Recently, I paid a visit to Grand Central Terminal for the first time ever since moving to New York City from China 12 years ago. Before this visit I had always thought, “Big deal, it’s just a train station,” but I was very wrong. Grand Central is not “just” a train station, it is so much more. It is at the center of one of the grandest cities of the world; it is not simply a place, but an experience.
That morning, I bought myself a cuppa and a bagel and just people-watched for a good half hour, all the while soaking in the energy and buzz of hundreds of people moving and hurrying about. Being in the center of all this activity made me feel alone in a city of more than 8 million people. It was a truly inspiring and relaxing experience that made me fall in love with the city even more. Then, as I was just about to leave, I noticed a series of art works in light boxes all along some of the walls of the dining concourse. At closer inspection, I saw that these were papercuts placed on top of light boxes. After a quick Google search, it turned out that these artworks were part of a celebratory exhibition, called “On Paper,” to honor the centennial of the Grand Central Terminal. The exhibition features papercut works by artists Rob Ryan, Xin Song, Laura Cooperman, and Thomas Witte.
In particular, one of the works by Rob Ryan caught my eye. Entitled, “There Is Only Time,” the paper cut featured block-letter quotes as well as heartwarming scenes surrounding the central idea of time. When placed alongside each other, the papercuts read “There Is Only Time!” The four detailed panels came together to bring out the message that time is just time. It helps us to remember that we need to relax and stop thinking of time as “wrong time” or “right time,” “work time” or “play time.” We should just let go and relax so that we can stop being pressured and stressed out over such a simple thing as “time.” One of Ryan’s chief purposes of placing this art in the Grand Central Terminal was to remind people to take pleasure in life and its various moments, especially in a place where people are always mindlessly rushing about. He wanted his audience to connect with his work and realize that everything was going to be okay. Ryan’s quirky papercut artwork gave me a happy feeling when I look at the lovely and warm scenes that he depicts in the panels. One of the first thoughts that came into my mind was that I should “stop and smell the roses” more often to enjoy the beauty of life.
Looking at this piece of lovely and intricate piece of art soothed my mind and made me think about time as something that is not as intense or dramatic as we always make it out to be. It’s moments like these, when you are not rushing or worrying about losing time, that you make the most out of each moment that you have.
—Joanna Huang
