Whenever I’m using the subway, I’m in a rush. My head is always down – either to gawk at my phone or to avoid eye contact with the creeper in the corner. But when I looked up for a brief moment at 23rd Street last week, I realised that there were hats painted on the walls – and it made me wonder what else I’d been missing.
Tonight I had some time to kill for once, so I decided to inquire further. I had an hour between finishing work and meeting Dylan for Date Night, so decided to take two of the trains I use most frequently and check out the art at the stations.
The dashed red line shows my route, with the circles showing where I jumped off
I took the N local train (that’s the yellow line) from the Canal Street stop by my office and rode seven stops north, getting off at most places along the way to check out the art. Once I reached Times Square, I went back south and jumped on the 6 line (the green one) to Bleecker Street, where Dylan works. Just a mini loop – but doable in an hour, and all for the price of one subway ride ($2.25).
Here’s what I saw:
First stop – Canal Street
Bing Lee’s Empress Voyage (1998) uses icons on tiles to celebrate the trades brought from China on the ship in the 1790s. It’s also a nod to Chinatown, which surrounds this stop
Next stop – Prince Street:
Carrying On by Janet Zweig and Edward Del Rosario (2004) lines the platforms of Prince Street
It’s an ode both to New Yorkers lugging things across the city, and also to ‘carrying on’ following 9/11
Then up to 23rd Street (the best one):
Keith Godard’s Memories of Twenty-Third Street (2002) = lots of hats
After whizzing past 28th Street, where there were large cartoonish figures across the walls, I reached 34th:
Michele Oka Doner’s Radiant Site (1991) lines one passage with copper tiles and makes the wall looks like it’s glowing
Then up to Times Square, which by this time was heaving with people. Thankfully the Lichtenstein work was suspended high above the walkway:
Times Square Mural (2002)
Then I headed back south and stopped at Union Square:
Framing Union Square (1998) by Mary Miss. This project frames hidden structural elements with thick red frames, highlighting the various components that make a working station
Then down to Astor Place for mosaics:
Milton Glaser’s untitled piece (1986). He’s known as a pioneering designer; he’s behind the I heart New York logo
The panels add a welcome bit of colour to this scene…
And finally, one more stop to Bleecker to see an artist whose work I’ve already enjoyed this year:
Heading towards Leo Villareal’s Hive (2012)
This was an eye-opener. I use these subway stops regularly and I had never seen any of these pieces before. It was funny looking at people scurrying past Villareals and Lichtensteins when they’ll so readily queue outside MoMA to pay to see one of their exhibits inside.
Some of the art was very tired, but I enjoyed how it’s become part of the subway. The pieces spanned 30 years and had a clear progression towards the abstract – reflecting how the subway is both resilient and modern, as well as reminding us of the number of years that have passed and the millions of feet that have walked its platforms.
Now I want to do every line. Look how many more I have to do!
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