Subway of Uncertainty For New Yorkers, The MTA is deeply embedded in our culture whether for better, or for the worst. One thing that is obvious is that our subway system is indeed breaking down and is in need of some serious reform. “The Subway” an art piece created by George Tooker in 1950 depicts, that’s right, you guessed it, the subway system circa the mid 20th century. In this painting I noticed some differences, as well as some similarities. Depending on how you interpret it, or from your own personal frame of reference, this panting might have different perspectives, or point of views. However, discussing this in class with some of my classmates, I soon learned that many of us had made similar observations. There are three main observations …show more content…
The subway system has not changed much from the 50’s to the present. Based on the attire of the people, I can imagine that this is during a cold season, perhaps the winter and most of these people hold professional occupations. Something that I could not help but notice was the choice in color of the painting. George Tooker used many shades of red, some blue, and beige, but mostly red in their attire. Due to the body language, I can tell that this wasn't a particularly good era to be in the subway. Perhaps it was unsafe. The facial expressions by the people in the subway depicts some kind of fear, like no one trusts one another. Mr. Tooker was in fact known for depicting anxiety and fear into his work. William Grimes from The New York Times states just that in his article “George Tooker, Painter Capturing Modern Anxieties, Dies at 90” when he wrote, “George Tooker, a painter whose haunting images of trapped clerical workers and forbidding government offices expressed a peculiarly 20th-century brand of anxiety and alienation”. The men in this image seem menacing, and quite angry, it seems as if the woman at the forefront is scared of the men in subway. The first man in what appears to be phone booth stalls over on the left, appears somewhat frightened and alert of his surroundings and is visibly defensive. The way this artist portrayed the subway, resembles that of a prison. Along with the …show more content…
This includes the rats, rust, the unfortunate homeless, the obnoxious stench, and the immensely dirty floors and walls. Surprisingly so, this image contains neither of the above mentioned issues. Was it that these problems did not exist in the 50’s? Or was it that the artist chose to suppress these issues. If the former is true, then our subway system, as well as our city should be embarrassed of such regression. Compared to now I believe from this painting, the subway being portrayed in this artwork holds more attractiveness, and allure. These same emotions could be found in the present, as well as it being louder, but in the 50’s there seemed to be more
In this poem, “On the Subway”, written by Sharon Olds brings two worlds into proximity. We will identify the contrast that develops both portraits in the poem and discuss the insights the narrator comes to because of the experience. The author refers to several literary techniques as tone, poetic devices, imagery, and organization. The poem talks about a historical view based on black and white skin. It positions the two worlds the point of view of a black skinned and a white skinned. The boy is described as having a casual cold look for a mugger and alert under the hooded lids. On the other hand, based on his appearance the white skinned person felt threatened by the black boy. She was frightened that he could take her coat, brief case, and
During the train trip from Washington D.C. to Savannah, Georgia, it was difficult for Marian Anderson and her mother because they had to put up with racism, discrimination, and segregation while on that single train ride. Since they were segregated from the whites and the "white folk" had the more luxurious train car, the colored people were expected to ride inside the more dilapidated train car. The car that they were riding in was "dirty inside and out" and had "windows [that] were badly in need of washing, and the ventilation and lighting were poor." This means that the conditions that the colored people were expected to reside in were of extremely low quality. Not only that, but it can be inferred that people can get sick while on the train ride. The line, "...the air became stuffy and the windows were raised, smoke and soot from the engine directly ahead poured into the car." shows that people were unable to breathe properly while in the train car. The people riding the "lower class and colored car" would have to make a choice of either feeling cramped inside the "stuffy car" or feel less cramped but not be able to breathe properly.
This painting of the industrial revolution is very thought provoking, and causes a person to think about of what was happening during the industrial revolution. He shows the horrors of the factories and the serenity of the nature. He makes someone want to go back in time where things were peaceful, and there was just nature. Everything was in it’s own natural state and peaceful. This painting gave viewers a small glimpse into the past of the United States and the industrial revolution. Even though this picture showed a small glimpse of the past, a picture (or painting) is truly worth a thousand
While underground in Philadelphia’s subway, Ross repeatedly uses word correspondence to establish a narrative rhythm for the reader. Fran Ross critiques different commuters as they struggle to avoid the “irritation, humiliation, irrigation, and syncopation,” caused by the station’s leaky pipes. The vernacular is strongly based on tempo, rhyming and movement through the composition’s emphasis on movement. Furthermore, she stresses the consecutive repetition in the following sentence, stating, “According to the number of drops that fell on the traveler from the Leaky Pipes, he or she was irritated, humiliated or irrigated.” Not only does this establish a friendly narrative voice, it stresses what is at stake for the passengers on the subway. If they take a wrong step, the
This exhibition features painting of strugglers of poverty are begging the rich for anything to spare, so that they will be able to survive another day. Each of these paintings is telling a story of the hardships people are facing in the world.
