See it Split, See it Change mosaic installation
Doug and Mike Starns’ Big Bambu on the roof of the Metropolitan Museum of Art was the talk of Summer of 2010. The piece closed on Halloween 2010, but art lovers can experience a permanent Starns installation, in MTA’s South Ferry Subway station on the 1 line. Inspired by an 1886 topography map of New York, this site specific mosaic greets subway riders with a giant map of Manhattan, in addition to marbled trees and branches from their Structures of Thought series.
The mosaic itself is an innovative fused –glass technique and is based on trees in Battery Park. I particularly love the lace-cut metal screen that acts as a fence between the walking passage and entrance to the trains. There is a lot of MTA commissioned art in subway stations, but most of it functions more as design. The Starns pieces are one of the few examples of an installation that holds up on its own.
Who: Doug and Mike Starns
What: See it Split, See it Change mosaic installation
Where: South Ferry Subway Station, Whitehall and Pearl Streets
Thank you for your posting. Our Subway Art Tour Four [https://walkaboutny.com/the-tours/subway-art-tours/] will take a detour through the South Ferry Terminal. The information you provided has been helpful.