Beautifully and intentionally reflected
- frida@artyardbklyn.org
- May 23
- 11 min read
Updated: 7 days ago
This week in Advanced Studio AYB Artist Neah Gray presented back-to-back zoom and in-person sessions inspired by NYC MTA Art for Transit. I think this was the first foray into this class structure, and those who participated in both sessions relished the process and diving into the subject matter!
Neah was well prepared with superb examples and excellent PowerPoint presentations. She also planned well to have stand-alone projects which also allowed for a continuum.
Advanced Studio at work in person, use arrows to scroll through photos
Neah writes: “Born and raised in NYC, I spent a lot of my early teens traveling via the subway from Brooklyn to Manhattan. Although most of my friends, community and culture lived in Brooklyn, from 5th to 12th grade, I found myself in Manhattan every day, taking over Union Square and St. Marks with my friends, or traveling to The Trinity School for weekly classes at Prep for Prep. After school and sports practice, our Pangea friend group would break off like little continents; the Brooklyn crew off to this direction, the Queens & Bronx crew off in another. And what poetically and reliably (that part debatable) brought us together is the beautiful and intricate web of MTA trains. As much as I loathe taking the train sometimes, it’d be a lie to say I don’t love it. MTA subways, as dirty and delayed as you are, I am your biggest fan. From the history and art that fills the stations, to the people and stories that bring the subway to life, there is so much to appreciate about the system that ties us all together.
This 2-part class — inspired by my NYC childhood, the infamous Masstransicope MTA artwork, and the beauty of mosaic — explored the history of the MTA Arts & Design program and the various art styles and depictions of NYC life that adorn our station walls. Our biggest observation was that a majority of art commissioned for MTA transportation systems uniquely reflect experiences, stories, identities, culture, and most importantly, the people of New York City. I asked students to reflect on two quotes related to MTA Art, which I’m happy resonated with them and inspired some of their final pieces.
“Life imitates art far more than art imitates life”
~ Oscar Wilde
“As above, so below”
A paraphrase of the second verse of the Emerald Tablet late eighth or early ninth century. Based on the Latin: Quod est superius est sicut quod inferius, et quod inferius est sicut quod est superius. (That which is above is like to that which is below, and that which is below is like to that which is above.)
Both quotes speak to the reflection of life and art within our NYC transit system. MTA art often reflects our own lives and experiences as New Yorkers, and as such, our life reflects back what our MTA art depicts. Our New York City culture above ground, is beautifully and intentionally reflected back to us through MTA art below ground.
As many MTA Art works do, my goal with this class was to have students reflect and express their MTA experiences and how it ties into their identity, culture and everyday routine of being a New Yorker. Similar to Nick Cave’s “Each One, Every One, Equal All ” (2021), and José Ortega’s “Una Raza, Un Mundo, Universo (One Race, One World, One Universe)” (1996), this class allowed us to reflect on how we are all interconnected under one identity, despite our intricate and vastly different roots (just like the MTA).
From Jules’ donuts and Lilo’s Shirley cookies (IYKYK!), to Travis’ comedy show and Leah’s “1 Train”, and Abriel (bob)’s beautiful and nostalgic yellow and orange train seats (RIP seats), and Marilyn's delicious pretzel train collage (now I want one!). I was in awe of the beautiful work students created over these two sessions.
Everyone approached their mosaic creation in their own way; like Leah’s torn mosaic pieces (as we learned are called tesserae) to Ed’s beautiful detailed mosaic bridge scene, Colin's delicate lemons reminiscent of Roman tile work, or Meridith’s free form shapes depicting Lola.
Simone’s beautiful portrait of a woman with a pink Mohawk that reads “Brooklyn”, is a great reflection of the heartbeat of New York — we, us, the people, are New York. Thank you to everyone who participated this week, and helped bring these classes to life!”
Arts for Transit pieces by Vera B., Adji Ngathe Kebe, Sharde C., Rachel Palmer, Rashidah Green:
Ed adds insight to his work: “My drawing shows artist Mel Chin’s installation entitled, SIGNAL, which is located on the mid-level platform of the New York City MTA Broadway-Lafayette subway station. This commission debuted in 1997. The piece features several tepee shaped sheet metal cones, wrapped around structural steel I-beam columns. These cones contain small glass windows lit from inside, representing the campfires of Native Americans who lived in lower Manhattan before it was settled by the Dutch in 1626.
Additionally, Mel Chin created a decorative tile design using pale blue ceramic tiles. Interspersed throughout the station, these tiles represent the smoke from the campfires. Hence the title, SIGNAL, which evokes the Native American tradition of using smoke signals to communicate with other tribal members while out on excursions away from their base camp.”
I (Meridith) loved this week’s focus on MTA Arts for Transit. For this zoom session Neah showed excellent examples and we had a lively discussion. She encouraged us to think of Art in subways which had moved us, and views we had in subways, our ties to parts of the system etc.
