Every time I pass through the subway station at 14th Street and Eighth Avenue, the whimsical characters that show up throughout the station platforms and passageways make me smile. As I passed through today headed to Union Square (heard there was a great wine sale at Trader Joe’s) I took a second to look at a plaque that accompanied one of the pieces of art. It was titled Tom Otterness and Life Underground.
So home to google to find out more about Mr. Otterness and what was up with these little guys, after I purchased my wine of course. I now know that the MTA (Metropolitan Transportation Authority) commissioned more than 170 permanent works of art for the facilities they own and operate and this is just one of them. This happens to be one of the most popular artworks in the subway system and I can see why!
The artist is quoted as saying that the subject of the work is “the impossibility of understanding life in New York” and describes the arrangement of the individual pieces as being “scattered in little surprises.” How appropriate! I also read that Mr. Otterness became so obsessed with the project that he delivered more than four times the amount of art work than what was originally commissioned, UNTIL his wife put an end to it!
ahhh yes… the flow of creativity and the brakes of matrimony!
they are very whimsical and joyous!
The flow and the brakes. Perfect!
You can also see a lot, lot more of his small brass sculptures in a wide variety of figures and coins(Lincoln pennies) at Rockefeller Park (you can bicycle there off the Greenway) at the north end of Battery Park prior to Chambers Street. I once took my younger son there by bike and we couldn’t find enough joy within all those scattered sculptures, on the ground, on the walls, etc.
Great tip! Thanks!
Just saw an Otterness sculpture at the Phoenix Art Museum on Sunday…. I saw the Ansel Adams show with David and Paul (he came out from NY.)