Pay Phone and the No. 2 Express

Remember when pay phones were such a ubiquitous landmark? They're still common in the subway system because most cell phones just won't pick up a signal down in the stations. However, it's not uncommon to see them disable with smashed receivers, broken wires, and jammed coin slots. 9" x 12", watercolor, pen & ink, on Arches 300 lb. paper. I'm really starting to favor this heavy paper . . . the heft, absorbency with heavy washes.

Tom Otterness: Subway Art

One of my favorite subway stops is the 8th Ave./14th St. stop on the L Train. This renovated station features an installation of whimsical sculptures by artist Tom Otterness. Here's a video interview with Otterness from the New York Times. You can also check out a Wikipedia article about the installation.

Times Square Visit

We rarely venture into Times Square . . . too many tourists and too much noise. We only go if we must! It's sad that so many tourists see little more than the few blocks between 34th Street and the entrance to Central Park at 59th Street. It's hardly a representative sample of Manhattan. Moreover, it doesn't ease them out of their suburban comfort zone because they're surrounded by Applebees, Red Lobster, Chilis, McDonalds and the other major fast food franchises. They could experience the diversity of New York - and the endless food choices - if they'd just wander into Greenwich Village, Soho, or the Lower East Side. Yet in the end they see a "sanitized for your protection" New York City. They might as well go to Branson or Orlando, two of the most horrid locales in the United States.

However, yesterday was my older son's 9th birthday, so we took a trip up to the ESPN Zone on 42nd at Broadway. The place is cavernous, with the walls covered in screens broadcasting dozens of sporting events. (There's even a screen in each bathroom stall and the urinals have little screens at eye level! Because one wouldn't want to miss a pitch of the Mets game while peeing.) Yesterday the attraction was major league baseball's opening day, so the place was mobbed. And while nearly every screen was showing a different ballgame, they still had room to broadcast a soccer game and some collegiate lacrosse. Needless to say, the boys were thrilled, and it was fun to watch the Mets win their season opener amidst a largely pro-Mets crowd. As you can see in the first picture, Ben is in his element, eyes glued to the game. (By the way, that last photo shows the Roy Liechtenstein work in the Times Sq.-42nd St. subway station.

Subway Abstracts

The subway is a riot of sound and color - with the occasional rat and unwanted smells added to the mix just to remind one that this still is New York City, despite the claims of a "kinder, gentler" Big Apple. I always marvel at the aesthetics of the stations, many of which have undergone extensive restoration in the last 20 years. Many older stations - for example, those constructed before World War I - still retain their original design motifs with elaborately rendered medallions and tile work. The long-closed City Hall station, rarely opened for tours, is a beautiful example of the Art Nouveau style in its details. Even some of the recently renovated subway stops possess elaborate art installations, stained glass, or tile mosaics. My friends who eschew subway travel for whatever reason are missing one of the cheapest art shows in the city! (Still, surveying the puzzled and nervous faces of visitors trying to navigate these cacophonous spaces, I can't help wondering if some of them feel rather like the suspicious souls who populate George Tooker's famous egg tempera painting of a subway station - shown above left. Tooker had a great knack for depicting the worry and existential dread of mid-20th century urbanites. In the post 9/11 world many of his paintings seem newly relevant.)

These shots, colorful little abstracts of some of the tile work at 23rd Street on the 1 line, are the result of my experiments with the macro feature on the new camera. (I think the focus on #2 is a little off.)