Interesting Things You've Seen or Done Recently

[Emiliano]

So the past few months I have not been in a very good mood, and I wanted to post about something that has made me really happy lately. But I didnt know if a thread all about me nerding out about the NYC subway would work very well on its own. Then I was talking to [MENTION=1766]princealbertofb[/MENTION] earlier and he shared he had seen a cool exhibition recently that he was thinking about posting about, so instead of just making it about me, I decided to make this thread as a place where anyone can talk about / nerd out on something really interesting artistic/cultural that they have seen or done lately.



As for my contribution:
At my core, I'm a huge transit/infrastructure nerd. I also love history, especially the history of my city. Ever since I was a kid, I've been learning about and excitedly awaiting the second ave subway. Plans for that subway line first showed up in 1929, and construction and planning for it has been on and off during the 30s, 40s, 50s, and 70s.

A few years ago though, much to my excitement, and a lot of skepticism, NYC promised to begin construction on the subway line again. And on Jan 1st, 2017, phase 1 of the second ave subway finally opened for passenger service. That's exciting enough for people like me, but the really awesome part of these four new stations are the art installations. It's honestly some of the best art in the NYC subway. I know for those of you who are only familiar with NYC through movies and tv shows, you probably don't associate the subway with world class art, but we actually have tons of amazing artwork throughout the system, and art and architecture have always been a fundamental part of the subway since it opened in 1904.

Anyway, to get to the point, last night I went on my version of a dream date and we went to check out the new stations / art installations ourselves. After going through the new stations, I felt like I'd just got done exploring an art museum. I had some really strong reactions to the art and I thought I'd share my excitement with you guys.

This video kind of sums it all up:



These articles are good reads if you have the time/interest:
https://www.google.com/amp/mobile.nytime...n.amp.html
https://www.google.com/amp/mobile.nytime...t.amp.html
https://qz.com/876238/inside-new-yorks-n...ue-subway/
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.busines...os-2016-12


One of the most talked about pieces already is the gay couple:

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/201...ouple.html

My favorite though is from 63rd street



I love the idea of catching the gaze of a historic New Yorker, understanding the shared experience across time. I love that the sky in the mosaic is actually the shape of the old second ave el train... I just think it does a beautiful job of highlighting the ny identity and experience and how integral transit is to those things.