As I contemplated my piece for the night I remembered that I have a mini-Otterness from a pair of earrings he gave me when I made a studio visit years ago. The wire broke off, but I have it as a sculpture in the studio bathroom.
I hit upon making a miniature view from one of my photos of the wonder wheel from the train. Then making a set up with the painting, the Otterness on a table, in the dollhouse. I added hula hoops from the studio vignette, because I inevitably bring hoops to Coney. I Installed this adjacent to my mini Inside Outside Witch Store.
Karla emails: “Thank you Neah for a great lesson on a favorite topic…public art!! The subway art in NYC is fantastic!! The perfect connection to integrate art and community!!
My work (in process) is inspired by a public art piece here in Kansas which auto travelers experience, as they move in, out, and within community: Dawn’s Silver Lining. The installation is six large perforated stainless steel box like structures with stainless silhouettes of trees, emulating the Kansas skyline during the winter. The work is lit at night and picks up, silhouettes from the sunrise and sunset each day.
Kansas field and Artwork by Barbara Grygutis, Tucson, AZ
For my piece I cut paper Into perforated grids in the shapes of two of the insulation sections. Black paper silhouettes behind the grids and a couple bands of setting sun!
I meant to comment on Simone‘s portrait piece. I thought it was amazing and the Brooklyn hair was wonderful! Amazing pieces and narratives from all. The tile walls in this drawing brought back my memory of my NYC train rides!”
Mosaic pieces by Julian Villanueva-Kelly, Simone Awor (in progress), Evelyn Beliveau (in progress), Jada Frazier, Jacob Rath, Taylor Branch (in progress), Josue Ramirez-Romero (in progress), and Neah Gray (in progress):
Cheyenne, whose zoom project in progress conjures up a dream like vista seen from the subway window and mosaic beautifully depicts the pride in her Sunset Park neighborhood, sums up: “Wow these classes were clearly a hit!! All of these are such great work. It’s going to be a great recap!”
Cheyenne Rivera, Art For Transit and Mosaic
This Wednesday in Jersey City Managing Director Dennis Buonagura along with Teaching Artists Evelyn Beliveau, Leo Emabat and Marina Soliman finished up a cycle of ART YARD Art Matters at PS 17.
Evelyn recounts: "It was a bittersweet day at PS 17, as we conducted our final classes with Grades 4, 6, 1 and 2—we will miss them! Dennis, Leo, and I (Evelyn) exchanged fond farewells with students after finishing up their final projects.
Grade 4 learned about block letters and one-point perspective. Focusing on students’ names or other short words that are important to them, we used a basic method for creating block letters with pencil on paper. We discussed the vanishing point as a tool for creating the illusion of three-dimensional objects and spaces in a drawing. Then, each student used a ruler to connect the corner of each letter to the vanishing point, creating the impression that the letters recede back in space as far as the eye can see. Students learned how to work with a straightedge and to end a line segment if it passes “behind” another letter. I hope this brief introduction to perspective, a venerable system known for its use in the Renaissance era, will provide a foundation for students interested in further pursuing drawing.
We were glad to see our Grade 6 class one more time, after they’d been absent for several weeks of testing. Most students picked up where they left off with our 0-3 project, inspired by Jasper Johns. They used watercolors on paper to create gradients of color in the shapes between overlapping numerals drawn with pencil and Sharpie. A handful of students, who had finished 0-3, went on to learn about block letters and one-point perspective as described above.
Completed 0-3, inspired by Jasper Johns’s 0-9 series
With Grade 1, we created colorful abstractions using stencils of the vowels. Students enthusiastically identified A, E, I, O, and U on the whiteboard, then traced and colored bubble-letter renditions of these letters in colored pencil on paper. Each young artist chose to either tile or overlap their letters, to use one or multiple colors per letter, and to rotate or align their letters, resulting in a wide variety of compositions from the same five letter shapes.
Grade 2 had a head start from last week on the concept of one-point perspective, using this tool for the project Self Portrait in Words. Last week, we brainstormed words in different categories that reflect aspects of students’ identities. This week, students finished up writing their chosen words in block letters, then used rulers and pencil to connect the corners of the letters to a vanishing point. It has been very rewarding to work with these students, and I wish them all well on their artistic and academic journeys!
Vanishing point letters
I was pleased to lend a hand at our after-school program at PS 17 this week. While Leo worked with one group of students in the classroom, I joined Dennis, Marina, and a small group of students in the library to prepare for the end-of-year art exhibition. We focused on the Shape of Music project, taping individual artworks together in an accordion formation to create collaborative pieces that will stand on shelves or tables alongside the wall-mounted artwork.
Dennis adds: “After School at PS 17 this week was a whirlwind of events. Teaching Artist Leo Emabat worked with the younger students in the art room on a project about handprint illusions - with students tracing their hands using squiggly lines over straight lines to give a 3D appearance.
