Photo By Gail
For The Subway (1950), George Tooker used a claustrophobic, labyrinthine subway station to portray the alienation and the isolation of contemporary urban life. These urban dwellers — all of whom seem to have the same face — seem frozen, trapped by the architecture of the subway station. Tooker rendered this distinctly modern subject in egg tempera, a medium associated almost exclusively with the Renaissance.
Continue reading Modern Art Monday Presents: George Tooker, The Subway
Photo By Gail
I pass by this cool mural nearly every time I take a train into or out of Times Square, but I just stopped to take a photo of it this past weekend, when I had a few minutes to spare on my way way to see Hedwig and The Angry Inch starring Michael C. Hall (which, by the way, is fantastic). Installed in 2002, Times Square Mural captures the spirit of the subway, its linear movement and dynamic energy. With a nod to both the past and the future- its central image is a futuristic, bullet-shaped car zipping through an underground station. And not just any station, this is Times Square, in the heart of New York City.
Continue reading Roy Lichtenstein Times Square Subway Station Mural
Photo By Gail
This tile mosaic of two horses — a mother horse and her offspring, perhaps — graces the wall near the exit of the N and R Trains at 59th Street (Central Park South) and Fifth Avenue.
Photo By Gail
The above mosaic, featuring The White Rabbit, The Mad Hatter and what looks like Humpty Dumpty is part of The Way Out (1994), an Alice In Wonderland-themed four panel terracotta mosaic mural by artist Liliana Porter that decorates the walls of the 50th Street and Seventh Avenue Station on the One Train. Continue reading Alice In Wonderland Tile Mosaic Mural, 50th Street Subway Station
The Diva
This gorgeous tile mosaic is part of Artemis, Acrobats, Divas and Dancers by Nancy Spero. Given that this subway train exits at Lincoln Center, New York’s premier arts destination, the standards for subway art are pretty high. Spero’s work does not disappoint, with 22 brilliantly colored glass mosaic panels that line the walls of the station. Imagery of women both real and mystical is meant to honor the world-class opera, ballet and music you can catch at Lincoln Center, as well the artsy vibe that has long characterized the Upper West Side. The Diva, the central icon of opera, appears many times along the walls, leading riders through the station.
Continue reading The Diva Tile Mosaic, Lincoln Center 66th Street Subway Station