NYC Subway Art
New York is not an art city where just an artwork on the ground is appreciated. There are excellent exhibitions for free held underground of New York 24/7. Here are just a part of that.
I divided artworks into three types — 1. Artworks depict New York overall, 2. Artworks depict the history and the traits of the area where the station is located, and 3. Artworks with less elements as site-specific art
1. “The Return of Spring/ The Onset of Winter” (1999/2003) Jack Bael
Times Square-42nd Street/Port Authority Bus Terminal station
The pair of mosaics “The Return of Spring” and “The Onset of Winter” depict New York City street scenes. They were first unveiled to the public at the Gallery of Modern Art in Udine, Italy. The artist, Beal, named his artworks after the myth of Persephone, a Greek goddess. Persephone unwillingly marries Hades, which leads to force her to live underground for every half a year . When she comes above ground, her mother, the goddess Demeter, celebrates as the onset of spring. “The Return of Spring” depicts construction workers and other city dwellers in front of an original IRT subway kiosk. “The Onset of Winter” depicts a crowd watching a film crew filming an actor entering the subway, as snowflakes of winter come down in New York.
1. “The Reveler” (2008) Jane Dickson
Times Square-42nd Street/Port Authority Bus Terminal station
There are 67 figures depicts New Year’s Eve revelers in early 1990s along a corridor because MTA gives a lot of space for her artwork. Mosaics used for this are made in Murano, Italy. Dickson lived in and worked at New York City for years.
You can see how she created this artwork on these videos below.
1. “Times Square Mural” (2002) Roy Lichtenstein
Times Square-42nd Street/Port Authority Bus Terminal station
This depicts the spirit of the NYC subway passing the past and heading for the future with dynamic energy. Lichtenstein was born in New York in 1923 and spent his last years here. He incorporated images from the works of other artists into his work. In this artwork, he applied a main character of Buck Rogers, an old SF comic, at the right of the mural and the42 image at the center is from architectural drawings of the subway.
1. “Circus of Earthly Delights” (2001) Eric Fischl
34th Street-Penn Station
This artwork is a series of narrative story that a commuter being drawn into the bizarre world of the circus, meeting animals, clowns, acrobats and fire-breathers along his way to work. Fischl, born in Long Island, hoped a passing passenger to forget about the daily routine and go on a journey of the spirit from peace and harmony through the strangeness and chaos and back again. This was dedicated to circus performances “The Greatest Show on Earth” held annually at Madison Square Garden next to this station.
1. “Life Underground” (2000) Tom Otterness
8th Avenue, 14th Street
Some depict workers carrying giant tools, and the artwork collaborated with 19th century’s political cartoonist Thomas Nast. This installation took several years owing to long disputes with bureaucrats. In the meantime, parts of this installation appeared all over the city such as Central Park, Battery Park, Downtown Brooklyn and Pratt Institute. Otterness, born in Kansas, is an established figure in the New York City art world.
1. “Carrying On “ (2004) Janet Zweig
Prince Street
This artwork shows 194 silhouetted people based on photos of the New Yorkers in all their variety, which creates a long narrative story. Over 200 New Yorkers were photographed walking along the street for this artwork. The title means that most people on the streets in New York are always carrying, sometimes it’s huge and outlandish. After 9/11 tragedy, New Yorkers felt that they must carry on with their lives. This is also included the title meaning.
2. “Alice: The Way Out” (1994) Liliana Porter
50th Street station
This artwork features “Alice in Wonderland” and reflects stagecraft found in the Broadway theaters nearby. Porter studied in Mexico City and moved to New York, where she co-founded the New York Graphic Workshop with other artists in 1964. She was a professor at Queens College, CUNY until 2007.
2. “For Want of a Nail” (1999) MTA Arts for Transit
81st Street-Museum of Natural History station
This artwork was installed by the MTA Arts for Transit Design Team and the Museum of Natural History. It represents a study of the evolution of life from the big bang to today as themes of a starry sky, big bang, ocean life forms, the diversity of life of past and present and fossils. It asks for visitors “Where do we come from?” showing the interconnectedness of life and the universe.
