Over the summer, I directed a summer camp on the Upper East Side. As I emerged from the dark tunnels of the Q train everyday, Chuck Close’s Subway Portraits were with me. They accompanied me on my walk through the station every morning, and I observed them. The 86th street Q train station was always the first place I returned to after a long day.
Chuck Close is known for his portraits of people. In this commission, he created mosaic portraits for the subway. Close typically paints from a projected photograph, and he draws a grid onto the canvas. He fills each square of the grid with a design, such as a swirl. These shapes make up the facial details of the people he captures. His style is reminiscent of mosaics, so it is only fitting that he was commissioned to create works which would be made into stained glass masterpieces for the subway.
The Subway Portraits are readily visible. In fact, they are impossible to miss. They are enormous in size and encompass the subway station. In 2017, the 86th street station was opened to the public with the portraits in place; they were part of a vision for the new second avenue subway. Their location in the subway is an essential part of their significance. In observing these faces, we witness the lives of a diverse array of people. Although we do not know their stories, their existence is brought to our attention.
The subway is filled to the brink with people. When we sit on a subway train, we take in the faces of many people. We are engulfed in life. When we come face to face with the subway art of Chuck Close, we experience intimacy with a person whom we have never met. We wonder about the stories of the people in his portraits, just as we would about the people who surround us on the subway.
Recently, Chuck Close was accused of sexual harassment, and he confirmed and apologized for these allegations. After learning this, my opinion of him shifted. When I see his work, I cannot help but think of the stories of the women who came forward. It is hard to not think about them, because his work revolves around the faces of others. Now when I walk through the subway, I am not just curious to hear the stories of the people he paints: I yearn to know them.
Now that I know more about Chuck Close as a person, I can’t help but reflect on this when I consume his art. For me, art that was once about the faces of people, becomes largely about the interaction between individuals. It reminds me of how important it is to listen to the stories of others. Both Chuck Close’s art and the subway cars that we ride present us with the faces of ordinary people. We should not simply acknowledge these faces. We are called to hear the stories of the people behind them.
