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mtaartsdesign:

Today we reveal a beautiful new artwork by Diana Al-Hadid installed at 34th Street-Penn Station (2,3). The two expansive panels are a meditation on the unique history of Penn Station. “The Arches of Old Penn Station” on the west wall seen when you exit the subway into Penn Station, holds a painterly image of the original 1910 Beaux-Arts Penn Station grand interior, dripping and obscured, suggestive of an image slipping off the surface, but also tied and held to the grid of the surrounding tilework. In “The Arc of Gradiva” on the sixty-foot long south wall, an image of Gradiva, a mythological female character from a novella who “walks through walls” and roams the ancient ruins of Pompeii, appears as a ghostly apparition, with the flowing fabric of her garment stretching the length of the wall. Her footsteps mirror those of the crowds in the station. Both images originate from life-size line drawings on mylar and were translated into shimmering glass mosaic of pearls, aquas, and gold by Mayer of Munich. The gestural lines create ghosted images of the past, coming in and out of focus through the station’s walls.  When considered together, one might imagine that Gradiva has come to claim both the original Penn Station in its former glory, as well as stake her presence in the newly improved subway station.

mtaartsdesign:

Daily Voyage, a new Lightbox exhibit, is now on view at the Bowling Green (4,5) station, with photographs by Glen DiCrocco, who captures the play of light and the introspective moments he observes during his daily voyage aboard the Staten Island Ferry.   Bowling Green is often the next stage in the journey for Staten Island commuters and as a native Staten Islander,  DiCrocco is very familiar with this route.  With his camera, he uses light and shadow to reveal the complexities and contrasts he sees on-board the moving vessels which transport nearly 65,000 people each day during the 5.2 mile cruise across the New York Harbor.