Contemporary Art Underground: MTA Arts & Design New York

“Contemporary Art Underground is a testament to the fact that art can be for everyone, and that municipalities that support public art are a boon for their communities.”

Contemporary Art Underground: MTA Arts & Design New York is less an encyclopedic reference for the myriad art installations the MTA has commissioned throughout New York and more of a behind-the-scenes breakdown of how a highlights reel of commissions were conceptualized and executed by some of the world’s most notable artists. It’s a love letter to public art and how New York City has brought exceptional expressions of the human spirit into its transit system.

Between 2015 and 2023, the MTA Arts & Design program completed over 100 projects throughout the transit system, and almost 400 have been executed since the program began in 1985. This does not just include the subway lines with which tourists are most familiar, but also commuter rail stations. In terms of area covered, it is the largest museum in the world.

While each project is site-specific, the MTA isn’t prescriptive with its commissions. The artists are merely told to choose a theme that they feel would speak to the people using that particular station. As a result, many of the installations reflect distinct neighborhoods, be it through historic imagery or contemporary references. This is perfectly represented by Rico Gatson’s Beacons at 167th Street that includes portraits of the likes of James Baldwin and Justice Sonia Sotomayor, both of whom had ties to the Bronx. 

In the foreword, journalist Hilarie M. Sheets notes how the artists and subjects chosen for these projects are often more representative of the community they serve than that which is on display in most museums. This isn’t at all hyperbole, given that approximately 68 percent of the art was created by female or BIPOC designers (to put that in perspective, around 63 percent of the New York City population are people of color, and around 53 percent are women).

These commissions are also not just made by blue chip artists, although Yayoi Kusama, Roy Lichtenstein, Nick Cave, Sol LeWitt, Jacob Lawrence, and Alex Katz certainly make the project a star-studded affair. Many of the most interesting installations are by lesser known or early career artists like Cara Enteles and Darryl Westly.

The book itself is thoughtfully designed and beautifully printed. The sections are cleverly demarcated by the colors of the various subway lines, allocating each installation one to four pages. High quality photography dominates the spreads, allowing for both detail shots and panoramic reproductions of the work. In some cases, the brief blurbs are a bit too succinct to give a solid sense of either the artist’s vision or the background on a specific commission; however, as a survey of the MTA’s greatest hits, the authors have found a lovely balance of visual presentation and quality information.

Overall, Contemporary Art Underground is a testament to the fact that art can be for everyone, and that municipalities that support public art are a boon for their communities. In fact, this incredible program in New York City has been the inspiration for similar efforts around the country, including Metro Art in Los Angeles and Art at Amtrak—perhaps two of the largest similar campaigns. This text should be sent to any number of other cities thinking about embarking on such a project.