The Artist and the Subway

For both visitors and natives, the geography of New York City can be challenging to navigate. Literally divided into dozens of islands, with its only mainland connection via The Bronx, the Five Boroughs present different kinds of landmasses that millions experience daily—living in, visiting, escaping from, transiting, and utilizing them. Not only has the Subway System become a key aspect and symbol of New York’s culture, but it has also become infamous on a national scale. Uniting all since the early 1900s has been the Subway System, which continues to inspire, frustrate, challenge, alienate and envelop modern artists of every kind to his day. Through various sources and the thoughts/words of postwar artists Yoko Ono, Ellie Kayu Ng, Keith Haring, and James Yang, we have explored the New York Subway and its openness for interpretation. Out of countless post-war artists who have included the Subway in their artwork, we have chosen to compare and contrast a few artists who have utilized the subway in differing ways in their art. The Subway System has been depicted and interpreted in countless ways to communicate its promise, aesthetic, democratic spirit, kinetics and, of course, connectivity. Ultimately, we have come to the conclusion that Subway can be interpreted in endless ways, allowing artists to form differing views, feelings, and meanings from the same subject, in this case, the Subway.