A Hilarious Installation Documenting 114 Years of Unintentional Art Within the NYC Subway System

MTA is not just old. It’s the history of New York.

The MTA Museum is a hilarious, free installation that documents the disgusting but unintentional art that has formed within New York City subway stations over its 114 year history. The “Museum” had its grand opening at the Bedford L Station in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and some of the historical art tagged, labeled and displayed includes “Untitled / Butt Pattern”, a statement of rebellion of the 1900s; “What Dreams Are Made Of”, a work developed over time; “We Got You Man”, a symbol of growing up too fast and “Stairway to Heaven”, an expression of freedom, just to name a few.

Title: Untitled / Butt Pattern, 1900s: As a political statement on transit and the concept of rest, millions of New Yorkers collaborated over a period of decades to meticulously create these unique patterns using only their posteriors. Title: Stairway to Heaven, 1904: At the turn of the century, the MTA installed these analog climbing structures to empower New Yorkers without access to gym memberships or personal trainers. These architectural pieces also helped because there weren’t elevators yet. Title: What Dreams Are Made Of, 1904
This pillar represents a piece of live collaborative art, and has been slowly created over 114 years with hundreds of layers of paints, graffiti and New Yorkers’ bodily secretions. Title: We Got You Man: This accidental masterpiece was created by a Williamsburg hipster after a multiple rounds of PBRs just hours after his 21st birthday.

The MTA Museum is also accepting suggestions for further installations elsewhere in the five boroughs.

DM us your own MTA arts with location/ title/ medium /description to be considered.

At the turn of the century, the MTA installed these analog climbing structures to empower New Yorkers without access to gym memberships or personal trainers. These architectural pieces also helped because there weren’t elevators yet.

via Pat Kernan

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.

Recent Posts