Our morning commute typically involves The New York Times and avoiding eye contact with the person squished in next to us, but a new app is making our ride more enjoyable and giving us some culture between stops.
The free Arts for Transit app from the MTA is an encyclopedia of every piece of art in the system, from mosaics at Harlem’s Lenox Hill station to painted porcelain on the Long Island Rail Road.
Available on iPhones and Androids, the app lets you search for work by train line, get directions to installations and listen to podcasts on each piece. We loved hearing about Whirls and Twirls, Sol LeWitt’s stunning series of neon tiles at Columbus Circle, and Elizabeth Murray’s large-scale mural, Blooming, so named for that famous department store above 59th and Lexington.
We also finally discovered the name of a long-admired granite-and-steel sculpture at Brooklyn’s Atlantic-Pacific stop: Hook, Line, and Sinker, by installation artist George Trakas, represents the merging of train stations and seaport transportation.
Though we can’t control those interminable waits, we can ease the pain of another delayed F train with a lecture on those pretty orchards at Delancey Street.
