October 22, 2021October 22, 2021 / Don

MTA Map, Inspired by Massimo Vignelli

MTA Map – Currently

MTA Map – Massimo Vignelli’s 1972 Design

MTA Map – New, Proposed Design

New York City’s subway system has a new map with a very old design concept, inspired by Massimo Vignelli‘s 1972 classic. Read more

March 6, 2021October 22, 2021 / Don

NYC Subway Construction, by Pierre and Granville Pullis

Pierre Pullis had a photography studio on Fulton Street, in New York City, but he spent a lot of time working outside its walls. For about four decades in the first half of the 20th century, he lugged his camera to some rather inconvenient places around the city—including beneath its boulevards. Read more

November 5, 2018November 5, 2018 / Don

NYC Wall Art Collages

Many walls in NYC are designated for advertisements. The walls have been plastered with wheat-paste and posters are rolled on top, only to be shredded off, re-plastered, re-rolled, and re-shredded, again and again. The resulting collage of color in this accidental artwork is often quite compelling.

For the greater part of two decades, whenever I encountered one I really enjoyed, I snapped a photo. Mostly, I just put these on my Flickr “Textures” gallery, or temporarily use it as the wallpaper on my phone. But recently, I’ve been thinking of printing/framing some of them and hanging them in my apartment or giving them to friends as gifts. What do you think? Leave a comment below or drop me a line if you’re interested.

Other [d]online “Art Collage” Posts:
January 24, 2009 — NYC Subway Art Collages
March 11, 2016 — NYC Subway Art Collages

July 23, 2017June 4, 2020 / Don

NYC Subway, by Willy Spiller

Willy Spiller: Hell on Wheels

In 1979, there were 250 serious crimes reported in the New York subway system – per week. There were six murders in the first two months alone. No other subway in the world was more crime-ridden and infamous.

Hell On Wheels” is a joyous and soulful trip in the bygone era of the New York subway system in the years between 1977-1984. Swiss photographer Willy Spiller, living in New York at the time, documented his underground travels with the curiosity of a foreigner, fascinated by the rush and the madness of its time. It’s the period of the first rap music, graffiti, The Warriors in the cinema, Guardian Angels on the trains and Ed Koch in charge of a broke and crime-riddled city. Willy Spiller’s images are as much a visual document of this incomparable realm as they are a syncopated, colorful poem to the city of New York and its people.

(via Vintage Everyday)

March 11, 2016November 5, 2018 / Don

NYC Subway Art Collages

Nearly all subway stations have inlays in the tiled walls for advertising. For over a century, these inlays have been plastered with wheat-paste and posters were rolled on top, only to be shredded off, re-plastered, re-rolled, and re-shredded, again and again. The resulting collage of color in this accidental artwork is often quite compelling.

Over the last decade, whenever I encountered one I really enjoyed, I snapped a photo. Mostly, I just put these on my Flickr “Textures” gallery, or temporarily use it as the wallpaper on my phone. But recently, I’ve been thinking of printing/framing some of them and hanging them in my apartment or giving them to friends as gifts. What do you think? Leave a comment below or drop me a line if you’re interested.

Other [d]online “Art Collage” Posts:
January 24, 2009 — NYC Subway Art Collages
November 5, 2018 — NYC Wall Art Collages

January 21, 2015May 20, 2015 / Don

Stanley Kubrick’s Underground NYC

In 1946, Stanley Kubrick, then aged only 18, took these photographs of the New York Subway and had them published by LOOK magazine. He photographed for the magazine from 1945 to 1950.

According to Helen O’Brian, head of LOOK’s photographic department, Kubrick generated the highest number of published articles of any photographer she had worked with. At the time, Kubrick was the youngest photographer LOOK had had on its books.

(via Mashable & Drew)

November 7, 2014May 20, 2015 / Don

Subway’s 110th Anniversary

To commemorate the 110th anniversary of the New York subway, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority brought back vintage train cars, giving the public a unique commuting experience.

Two vintage trains were brought back—the “Low-Voltage” train and the “Train of Many Colors”—both of which were used in the 60s until 2001.

(via Flickr)