Course Description

This course will investigate the ways in which artists have presented narratives in the public realm and the organizations that have made the presentation of those works central to their curatorial practices over the last 40 years. Focusing on recent works presented in New York’s public spaces by Creative Time, The Public Art Fund, the Percent for Art Program, Arts for Transit and other non-profits organizations, this course will look at what it meant to tell stories and open discourses that challenged or interrogated widely-held value systems, the events and the politics of their time. In addition to the specifics of current and other key works and projects, we will discuss the conditions that governed the development of public performance, temporary and permanent installations, the ways in which those works were influenced by public approval processes and governmental agencies, media coverage and community response. Each student’s final project will be an on-line proposal for an exhibition that conveys a “narrative“ developed in the context of this course, referencing other relevant works .

Tuesday, October 9, 2018

Subway Art

I surveyed the 14th Street Union Square subway station, specifically the 9/11 memorial exhibit. I almost passed it, due to how inconspicuous it was. The memorial remembers the tragedy quietly. It abstains from dramatic gestures of patriotism. Most passers by don't notice, though I saw some people approach it as they saw my taking photos.

It's nothing elaborate, only industrial label stickers listing, in alphabetical order, the names of the victims, where they're from, and the date, September 11th, 2001. There were some stickers on which the names were worn off, and it seems as if someone rewrote them to either restore the name or write loving messages. 

I'm know that this piece relates to a huge number of people. Family and friends of all 2996 victims, as well as any of the many people injured in the event. It also may strike a chord with firefighters, police, etc. The effects of this day were exponential, and there is unfortunately no shortage of people that were influenced by it in some way.

This subway station opened in 1948, and with a recorded 34 million passengers in 2016, it is the fourth busiest station of the New York City Subway.


                                                                  
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