Contemporary Art UndergroundOver the past four decades, more than 400 permanent artworks have been commissioned by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) across New York’s transit systems. On view 24 hours a day, the collection is seen by more than four million subway riders and commuters daily and has been hailed as ‘New York’s Underground Art Museum.’ A celebration of these ground-breaking projects, Contemporary Art Underground: New York MTA Arts & Design highlights more than 100 artworks completed between 2015 and 2023 that embody the spirit, vibrancy, and diversity of New York. Through vivid descriptions, intricate close-up photographs, and behind-the-scenes studio images, the book shares the stories behind these permanent works, from artist selection through the translation of an artwork into a largescale, site-specific installation.
About the AuthorsSandra Bloodworth is the former director of MTA Arts & Design and the and the principal author of Along the Way and New York’s Underground Art Museum. Under her leadership, MTA Arts & Design has gained renown in the field of public transportation by creating a collection of nearly 400 public artworks. Bloodworth is the recipient of numerous awards including the Sloan Public Service Award and the Gari Melchers Award from the Artist’s Fellowship.
Cheryl Hageman is deputy director of MTA Arts & Design, responsible for commissioning new projects and maintaining the permanent art collection throughout the MTA system. She has applied an in-depth knowledge of materials and fabrication to produce and care for award-winning artworks during her two decades as an arts administrator. Hilarie M. Sheets writes frequently on public art for the New York Times and the Art Newspaper. |
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Reviews
NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW
"In New York City's Subway System, There's Beauty in the Mundane"
"The New York City subway commute can be unpleasant: the rats, the packed cars, the schedule changes, the smells. But CONTEMPORARY ART UNDERGROUND: MTA Arts & Design, by Sandra Bloodworth and Cheryl Hageman, invites us to see the extraordinary beauty in the mundane."
"The stunning works documented in the book almost make you wish for a train delay." Erica Ackerman
"In New York City's Subway System, There's Beauty in the Mundane"
"The New York City subway commute can be unpleasant: the rats, the packed cars, the schedule changes, the smells. But CONTEMPORARY ART UNDERGROUND: MTA Arts & Design, by Sandra Bloodworth and Cheryl Hageman, invites us to see the extraordinary beauty in the mundane."
"The stunning works documented in the book almost make you wish for a train delay." Erica Ackerman
HYPERALLERGIC
Contemporary Art Underground: MTA Arts & Design New York by Sandra Bloodworth and Cheryl Hageman
"The quality of subway art in New York City is unrivaled. From Ann Hamilton’s marble words at the World Trade Center station to the vibrant mosaics by Nick Cave in Times Square and the cut metal screens by Saya Woolfalk in East New York, the breadth of imagery is truly staggering. This coffee table book helps you learn more about the artworks many of us walk past without a second notice (how many people know there’s a Diana Al-Hadid in Penn Station, for instance, or a Jeffrey Gibson in Astoria?) and does so with large, vibrant photographs supplemented by short, clear text that illuminates why this is a remarkable town for public art." Hrag Vartanian
Contemporary Art Underground: MTA Arts & Design New York by Sandra Bloodworth and Cheryl Hageman
"The quality of subway art in New York City is unrivaled. From Ann Hamilton’s marble words at the World Trade Center station to the vibrant mosaics by Nick Cave in Times Square and the cut metal screens by Saya Woolfalk in East New York, the breadth of imagery is truly staggering. This coffee table book helps you learn more about the artworks many of us walk past without a second notice (how many people know there’s a Diana Al-Hadid in Penn Station, for instance, or a Jeffrey Gibson in Astoria?) and does so with large, vibrant photographs supplemented by short, clear text that illuminates why this is a remarkable town for public art." Hrag Vartanian
NEW YORK JOURNAL OF BOOKS
"It is a love letter to public art and how New York City has brought exceptional expression of the human spirit into its transit system . . . Contemporary Art Underground is a testament to the fact that art can be for everyone, and that municipalities that support public art are a boon for their communities."
BLOOMBERG CITYLAB
"The book highlights the scope of the last decade's station renovations and service expansions, the diversity of the participating artists, and the agency's embrace of mosaic, glass, and metal to make art compelling and durable enough to live in the nations's busiest rapid transit system."
"Featuring more than 100 works completed between 2015 and 2023, the book highlights the scope of the last decade's station renovations and service expansions, the diversity of the participating artists, and the agency's embrace of mosaic, glass, and metal to make art compelling and durable enough to live in the the nation's busiest rapid transit system."
SURFACE
"More than 100 artworks large and small throughout the country's busiest transit system star in an artful new tome that journeys across the five boroughs."
THE GLOBE AND MAIL STYLE ADVISOR
"Expect to find an eclectic and electrifying array of artists . . . celebrates a decade of projects."
COLOSSAL
"Celebrates how MTA Arts & Design builds a modern museum for New York City."
MY MODERN MET
"A wonderful journey into the possibilities of public art."
"It is a love letter to public art and how New York City has brought exceptional expression of the human spirit into its transit system . . . Contemporary Art Underground is a testament to the fact that art can be for everyone, and that municipalities that support public art are a boon for their communities."
BLOOMBERG CITYLAB
"The book highlights the scope of the last decade's station renovations and service expansions, the diversity of the participating artists, and the agency's embrace of mosaic, glass, and metal to make art compelling and durable enough to live in the nations's busiest rapid transit system."
"Featuring more than 100 works completed between 2015 and 2023, the book highlights the scope of the last decade's station renovations and service expansions, the diversity of the participating artists, and the agency's embrace of mosaic, glass, and metal to make art compelling and durable enough to live in the the nation's busiest rapid transit system."
