What to Know
- A mysterious art duo is satirizing scenes from the New York Subway by placing exhibit labels in stations
- The labels turn things like old chewing gum, bodily fluids on poles and walls and butt imprints into art pieces
- The duo wants people to think of the subway as an interesting historical artifact, rather than a dirty, ageing transit system
One man’s butt imprint on a subway seat is another man’s… art?
A mysterious art duo is placing exhibition labels on ordinary and downright dreary scenes in subway stations in an attempt to get people to think about the New York Subway system in a different way.
Old chewing gum, dried vomit on a wall, a dead cockroach and a dirty staircase become satirical art pieces thanks to the labels, which feature a title, date, description and materials -- just like you might see in a gallery or museum.
The guerrilla museum curation project is being documented on the new Instagram account 'MTA Museum,' which launched November 15. On the account, the "masterpieces" are even accompanied by an audio guide.
The acccount's founders, two art students who wish to remain anonymous, say they are trying to get New Yorkers to think of the subway as a piece of history, rather than an "out-of-date, dirty, old, decrepit" transit system.
"[The NYC subway system] has 114 years of history, it's one of the oldest and most used in the world. We wanted to explain those pieces that represent the everyday lives of New Yorkers in a humorous way. And we wanted to change the negative “old” perception of [the subway] to fun and historical “old"."
Local
The page strives to preserve the subway’s 114-year-old essence while satirizing the most decrepit bits by labeling them as if they were in a museum. Bright, white museum labels reenvision spat-out gum remnants as the art piece "Concrete Jungle Dreams of Bubble Gum" while a wall covered in dried bile is heralded as "an accidental masterpiece."
Richard Richards, operator: Honestly, as an operator, I have to tell them something. In an attempt to keep the customers calm you tell them we have traffic ahead, we have delays ahead, but in honesty we don't always know 'cause they are not telling us and radio communications can be choppy.
nJoe Costales, conductor: The system is antiquated, the relay for the radio systems are not kept up, they are not repaired, they are not constantly checked so there are black-out areas.
nCrystal Young, conductor: We may talk to them over the radio and they can hear us but we can't hear what they are saying. Sometimes when we are on a train it's not that we don't want to let the customers know what's going on, we don't have the communications to let them know what's going on.
Costales: All the time.
nRichards: They had hot-plates they had TVs, they literally lived back there.
nCostales: You see them coming out. A lot of times people who get hit by trains, are the ones living in the subway.
nBrandon Patterson, conductor: Sometimes when we go to set up tracks we go down there and they get mad because they think we are invading their home space.
Richards: I've seen people actually having sex on the train.
nCostales: Masturbating, having sex.
nRichards: And they've got a bed set up, they tap into the third rail and they are watching TV.
nYoung: One time someone brought a goat on the train. They bought it at a live mart.
Tramell Thompson, conductor: The E train has been dubbed 'The Homeless Express', it's one of those lines that doesn't go outside. So from terminal to terminal it's underground. It's pretty warm. You have new, nicer trains over there, it's clean over there. And you know the homeless, you go on there at midnight, you'll see five or six homeless people in each car. But the homeless isn't really the issue with us, it's mainly the drunks.
Richards: In the middle of the car. You don't want to sit in the corners [because that's where people throw up and urinate]. Also by the doors, you'll be on your phone and as soon as the doors get ready to close, they snatch it and they're off.
Conductors: A safe place to ride on a subway train would be in the middle of the train in the conductor's car or in the very first car where the train operator's going to be. That way at least you're closest to a crew member to help if they have to.
Conductors: Absolutely.
nYoung: At the end of the line they have a sign that shows on-time job performance, where they literally track to see how many people were injured while in performance of their duty so that's what they are concerned about. It's easier for a passenger to make a complaint versus us making a complaint because they just want to keep that train moving.
nPatterson: The MTA's logo is 'Every second counts,' so every second counts to them.
nYoung: Some superintendents, if someone has to take a comfort they want you to write a [note]. So you have to, as an adult, write down on a piece of paper that you had to use the bathroom. God forbid if you use the bathroom too often, then they will try to write you up.
Tramell Thompson, train conductor: Anything, EDPs (emotionally disturbed person), anything. Could be a disturbance on the train, fights.n
Eric Loegel, train operator: Unattended package, suspicious package..."customer injury" as they say. A customer injury is generally someone who has been struck by a train. And we internally refer to that as a 12-9.
Patterson: No, I try not to. I tell [my kids] not to touch anything, I carry hand sanitizer.
nRichards: I don't touch the poles or I sit in the middle...I'm a big guy, I brace myself.
nCostales: We transport millions of people, it's hard to keep it that clean.
Patterson: Standing behind the yellow line, the [public] leans over looking for the train, they could slip, and that's what causes 12-9s and delays
nRichards: I've seen people fall on the tracks 'cause they hear the announcement and they think the train is on their track and they start straight walking because they are online...we get conditioned, oh the train is here, they start walking and they fall.
Their most notable post is the “Untitled/ Butt Pattern” piece, which depicts the mark of millions of buttocks that collaborated for decades to create the unique design.
The addition of an 'audio guide' on the MTA Museum account keep the account consistent with the concept of a museum. "The description cards and audio guide are major elements of the museum," the curators said. "The voice of the audio guide is from a free computer generator because as students, we had a low budget," the curators said.
While the page is just four day old, the opportunities for ‘art pieces’ are endless. The subway “masterpieces” are written and curated by the two who run the page, under the direction of professors, but submissions from fans will be considered in the future.
