Station to Station: Colored smoke, stretching stars, and Google Glass (pictures)

The Santa Fe Rail Yard in Northern New Mexico played host to Station to Station, a traveling art train that left New York on September 6 and will arrive in Oakland, Calif., on September 28. The stops along the way provided opportunities for the public to view yurts -- circular domed tents -- customized by artists along with musical performances.

Kenneth Anger is known for his experimental art film shorts. A selection of his classic works played on three flat-screen TVs inside this red yurt as part of the Station to Station traveling public art display.

Kenneth Anger's experimental 1972 art film "Lucifer Rising" plays inside a yurt as part of the Station to Station experience. Throughout the Santa Fe event, visitors filtered in to view the work, some sitting to watch, others staying only briefly. Other yurts on display included a fog-filled yurt with a white bed and disco ball, and a yurt full of local craftspeople.

Arist Liz Glynn gives visitors a peek inside the vision for her yurt as part of the Station to Station traveling performance and art event. Glynn's yurt tackles the big subject of the expanding universe and our place in it. The yurt itself requires a headlamp to navigate and is designed with dead-end hallways branching out.

The city of yurts at the Station to Station traveling art and music festival really stand out in Santa Fe's rail yard area. This is the exterior of artist Liz Glynn's yurt, an explorable art project that has been evolving at every stop on the tour.

Artist Liz Glynn's expanding-universe yurt project asks visitors to consider their place in the cosmos. Her unlit yurt is completely black except for messages written in white, viewable with the use of a headlamp. It is part of the Station to Station nomadic public art tour.

This smoke art display billowed up during the Station to Station traveling art tour that is crossing the country by train. The multicolored smoke was accompanied by a procession of people wearing unusual headgear crafted of yarn. The smoke-bomb art is the creation of Olaf Breuning.

Unlike the art happenings of the 1970s, Station to Station has a corporate sponsor. Clothing company Levis had its own yurt full of classic Levis wares for visitors to handle and try on.

The area all around the Station to Station art festival hosted posters, including this one, exhorting viewers to, "Fight the war against boring people." Another poster showed a recipe for a cactus omelette. These random missives contributed to the "art happening" vibe of the event.

The real Station to Station art train couldn't put in an appearance at the Santa Fe event, but the New Mexico Rail Runner, a train that runs between Albuquerque and Santa Fe, did show up. Station to Station artists are traveling on a special train from New York to Oakland, Calif., making stops along the way for art performances.

Each stop of the Station to Station traveling art festival includes a musical lineup. The Handsome Family played at the Santa Fe stop. Here, Brett Sparks looks down at his drummer for the night, a MacBook.

A photographer capturing the Station to Station nomadic art event sports a developer's edition version of Google Glass. Most of the attendees at the event were well kitted out with technology items. The control station for the concert featured a huge helping of computer gear and flat-panel displays for running and recording the event.

Two bikes showed up later in the evening at the Station to Station public art tour event in Santa Fe. Both bikes were geared up with pico projectors displaying colorful abstract imagery on the ground and onto an umbrella above.

Musician Cat Power headlined the Santa Fe stop of the Station to Station nomadic art tour. She performed in front a massive screen projected with railroad videos. The tour began in New York and will end in Oakland, Calif. on September 28.