in Review by Americans for the Arts (AFTA).

AFTA is the nation’s leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts and arts education. The annual Year in Review program recognizes the most exemplary, innovative, permanent or temporary public art created in the past year. The 2012 Year in Review awardees were chosen from 393 works from 147 cities across 40 states and three countries.

Three independent public art experts curated the 2012 Year in Review. The artists and commissioning organizations involved in creating and supporting these public art works received letters of congratulations and certificates from Americans for the Arts.

O’Neal built his own cymascope to produce visuals based on the key and frequency of each sound he recorded in buses and bus facilities. The end result is an ever changing public artwork only dependent upon daily and seasonal atmospheric changes to alter the viewer’s perception. The work has received positive approval from neighbors, building employees and the general public.

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