Meanwhile, Teaching Artists Evelyn Beliveau and Marina Soliman, the older after school students (and I) worked on curating the upcoming exhibition in the library. We sorted through lots of projects. Evelyn, Marina, and the students taped together several of the "Shape of Music" pieces, accordion style (no pun intended) for display purposes. We have LOTS of work - and very little exhibition space - so those pieces will be placed atop bookcases and around the library (where permissible). A great feature for our exhibition space is that Teaching Artist/Muralist Gia Gutierrez's fantastic mural, highlighting our Year of Literacy, is right beside our exhibition space! Perfect!
Evelyn and Dennis working on exhibition preparation
Dennis recaps the work done this week at ART YARD Art Matters at PS 6: "At our partnership school in Jersey City, PS 6, two classes worked on finishing their Illuminated Letters bookmarks and moved forward with designing letter blocks for our exhibition. I was assisted by Litzy Duran who dashed about the classroom many, many, times distributing gold markers, multi colored brush tipped markers, pencils, 8x8 square paper, bookmark sized paper - while I created teams of students who worked together on blocks which will read P S 6 or 2 0 2 (one of their classrooms) and many other blocks containing their initials. Some students opted for their joint efforts to be taped together while others wanted their works to stand alone.
I had a very happy experience with Brendan, a student from Mr. Hamilton's class. Being a long time MTA rider - I was gigantically surprised when a Jersey City student (maybe 8 years old ... I'm guessing) rattled off all of the NYC subway lines, the colors associated with their letters, the starting points and last stops connected to each line - and this included lines that I haven't ridden in years. He even knew every stop on the Franklin Avenue shuttle in Brooklyn. And he's from Jersey City! Turns out, his grandma lives in Brooklyn and she takes him on the subway when he visits her. Needless to say, his illuminated letters were A, B, C, E, F, G and the numbers 1,2,3, 4, 5,and 6! I will never need to Google subway directions again - I'll just find Brendan at PS 6. If there's ever an MTA edition of Jeopardy, Brendan will definitely WIN!
The 4th graders worked with Teaching Artist Leo Emabat, also assisted by Litzy Duran, on finishing up their Wayang puppets. This included cutting, hole-punching, fastening (oh yes - those fasteners were foreign objects to 4th graders - as were the hole punchers!), and taping the 'rods'. The results are incredible.
In this short video, Leo demonstrates the movement of a puppet, made by a 4th grader.
Speaking of videos ..... ART YARD BKLYN was featured in one of the Jersey City School District's spotlight series videos, hosted by Principal Joe Apruzzese. Our cameo appearance is short (don't blink!) but shows us in action on a project created by Teaching Artist Evelyn Beliveau - with a terrific, and very complimentary, voiceover by our student Isabella. See you at the Oscars!"
What We Are Reading
I listened to the audiobook of Gala Dalí: More Than a Muse by Michèle Gerber Klein (borrowed from the Brooklyn Public Library), and was struck by how fitting it is that Gala herself was an ardent fan of Tarot. Like The High Priestess — a card she surely would have appreciated — Gala moved through the surrealist world cloaked in mystery, wielding quiet authority, and shaping the art around her in ways both visible and hidden.
Klein offers a carefully structured, thoroughly researched portrait of Gala not simply as muse, but as collaborator, co-creator, and artistic instigator. She helped craft the early poetic voice of Paul Éluard, chose his pen name, and later signed work with Salvador Dalí under both their names: Gala Salvador Dalí. Her influence was foundational — and often overlooked.
The biography unfolds in a straightforward, chronological way, which allows Gala’s transformation from Russian émigré to surrealist icon to come through clearly.
I’m a devoted admirer of the surrealist women who shaped the movement from the inside out — from Remedios Varo and Leonora Carrington to Lenore Fini and Dora Maar. With this biography, Gala takes her rightful place among them: not simply as a muse beside the movement, but as a woman who helped shape its core.
Other Art News
This week, AYB artist TJ Edgar has made her way to Paris. Her academic and cultural explorations brought her to the Centre Pompidou, where she visited the acclaimed exhibition Paris Noir: Artistic Circulations and Anti-Colonial Resistance, 1950–2000. This groundbreaking show brings together over 350 works by 150 artists—figures such as Beauford Delaney, Wifredo Lam, and Faith Ringgold—showcasing how Black artists in Paris used visual culture as a form of resistance and dialogue during the era of decolonization. The exhibition explores how Paris functioned as a hub for artistic exchange, solidarity, and subversion across the African diaspora and beyond.
Photos of TJ's favorite pieces from Paris Noir.
After her museum visit, TJ embraced another vital aspect of Parisian life: the food. She had what she described as the “perfect chicken cordon bleu”, savoring every bite of the golden, crispy, cheese-filled classic. “The wine, not so much,” she admitted, “but that chicken? Absolutely flawless.”
🩵💛❤️🧡💚💙💜