American realist sculptor George Segal initially started out as an abstract expressionist painter but pursued a different path as he felt it did not allow him to express his ‘deep feelings about people’. In a telephone interview for The Christian Science Monitor, he was quoted as saying “I was overwhelmed by the necessity of reality by the real world”. Segal’s signature white plaster sculptures generally depicted non-idealised human figures in scenes relating to the political or social issues of his time. Many of them address psychological states and human relationships- a stark contrast from artists like Hopper who strived to portray human ‘non-relationships’. His 1962 sculpture The Bus Riders has contextual ties to the Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955-56) and the Freedom Riders of 1961 in which an interracial civil activist group travelled by bus down to Southern America, intentionally defying racial segregation laws. Segal’s sculpture depicts four figures, three seated and one standing. The lone figure standing in the back fixes a disapproving frown on the figures seated before him, who we can assume allude to members of the Freedom Riders movement. The woman seated in front sits with her arms and legs crossed defiantly, head raised high and facing forward with a strong gaze. The male seated next to her sits with his hands folded meekly in his lap, eyes downcast and clearly
The New York City Subway is one of the oldest public transit systems in the world, and Manhattan has its fair share of it, especially in the form of abandoned subway stations.Subways are great mean of transportation, with great historical and geographical value. Interborough Rapid Transit company built the first subway in 1904. The subway consisted of what is today the IRT Lexington Avenue Line south of 42nd Street, the 42nd Street Shuttle and the IRT Broadway - Seventh Avenue Line between 42nd and 145th Streets. 28th Street is a part of the first IRT line of NewYork city. It a local station on the Lexington Avenue Line of the New York City Subway, located at the intersection of Park
The arrival to Manhattan was like an entry to a whole new world: from the sea, its breezes, color, and landscapes, to the heart of the city beating louder than ever at the Whitehall Terminal. I could smell New York’s bagels in Battery Park with a mixture of the most relaxing scents: the coffee people were holding while walking down the streets, the old walls of Castle Clinton ...
The women are dressed well enough to show they have enough income to be able to have some money to live and pamper their selves, and the men dressed in slacks and a nice button down with overalls. This artist wanted to show the life people lived during this time and the atmosphere when waiting for the subway. An atmosphere of a strong rhythm section of double bass and drums as the anchor for a lead section of brass instruments; better known as swing music. They looked ready for what the night life had to offer. Also for this class their main source of transportation was the subway, which is why majority of his paintings are centered around the subway. This social class shared this moment in time together while waiting for their train to
Have you been late for the metro, on certain occasions, or has the metro had maintenance, casually most of the time, well I am here to discuss this problem and give my own personal opinions and experiences.
They might not be very prominent, but they exist the painting and serve as the base for creation. For starters, the window pane contains lines that highlight its simple design. Simplicity remains as the core of this work. Moreover, sill is roughly represented by a thick brown line underneath the window as a boundary in a quietly brilliant fashion. The work has a wonderful color allocation to express the mood. The color is limited within the muted palette color range. Grey—the intermediate color of black and white, is the dominate color for both exterior view and the interior part, as a matter of fact, the observer notices that nearly all colors are mixed instead of natural this work. The cloudy sky corresponds to the grey color of the wall, yet the brightness is not influenced. However, this consistency has successfully created a cold, grave and silent environment for a crowded place such as New York. The whole environment of this painting seems to be surrounded by the negative and depressive
...taining the calm feel. The focus is obviously on the people inside. The much brighter light of the diner draws the eyes towards the right area of the painting as well, where the people sit. The street is dark and empty, while inside the diner's bright light and people provide contrast to it's outside. The abundance of straight lines and realistic shapes and forms make the painting very realistic and true to life. The bright light from inside the diner is flooding into the street, casting dark shadows not seen inside the diner. The viewer of the scene seems to be slightly at a distance from the diner, looking in at an angle from the darker street. The brushstrokes are used to provide miniscule details especially to the people and objects inside the diner. The paint is spread evenly, but not always thick and dark. All elements of the painting are smooth and realistic.
New York City’s population is a little over 8.3 million people. 8.3 million people are spread out among five boroughs and each have their own set routine. Each one of those 8.3 million see New York in a different way becuase “You start building your private New York the first time you lay eyes on it” (“City Limits” 4). Some people are like Colson Whitehead who “was born here and thus ruined for anywhere else” (“City Limits” 3). Others may have “moved here a couple years ago for a job. Maybe [they] came here for school” (“City Limits” 3). Different reasons have brought these people together. They are grouped as New Yorkers, but many times, living in New York is their only bond. With on going changes and never ending commotion, it is hard to define New York and its inhabitants in simple terms.
In the 1980s the New York Transit Authority hired Kelling as a consultant, and he urged them to put the broken window theory into play. They listened to Kelling and brought in a new subway director, David Gunn. He was in charge of the rebuilding of the subway system. Many subway advocates told Gunn to worry about more serious issues and to leave the graffiti alone. Gunn did not agree; he was a follower of the broken window theory. In his mind, the graffiti was the cause of the crash of the subway system. The first thing he wanted to do was clean up the trains. One by one the graffiti was removed off of the trains. If a train had graffiti on it, it was called a “dirty car.” The dirty cars had to be cleansed of graffiti before going back on the railroad, or it was removed from service. Gunn’s graffiti cleanup took from 1984 to 1990. At this time, the Transit Authority hired William Bratton to head the transit police. Bratton was also a follower of the broken window theory. He decided to start taking fare-beating more serious. Just like Gunn’s idea of the graffiti, Bratton thought the fare-beating was the start to bigger crimes. Bratton placed undercover cops at turnstiles and they handcuffed every single person