Discover Art Underground — Subway

Soundsuits by artist Nick Cave

If time permits, plan a tour of the amazing art installations scattered throughout the NYC subway system.  Not all stops have elevator access, but in many cases it’s worth getting off the train to see, experience and photograph the outstanding talent showcased here.

Must see:

The newly refurbished Times Square Shuttle platform.  Artist Nick Cave transforms a normally boring, tedious transition from the Shuttle to multiple other train lines to “Wow, look at this!”  This one installation is the largest in the transit system covering 4,600 square feet and, in some spots, stands 14.9 feet tall.   It’s vivid, fluid, dimensional, and brings the pizazz you see upstairs, downstairs.

More Soundsuits by Nick Cave

You can easily access this beautiful art via a new elevator located in the Times Square Building, which is where they drop the ball on New Year’s Eve.  As of this writing it is shrouded in scaffolding, so it might be a bit hard to find, but the building is on the north side of 42nd Street between Seventh Avenue and Broadway.  There is a marked pathway to the new subway entrance with an elevator.

You will find more about this installation here:  https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2022/05/16/mta-unveils-new-entrance--artwork-at-times-square-subway-station

But Mr. Cave’s creative talent is not all you’ll find here.  Over the years the MTA Arts & Design Commission has brought the work of many other brilliant artists underground.  In the Times Square Station alone you can explore the creations of Roy Lichtenstein, Jacob Lawrence, Jack Beal, Toby Buonagurio and Jane Dickson.

Onset of Winter by Jack Beal

Set between the two elevators for the Nos. 1, 2 & 3 trains, there is much to observe in both mosaics. Opposite this scene, but not shown here is a similar size mosaic entitled Return of Spring. Both scenes depict New Yorkers at work in Times Square.

New York in Transit by Jacob Lawrence

This mural is a little harder to find and decipher using a scooter, but it is the first art created by a black artist showcased in the subway and is worth a walk to get closer if you are able. Note the elevator to the left for the uptown N, Q, R & W platform. The work of many other black artists can be found throughout the system.

Times Square Times: 35 Times by artist Toby Buonagurio

It can be easy to miss these 35 framed tiles with people rushing past, but along the corridor connecting the 42nd Street stairs to the 41st Street elevator and beyond you will find these delightful depictions of life in the city. They were commissioned in 1992 with the final tile installed in 2005. Aside from their cartoonish style, the images portray snipits of life some of which has disappeared in the past 30 years. Note the old fashioned parking meter in the lower right corner and who uses a paper subway map anymore? Me! They’re like collector’s items now.

Times Square Mural by Roy Lichtenstein

I have walked or ridden under this mural a thousand times if not more in all my years in the city and for the life of me when it came time to include this piece in the blog I couldn’t remember WHERE I had seen it. So we’ll leave it a mystery for our readers as well. It’s not that hidden but you do have to look up! Lichtenstein’s mural depicts the transit system from it’s inception with tiled arches, to the industrial age, with metal arches to imaginig the future with a monorail whizzing through the centuries.

Revelers by Jane Dickson

To reach “The Revelers” take the elevators for the Nos. 1, 2, 3 trains down to the mezzanine level. Here you will find 67 mosaics of people enjoying the festivities above on New Year’s Eve. The story goes that she and her husband were living in an apartment on the east side of Eighth Avenue and 43rd Street at the time and because she was pregnant, they opted to stay inside for the evening. But the noise soon got to her so out she went into the crowd and with camera in hand she began documenting the people waiting for the ball to drop. It was 1990. Initially she transformed her photos into paintings, but when the city approached her to create something for the Times Square Station, it made sense to convert the paintings to these colorful mosaics. You know immediately as you transition from lower to upper platforms, that this is Times Square!

Please note: there is no wheelchair accessibility for the Eighth Avenue lines from this tunnel. You can tour the art, but cannot reach the platforms for the A, E, C trains from here.

Art under Time’s Square is only the beginning. Future blogs will be about all the other fantastic art to find as you ride the rails in NYC. Get your scooter ready!