Visual Culture: Subway Art
Subway Art
(Alice and Diana)
Introduction::
Where do New Yorkers go for art? New York City art is not just found in museums or theaters. When you take the trains in and around the city, do you notice the art in the train stations? As we explored the 42nd Street/Times Square train station, we noticed that many people overlook the artwork that was surrounds them. As we walked along the passageways, we found so many different artworks just in one station. Although they may not appear as typical art, these pieces are nonetheless there for commuters to appreciate.
Discoveries::
On Saturday December 8th 2007, we set out on an expedition to discover subway art. We went to Times Square and Grand Central to look at specific art pieces, without having anything in mind. Then we went to the New York Transit Museum at both the Grand Central Terminal and the Brooklyn location to try and find out more about the art we found. (We took pictures and created a video of our one-day travels! You can find that and more below so go check it out!)
Once at Times Square, we noticed “Times Square Times: 35 Times” by Toby Buonagurio. Her art spanned over four walls of 35 enclosed ceramic panels. Each piece showed a different, vivid aspect of Times Square. One panel had two feet and a fire hydrant, possibly showing a dog’s point of view. Another had a man holding a hot dog with a dollar bill over his head. Most of the panels were brightly lit, although a few were broken. However, as we looked at the art, we noticed many people walking by the paneled artwork without a second glance. We went to a few other art pieces, having the same experience at Grand Central. No one had time to look at the art in the subway. However, people were able to make time to appreciate the colorful toys and jewelry sold at Grand Central’s Transit Museum Store. It was so packed in there that we could hardly get in. Tourists were conversing about which earrings they wanted to buy, and little kids were giddy over toy trains. The store did not have much related to subway art, so we left.
The Transit Museum in Brooklyn also did not have what we expected. (On a side note, the museum was underground, and it took us 5 minutes to figure that out.) After quizzing the woman at the information/ticket counter, we found out that the museum was centered mostly on the history of the train system, and had little to nothing on subway art. She pointed us to a subway art book in the museum store. We quickly went to look at it and then left.The trip to discovering subway art was both a success and a failure.
Times Square and Grand Central are two go-to places that both New Yorkers and tourists alike seek out the “cultural feel” of NYC. As New Yorkers, we have been to those stations before and we remember seeing several pieces of artwork, but never stopped to look at them. On our expedition, not many people stopped to notice the art either. However, it was not a major disappointment because we were not expecting them to. What was the most disappointing was the Transit Museum’s minimal emphasis on subway art. Although subway art is so unique to NYC, the appreciation for it could be increased.
A Video of Our Exploration:
Exploring Subway Art @ Times Square and Grand Central
Exploring Subway Art @ Times Square and Grand Central
(Also viewable here: http://youtube.com/watch?v=Ju8oZ4SPB88 )
Photos Of Our Trip:
Go over each picture with your mouse for a quick description. To view the captions, please click on the image and wait for the picture to appear with captions on the bottom.
Visit The Subpage for our interview with Lisa Dinhofer, an artist who has her work “Losing My Marbles” featured on the walls of the underground Grand Central Terminal!