November 14/15 – MORE GREAT SUBWAY ART FOR YOU TO ENJOY FARE-FREE

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WEEKEND EDITION

NOVEMEBER 14 -15, 2020

210th Edition

20 NYC Subway Stations with Show-Stopping Tile Art

Celebrating the craftsmanship behind New York’s subway stations

By Amy Plitt@plitter  
FROM CURBED NEW YORK (c)

Bedford Park Blvd-Lehman College (4)

We wouldn’t blame you if stopping to stare at this mural within the Bedford Park Blvd station made you miss your 4 train. Andrea Dezsö’s piece, “Community Garden,” is a sumptuous mosaic creation using thousands of pieces of colored tile. Dezsö’s work often features nature, and this is no different, though it’s likely more vibrant than the gardens above-ground.

SOUTH FERRY (1)
Sadly, the new South Ferry station—you know, the one that was basically destroyed during Hurricane Sandy—was home to an incredible tile piece that’s no longer able to be viewed by the public. In the old South Ferry station, however, there’s some incredible—if less monumental—tile to be found, in the form oh ceramic ships that were the work of subway architects George Heins and Christopher LaFarge.

Old City Hall

Okay, this one’s a bit of a cheat, since you can only access the station on tours led by the New York Transit Museum. But the old City Hall subway stop, closed since 1945, was arguably the prettiest subway station of its time—thanks, in large part, to the tile work by Rafael Guastavino. But those exiting the current Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall station can still get a peek at the Spanish master’s handiwork: the open plaza near the entrance to the Manhattan Municipal Building is covered by an atrium that features an undulating Guastavino ceiling.

 Bleecker St (6)

The Bleecker Street 6 station is part of the original IRT line that opened in 1904, and the tile work shows its age: Heins and LaFarge, the architects of the stops along that line, commissioned the ceramicists at the Grueby Faience Company to create Beaux Arts-inspired signage for the station, including the rich blue station marker seen here. When the station was refurbished in 2012, the lovely tile work was, thankfully, preserved.

Astor Pl (6)

Heins and LaFarge were also responsible for the Astor Place station, and it too features the handiwork of the Grueby Faience Company, notably the beaver tiles found throughout. (Those were a nod to the Astor family, which got rich off of beaver trading. Who knew?) But there’s also a more modern mosaic in the station, completed by legendary designer Milton Glaser in 1986. He took inspiration from the existing station architecture for his tiled murals, and placed large porcelain panels throughout in random patterns, so they would “take on the appearance of a puzzle,” as Glaser told the MTA.

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Lexington Ave-59th St (4/5/6/N/R/W)

The Lexington Avenue/59th Street Station’s dreamy glass mosaic murals by Elizabeth Murray used Bloomingdale’s, right above the station, as a jumping point. Titled Blooming, the mosaic mural cascades around corners and down different tunnels to “stimulate thoughts about passage,” the artist notes. Lines of poetry by William Butler Yeats and Gwendolyn Brooks also work their way into the art, which first premiered in 1996.

Sheepshead Bay (B/Q)

A popular tourist destination at the turn of the 20th century, the art of Sheepshead Bay’s B/Q station plays with that reputation. In her 1998 installation Postcards From Sheepshead Bay, DeBorah Goletz captures recreational moments from the time-period, drawing from old postcards. One mural allows visitors to stick their heads through for photographs, emulating an old boardwalk attraction. One mural even features sheepshead fish, after which the onetime village was named.

Buhre Ave (6)

The title of Soonae Tark’s Arts for Transit piece, found inside the Buhre Avenue station in the Bronx, is simple: “Have a Happy Day.” And it’s impossible not to—the geometric shapes, rendered in colorful glass tile (courtesy of Miotto Mosaic Art Studio), are meant to “inspire commuters and the people of the neighborhood with positive energy and uplifting feelings,” according to the MTA. Mission accomplished.

Flushing-Main St (7)

Artist Ik-Joong Kang was inspired by Flushing for this composition, which hangs inside the Main Street stop at the end of the 7 line. Each of the installation’s 2,000 ceramic tiles is printed with a unique design that reflects some aspect of the community, whether it’s a pizzaiolo tossing a pie into the air, or a baseball heading toward an unknown destination.

Eastern Parkway-Brooklyn Museum (2/3)

Eastern Pkwy Brooklyn, NY Visit Website The art within the Eastern Parkway subway stop reflects the institution that bears its name: MTA’s Arts for Transit collaborated with the Brooklyn Museum to bring a bit of its collection underground. Each of the pieces found in the station comes from a demolished building. Tile comes in for the framing; each piece is surrounded by a mosaic of rich blues, with gold tile evoking the feel of a gilded frame you’d find in a museum.

WEEKEND PHOTO

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FRIDAY PHOTO OF THE DAY

FLAGPOLES ON THE ARRIVAL DECK
AT THE HELIX LEADING DOWN TO MAIN STREET

Funding Provided by: Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation Public Purpose Funds,
Council Member Ben Kallos City Council Discretionary Funds thru DYCD
Edited by Deborah Dorff ALL PHOTOS COPYRIGHT RIHS. 2020 (C)

FROM CURBED NEW YORK (c)
By Amy Plitt@plitter

ARTS FOR TRANSIT
MTA.NYC TRANSIT
PHOTOS IN THIS ISSUE (C) JUDITH BERDY RIHS

EDITORIAL


Wonderful new art has arrived at Coler.    

Details in Monday’s edition

Judith Berdy

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