Unit 3: Public Art

The Wheels on the Bus (and Train) Go Round and Round

Emily Ramdeholl

Proposed Site: The 179th Street subway station

-This station is very popular; it is the last stop in Queens on the F train.

-The train releases people onto Hillside Avenue, where there are buses running down to Long Island. Buses also drop people off right by the station, so subway carts are always full.

-Currently, the station is quite boring.

Proposed Work of Public Art: A Set of Murals on the opposite walls of the long pathway of the station

-The mosaic on one wall (the left) would be of people of all different ethnicities, races, and cultures coming up, out of the train station, and then waiting in line for the bus.

-The bus would be coming from the side closest to the stairs of the station, and the people should be turning their heads to their left.

-These people would include Caucasians, African Americans, Asians, Hispanics, Indians, etc.

-The bus signs should be realistic, and should have the numbers of the buses that run right along Hillside Avenue. (Q36, Q43, Q77, N1, N6, etc)

Proposed Work of Public Art: A Set of Murals on the opposite walls of the long pathway of the station

-The other mosaic would show the same types of people leaving a bus, and then descending into the train station.

-The buses would be coming from the direction opposite the bus on the other mosaic.

-From this picture, the bus would be coming from the gates towards us, to drop people off to the station.

The mosaics would be similar in color and content to Jack Beal’s The Return of Spring and The Onset of Winter, located on the walls of the 41st Street mezzanine.

-Both mosaics share the idea of ascending from a subway station, and descending back into it. (Both use walls facing each other) - I would like my murals to be just as bright and whimsical as Beal’s piece. -I would prefer for my murals to be made of the same durable tile as well (it will be permanent)

Intended Audience and Purpose of the Work

-The piece relates to everyone and shows that most commuters share the same fate once they leave the station.

-I want the work of art to entertain people and make them smile. -I think it would amuse commuters who leave the station only to wait on a line for a bus to see a mosaic of people waiting for one as well.

-For people leaving the station, seeing the mural of people descending into the station would remind them that that part of their trip is over—that they’re almost home.

-The mosaics would be depictive of real life, as well as make for a beautiful piece of work, if these different types of people were standing side by side, sharing something they all have in common something—waiting for a bus to take them home each day.

- 179th Street is a diverse and active area. There are several stores and fast food restaurants lining the streets, and the fast-pace of the area is quite similar to the bustle and commotion of Manhattan. Thus it is more than fitting to depict people of all races and cultures in the murals.