SURFACE
"More than 100 artworks large and small throughout the country's busiest transit system star in an artful new tome that journeys across the five boroughs."
THE GLOBE AND MAIL STYLE ADVISOR
"Expect to find an eclectic and electrifying array of artists . . . celebrates a decade of projects."
COLOSSAL
"Celebrates how MTA Arts & Design builds a modern museum for New York City."
MY MODERN MET
"A wonderful journey into the possibilities of public art."
New York's Underground Art MuseumThe definitive guide to works commissioned by MTA Arts & Design, a reference for riders who have wondered about an artist or the meaning behind the art they've seen, as well as a memento for visitors, New Yorks Underground Art Museum provides 300 color illustrations and insightful descriptions sure to infuse any future trip or viewing with a fresh appreciation and understanding of this historic enterprise. An update of the classic Along the Way, this expanded edition features Sol LeWitt's Whirls and twirls (MTA) at Columbus Circle, Doug and Mike Starn's See it split, see it change at South Ferry, and James Carpenters Sky Reflector-Net at Fulton Center. The collection includes a diverse group of artists including Elizabeth Murray, Faith Ringgold, Eric Fischl, Romare Bearden, Acconci Studio, and many others has created works in mosaic, terra-cotta, bronze, and glass.
About the AuthorsSandra Bloodworth is the former Director of the award-winning public art program, MTA Arts & Design. Since the program was launched in 1985, its team has turned New York’s century-old transportation network into a first-rate museum, exposing millions of transit riders to art, music and poetry.
William Ayres is an independent curator specializing in nineteenth- and twentieth-century American art and editor of 19th Century, the magazine of the Victorian Society in America. |
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Reviews
THE NEW YORK TIMES
"This is a good moment to take stock of Arts and Design, as it approaches its 30th anniversary. The largest single artwork ever commissioned under the program, Sky Reflector-Net, by James Carpenter Design Associates, Grimshaw Architects and Arup, is to go on view when the new Fulton Center opens in Lower Manhattan. The net—a 79-foot-high tapering, truncated cone of reflective aluminum diamonds set in a stainless-steel tracery—appears on the cover of New York's Underground Art Museum. Among the latest additions to the West End line, on the platforms of six elevated stations, windscreen panels of laminated glass display lovely translucent imagery. In case your D train is delayed, these works repay study. Some, like Odili Donald Odita’s Kaleidoscope at 20th Avenue and Amy Cheng’s Rediscovery at 25th Avenue, are large-scale abstractions that can be appreciated from a passing train."
INTERIOR DESIGN
"The public art program of New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority is both older and more extensive than most of us realize. This survey shows that the quality of the work is high indeed. Among the standouts: Roy Lichtenstein's porcelain-enamel cartoon murals, Sol LeWitt's ceramic tile Whirls and Twirls, Maya Lin's giant stainless-steel and fiber-optic mechanism tracing phases of the moon, a parade of pilasters in glass and enameled steel by Mary Miss with Lee Harris Pomeroy Architects, rows of brightly painted metal housefronts by Dennis Oppenheim, and, back at Astor Place, Milton Glaser's bold colors and forms derived from the beaver plaques."
DAILY BEAST
"There's another big art player in New York alongside the likes of the Met, MoMA, the Whitney, and the Guggenheim. Just like the hallowed halls of New York’s finest museums and galleries, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority has been collecting and displaying works by big-named artists. New York’s Underground Art Museum showcases all the masterful works that brighten the commute of millions each day."
"This is a good moment to take stock of Arts and Design, as it approaches its 30th anniversary. The largest single artwork ever commissioned under the program, Sky Reflector-Net, by James Carpenter Design Associates, Grimshaw Architects and Arup, is to go on view when the new Fulton Center opens in Lower Manhattan. The net—a 79-foot-high tapering, truncated cone of reflective aluminum diamonds set in a stainless-steel tracery—appears on the cover of New York's Underground Art Museum. Among the latest additions to the West End line, on the platforms of six elevated stations, windscreen panels of laminated glass display lovely translucent imagery. In case your D train is delayed, these works repay study. Some, like Odili Donald Odita’s Kaleidoscope at 20th Avenue and Amy Cheng’s Rediscovery at 25th Avenue, are large-scale abstractions that can be appreciated from a passing train."
INTERIOR DESIGN
"The public art program of New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority is both older and more extensive than most of us realize. This survey shows that the quality of the work is high indeed. Among the standouts: Roy Lichtenstein's porcelain-enamel cartoon murals, Sol LeWitt's ceramic tile Whirls and Twirls, Maya Lin's giant stainless-steel and fiber-optic mechanism tracing phases of the moon, a parade of pilasters in glass and enameled steel by Mary Miss with Lee Harris Pomeroy Architects, rows of brightly painted metal housefronts by Dennis Oppenheim, and, back at Astor Place, Milton Glaser's bold colors and forms derived from the beaver plaques."
DAILY BEAST
"There's another big art player in New York alongside the likes of the Met, MoMA, the Whitney, and the Guggenheim. Just like the hallowed halls of New York’s finest museums and galleries, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority has been collecting and displaying works by big-named artists. New York’s Underground Art Museum showcases all the masterful works that brighten the commute of millions each day."
New York Subway Architecture & Design MapCurated by Sandra Bloodworth, Director of MTA Arts & Design, and Linda Tonn, Chief Architect of MTA New York City Transit, with original photography by Jason Woods, this two-sided cartographic guide is an insightful and fascinating guide to the Subway's architecture, art and graphic design for transport lovers, students of design and anyone interested in the history of New York City.
The guide includes a geographical Subway map with featured stations marked, with corresponding photography and details on the reverse along with tips for where to find unique and unusual signage, murals, artworks and more. |
