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Arts For Transit            I’ve always loved New York City. You can find anything and everything here, at any time day or night. Consequently, I’m also quite fond of the city’s lifeline: the subway system. This is what transports people to anything and everything, at any time day or night. Living in New York this semester, I’ve had the opportunity to travel these lines extensively, experiencing a truly vital, not to mention extremely useful part of the city. In my many travels through this underground labyrinth, especially those during our class visits to art throughout the city, my attention has often been drawn to the wide range of art that can be found in various subway stations throughout the city.            Intrigued, I did some poking around on the internet and came across Arts for Transit, a program started 21 years ago by the Metropolitan Transportation Society, whose mission is to “[encourage] the use of public transit by presenting visual and performing arts projects in subways and commuter rail stations.” Among other projects, Arts for Transit “commissions artists to create site-specific permanent artwork,” the majority of which is on display in the subway system, but can also be found at select stations along the Long Island and Metro-North Railroad lines.            Armed with camera, I set out on a mission to photograph as much of this artwork as possible. Though I only had the opportunity to visit a portion of the permanent collection, I was fortunate enough to see many different varieties of works and visit numerous stations (and even take a few trains) that I wouldn’t have otherwise. In my book, any excuse to explore the city is a good one, even if it’s underground, but especially if it’s full of art. The majority of the Arts for Transit works are made out of the materials of the subway system, including tile, bronze, steel, and glass and range in size from a few tiles to an entire wall. Though by far the most common medium was mosaic, all of the mosaic works had a unique personality.            One of my favorite works is “Blooming,” by Elizabeth Murray, located in the 59th Street/Lexington Avenue station. Along the platforms are small, brightly colored mosaic coffee cups and shoes, representing every day life and the daily commute. But the most interesting part of this station is the area one must pass through to change lines: in this small, rectangular shaped space, nearly all of the wall space is covered in one gigantic mural which wraps all the way around. This mural seamlessly stitches the commonplace coffee cups and shoes found along the platforms into a much more fantastic world, complete with a giant sun and inspirational quotes. I found the work to be quite awesome.            Several installations are based on New York City history, often of the neighborhood where the particular station is located. Christopher Street, for example, displays The Greenwich Village Murals, by Lee Brozgold and P.S. 41 students. These murals series of murals depict key scenes and people from the Village’s history, and provide passerby with a greater insight into the surrounding neighborhood. Not all Arts for Transit works are mosaic pieces, though. The station at 14th Street and 8th Avenue contains over 100 bronze figurines ranging from animals to people to and other random objects engaging in a wide variety of activities. The installation is titled Life Underground, and was created by Tom Otterness.            I feel that Arts for Transit is a very ambitious project, and is certainly achieving its goal of making the subway system a brighter place, for daily commuters who can ride the subway in their sleep and tourists who have never before had the pleasure of a subway ride alike. Personally, I thoroughly enjoyed traveling around underground and seeing a wide variety of artwork.     Images   Port Authority     50th Street   8th Street     Union Square   Brooklyn Bridge     53rd Street   Museum of Natural History     23rd Street   Times Square    Grand Central   28th Street     116th Street   Canal Street     59th Street   125th Street     137th Street   34th Street     Bryant Park    110th Street     Times Square   86th Street     103rd Street   Chambers Street     Penn Station   14th Street     Queen's Plaza   Times Square     Fulton Street   110th Street     Penn Station   Houston Street     Park Place   Christopher Street     Bryant Park