By Navin

Living in New York this summer, it hasn’t taken me long to develop subway-fluency. I travel from Manhattan to the Bronx and back each day, and also use the “silver river” (nobody calls it that) to go wherever else my adventures take me. I’ve survived the aftermath of 5 Knicks games, and feel ready for the coming FIFA World Cup fervor. However, the other day, I saw something that stopped me in my tracks. A man was trying to slip under the fare gate, and looked up to see a stern-faced NYPD officer in front of him, badge gleaming proudly and baton in hand. Gulp.

The catch? Both fare-dodger and cop were both statues standing less than one foot tall. As I walked through the rest of the 14th St-8 Ave subway station, I found many other bronze figures roaming the platform: a businessman being dragged into a manhole by a monstrous sewer alligator, a few workmen carrying a metal beam 40 times their size, a couple carrying a fare coin, a man sitting on a bench waiting for his train, and many cops, cops everywhere. Looking online, I found out that this was a permanent installation of art pieces by Tom Otterness, titled “Life Underground.” The whimsical sculptures were installed in 2001, and the gleaming spots polished by the hands of passerby show that they have been noticed. In the MTA release video for the project, Tom Otterness’ thoughts: “If nothing else, art is good for having something that nobody understands out here, […] it has no purpose, and I think that’s truly good for people, to have a break. You know, they just get something, they go ‘Oh, what’s this.’”

Though he says the art has no purpose outright, it’s clear that beyond the eye-catching nature, Otterness’ pieces are powerful images of the stories of class, creed, race, and jobs that built the city of New York. There are several instances of the satirized money-man version of Boss William Tweed, who cartoonist Thomas Nast portrayed as a man with a moneybag for a head. The subway is one of the few places where those in every strata of New York are forced together: rich and poor, tourists and lifelong residents, Wall Street executives and construction workers. Otterness filled the station with miniature versions of those same characters, turning a daily commute into a condensed history of the city.

More than two decades after their installation, the sculptures remain a relevant and peaceful monument to the stories of the millions of New Yorkers who continue to hustle and bustle through the subways on their way to jobs, stores, movie theaters, and appointments. Forever grateful for artists like Mr. Otterness! 👨‍🎨