Lately, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority seems to be drowning in negative headlines. Extensive job layoffs, reduced service, crumbling stations, constant fare hikes, which are results of a $1 billion deficit, have made it less than popular these days.
With so much negativity at hand, a small cultural Band-Aid might offer some distraction. Despite its many problems, the MTA runs one admirable outfit, the MTA Arts for Transit program, which oversees permanent public art installations throughout the MTA's extensive network.
Many of the mosaics and murals completed over the years are not only popular, but truly beloved. They have become an integral part of the city’s cultural make up. Some of the most iconic works include Nancy Spero’s mosaic depiction of creative women in the performing arts – a nod to Lincoln Center (2001, 66th Street on 1 train), Life Underground by Tom Otterness (2001, 14 Street-8 Avenue on A C E L trains), which features more than one hundred cartoonish bronze sculptures, and Roy Lichtenstein's Times Square Mural (2002, Times Square-42 Street, on N Q R S W 1 2 3 7 trains), which depicts a futuristic space-train zipping by New York City’s skyline.
One major addition to the transit art portfolio was only recently completed at the MTA Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn. It comes in the shape of a grand, and a somewhat Cubist-inspired entry hall, which was conceived by the artists Allan Wexler and Ellen Wexler in collaboration with the architectural firm di Domenico + Partners. Entitled Overlook this work aims to provide its audience with exactly that – insight and oversight. An elaborate planar construction made of granite, the installation encompasses two whole stories, reaching from street level down to the ticket office, waiting room and train tracks of the LIRR and New York subways. The most evident visual reference alludes to cartography and ultimately navigation and multi-dimensional travel.
On a humbler note, Arts for Transit also commissions works by artists that can be reproduced as posters. These are shown in subways and can also be purchased from the official website for a mere $24.95. The two latest posters spotted underground are by the artists Andrea Dezsö and Béatrice Coron. Coron is known for her elaborate papercuts, which feature fantastical landscapes filled with creatures. Two of her works were just recently included in Slash a superb exhibition at The Museum of Art and Design and her silhouette of a life underground that she created for Arts for Transit has enchanted subway riders since early January.
As it might be the only MTA-related thing one currently can envision oneself to be a fan of, Arts for Transit recently set up their Facebook Page. There you can sign up and follow the past and upcoming highlights of this cultural endeavor in motion.
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