2. “DeKalb Improvisation” (2004) Stephen T. Johnson
DeKalb Avenue station
The color used in this artwork got from thousands of glass mosaic tiles custom made in Germany. Like collages, Johnson created this design mixed with realistic image and abstract image, hoping that brings new inspiration by the interaction of various ethnic group living nearby as subway users. He was born in Madison, Wisconsin, and worked in Brooklyn for 13 years.
2. “Migration” (1999&2008) Christopher Wynter
Cathedral Parkway-110th Street station
This evokes the spirit of migration, both of people who have found their home in Harlem and the universal search for that place. The artwork includes houses atop stilts and wheels, ladders, the North Star, footprints, recurring circular patterns, and African symbols of spiritual centering. Wynter is a British artist.
2. “Trade, Treasure, and Travel”(1997) Margie Hughto
Cortlandt Street Subway station
The murals are decorated with symbols of worldwide exploration and trade on land and sea — buffalo nickels, ancient coins, keys, natural and mythological creatures and a huge rose compass based on an ancient celestial chart. Hughto earned a bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo and lives in New York where she has a ceramics and paper-making studio.
2. “City Dwellers” (2002) Mark Hadjipateras
28th Street station
Hadjipateras painted a wall with a series of robot-like strange characters inspired by the Toy Center, the Flatiron Building, flower shops and clothing wholesalers nearby. He is a Greek American artist born in London.
2. “The Greenwich Village Murals” (1994) Lee Brozgold and Students of P.S.41
Christopher Street/Sheridan Square
Drawn by the children of Public School 41 in Greenwich Village, early settlers in Manhattan, with Lee Brozgold and represents the history of Greenwich Village. The names of the panels are “Bohemians,” “Rebels,” “Founders,” and “Providers.”
2. “Framing Union Square” (1998) Mary Miss
14th Street-Union Square
Miss, born in New York City, created standalone panels using historic architectural elements recovered during the renovation of the 14th Street/Union Square station. The “14” panels were originally elements of 1904 station construction but most were hidden in disused platforms side.
2. “Broadway Diary“ (2002) Tim Snell
8th Street
There are 40 round windows called porthole, name of gun holes such as portholes, round windows of airplanes and old castle walls. This artwork depicts historic sites such as Grace Church, Washington Arch, Cooper Union, Astor Place and roads, and peaceful daily life such as pigeons pecking food, walking dogs, rain, and clouds in the blue sky. The artwork won the Excellence Award at the NYC Metropolitan Club Award.
3. “Whirls and Twirls” (2008) Sol LeWitt
59th Street-Columbus Circle station
Since no tile makers in this country could replicate the exact shades LeWitt wanted, members of his studio sought someone in Europe who could and finally found artisans in Madrid. LeWitt was born in 1928 in Hartford, Connecticut, and raised nearby in New Britain. In 1953, he moved to New York City as a graphic designer. He also worked at the Museum of Modern Art in New York as a night receptionist for some years.
3. “Losing My Marbles” (2003) Lisa Dinhofer
Times Square-42nd Street/Port Authority Bus Terminal station
This artwork seems to roll toward the viewer though it’s just a flat picture actually. It’s quite playful and colorful. Dinhofer told the Daily News “It was right after 9/11 and I thought it would be nice to bring joy into New York again.” She was born in Brooklyn. A mosaic artist in Germany completed this artwork based on her drawing.
3. “Signs of Life” (2000) Jackie Chang
Metropolitan Avenue/ Lorimer Street station
Chang seeks to spark the viewers’ imaginations and hopes interpretations will emerge over repeated viewings and deep consideration. The words uses in artworks such as “Use Less”, “Same Sane”, “Faith/Fate”, and “History/Your Story” are barely meaningless.
