1/ Vik Muniz’s part of a larger work ”Perfect Strangers”, 72nd Avenue Subway Station.
2/ Jeff Koons’ inflatable seated ballerina, on view at Rockefeller Center in May-June 2017.
Two balloons. One of them, a work of art.
June 2nd, 2017
Tag: subway art
I got my eyes on you D.C.
Three days in the capital were just enough to whet our appetite for more. I don’t know when that will be, because there so many places in America we want to see before leaving the country, and the more time we spend here the longer the wish list gets; but I do hope we make to D.C. again, if only to explore Georgetown which we missed this time due to, well, rather unfriendly weather conditions (read rain, tons of it!).
But time to hop on a train again; not yet back to Manhattan, that will have to wait a little longer.
Our next stop: Baltimore.
April 25th, 2017
Now on for some real Subway Art
Honouring the past. Living in the present. Connecting with the future.
”During her research, Shin found old photographs in the Transit Museum and the New York Historical Society Archives that documented the dismantling of the El trains on 2nd Ave in the 1940s and of the 3rd Ave El in the 1950s, which became the primary sources of inspiration for the work. The artist decided to transform the 63rd Street Station into a time machine of sorts, surrounding today’s commuters with images of New Yorkers who once commuted on the El that stood in the same spot nearly 7 decades ago. “I wanted the new permanent work to connect to this landmark moment in New York City’s history and bring this story to public life, what was lost and gained in the making of the 2nd Ave Subway,” she said.”
From an interview on Art Zealous, by Katita Miller
Lexington Avenue – 63rd Street
JEAN SHIN
Elevated, 2017
Laminated glass, glass mosaic, and ceramic tile
February 11th, 2017
Talking about subway art
Granted, beautiful artwork adorns many of New York’s subway stations, but the works featured at the newly opened Second Avenue Subway are our current darlings – and with very good reason!
Just look at these fabulous life-size mosaics at the Second Avenue-72nd Street by Brazilian artist Vik Muniz. Based on staged photographs of people he knows, some ordinary, some made-up, others well-known Muniz named this series “Perfect Strangers” because that’s what people waiting for the train are: perfect strangers getting together for a brief moment before going about their separate ways.
On to Second Avenue-86th Street station, where the walls are adorned with Chuck Close’s ”Subway Portraits”, 12 large works based on his photo-realistic portrait paintings, transposed into mosaics or tiles.
Here are the portraits of the artist himself, artist Sienna Shields (whose identity it took me some digging to discover being unfamiliar with the local artistic milieu) and Lou Reed:
January 08th, 2017
The Humble Fabulist 