If you have ever been to New York City, you know that Civitellians seem to be showing, reading, or performing every week. What you might not know is how much art you’ll encounter while heading to your destination – all you need to see the work of no less than nine artists from the Civitella community is a MetroCard. We set off to find them; here’s a map of our stops. Commissioned by MTA Arts and Design and made with “the materials of the system,” these permanent installations are meant to create links between riders, neighborhoods, and the architectural history of subway stations. They have become part of the “everyday landscape” for the city’s train riders: the works are for leaning against while you wait, for trailing your fingers across as you make your way to the end of the platform. When commuters, attendants, drivers, subway surfers, and tourists pause to look, it’s clear how much these murals inspire, beautify, and, as one rider succinctly put it, “give atmosphere to the atmosphere, ya know?”
If you ride the D train to Coney Island, look for three Civitellians’ gardens on aboveground platforms. You’ll see Portia Munson’s (CRF 2019) laminated glass flower gardens at Fort Hamilton Parkway, followed by Francesco Simeti’s (CRF 2012) 18th Ave Bensonhurst Gardens six stops later, a collage of imaginary landscapes inspired by the Italian, Jewish, and Chinese communities in the surrounding neighborhood. Daniel Zeller’s (CRF 2007) panels – drawn interpretations from satellite maps, local streets, and urban biology – decorate the skyline alongside the Coney Island ferris wheel.
Up at the West 50th stop on the 1 train in Manhattan, Liliana Porter’s (CRF 1999) Alice in Wonderland mosaic silhouettes invite selfies and conversations – at least according to two middle schoolers, who learned about the murals in school, and MTA attendant Jean, who has watched riders interact with Porter’s figures for years. Further north, decorating the B/C’s West 86th station off Central Park, Joyce Kozloff’s (DG 2010) “Parkside Portals” portray floor-to-ceiling aerial views of NYC, along with frames representing imaginings of historical neighborhoods, architectural details, and park scenes. Riders described them as “doorways to another world,” a map, and a mythical imagining of the city. Saya Woolfalk (CRF 2018) also plays with natural and otherworldly images in her work, creating “temples to nature” in her laser cut stainless steel vignettes at the end of the 3 line in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. Saya also has an installation at the newly renovated Penn Station.
A Friend of Civitella, Laura Bradley’s abstract mosaics – an homage to the city’s architecture – say ciao to riders as they enter and exit the 96th St 6 station. Laura’s 1994 mosaics are among the city’s earliest installations, and her geometric designs were used in grille gates across the system. Monika Bravo’s (CRF 2021) colorful geometric patterns run the length of the Prospect Ave R station. Her mural was created in 2017 using code composed from data and images from Modern Abstract art, textiles, and satellite imagery. Kambui Olujimi’s (CRF 2015) sky portraits, made from photographs of the sky around the world, invite travelers to look out and up, to imagine infinite possibilities as they zoom past Avenue I on the F train. If you are in New York for a short time or a long time, be sure to keep your eye out for these pieces – and come say hi to the Tribeca office while you’re here!
