Category Archives: public art

Rick and Morty Public Art

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Recently, on my way home after a long day at school, something caught my eye as I neared the Flatiron Building. It was a spaceship that had seemingly crashed onto the pedestrian plaza, and the engine looked like it was still on fire. The detail on the spaceship was great: the artists behind it had even put chunks of concrete resembling the pebbled floor of the pedestrian plaza all around the sculpture so that it looked realistic. It really surprised me how much attention to detail was put into this promotion: I really thought it was a public art installation before I saw the benches placed next to the spaceship advertising the show.

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The smoke-spewing, people-confusing thing turned out to be a promotion for a new animated television series, called “Rick and Morty” on adult swim. Although its not the typical thing that would come to mind when one talks about public art, I thought this idea was a very clever way to promote the show and attract people’s attention. This also goes to show how business can work with engineers and artists to create something together that is part art and part marketing strategy.

–Joanna Huang

 

Spray Painter Artist


Going to school at Baruch, we are located in the heart of a cultural center that is New York City. With art being all around us, in New York, we can find all different kinds of street artists, from caricaturists to painters to this guy in the video! I was very impressed at how this artist was able to create beautiful paintings in such little time using only caps and spray paint. Im not sure what technique this is called or if it even is considered a technique but what ever it is, I still found it very impressive and would love to see it myself sometime in the city. When I first saw this video, I was amazed at this artist’s skill. I share it with you today in hopes that you will find the same amazement that I did.

Subway Masstrainiscope


Everyday, when I come to Baruch from where I live in Brooklyn, I always see this on the manhattan bound Q-train as it leaves Dekalb Avenue. After searching it up to learn more about it and what it is, I now know that it is called the Masstraniscope. In an unusual piece of urban subway art, the masstraniscope consists of rows of still images in slitted light boxes, laid out in formation along the wall of the tunnel and as the train moves, the imagines create the illusion of movement. Apparently the masstraniscope has been there for over 30 years, although I myself was unaware of it until I began taking the train to Baruch this year. It was created in the late 1970’s and was the idea of artist and film-maker, Bill Brand. Bill and a public art organization called, Creative Time contacted the MTA in the late 1970s, even as the system was beginning to crumble, to let him transform the tracks themselves into art. Over the years, it has been viewed by millions of people. For me, traveling early in the morning to Baruch can sometimes be very dull. It is art pieces like this, which make me curious and brighten my day.

Lincoln Center architecture!

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Hi everyone! Hope you all had an awesome time at Tosca! I know I did! I passed by Lincoln Center but never had any reason to actually enter the area. It was absolutely beautiful! The Christmas tree was an awesome touch too! The fountain was the prettiest part. I loved how it was in the center of Lincoln Center. Do you guys see what I did there? Haha. Also, I love the bird eye’s view. It looks completely different from up here! I never noticed the design of the circles and all of it leading to the center when I was down there. The fact that Lincoln Center is in the middle of a modern world makes it more mysterious behind its closed, glass doors. I hope to see many more plays/operas in the future!

Don’t underestimate the places you go! Especially in New York City! Have an awesome break, I’m going to miss you guys! 🙂

The NYC Christmas Tree

Rockefeller Center is the home of New York’s very own festive holiday tree. Over the last 80 or so years they have set it up with decorations and lights for all of New York and the world to see. I got the chance to go and see it over the previous weekend and as always, it was as spectacular as ever. Lights encompassing it completely and the fact that its huge makes it a nice and iconic sight to see. I’m sure everyone has seen it in the pass but there is something about it that keeps people like me coming back. I wasn’t even going to originally stop by but, after seeing it in the side of my eye it basically drew me in and I figured I would go get a better look. For New York this tradition is in itself a way for the whole city to collectively show their festive side. Everything around you can be considered art depending on one’s perspective and the Rockefeller Center tree is just another example of how this can be done.

Botched Holiday Songs

Creative Subway Performers

As I walked down into the Time Square subway station I noticed a group of performers playing music. Now although this might be a common sight for a lot of us, what I noticed about this group of performers was that they had a complete set up of musical instruments with around five people that were constantly transitioning between classical and modern hip hop and rnb music. For a couple of seconds you would hear classical music mainly being played on the piano only to have the base and saxophone jump in changing it straight into melodies that belonged to trending hip hop and rnb songs like Macklemore’s thrift shop and One Republic’s Counting Stars. At first I thought there must be another performer that I’m not seeing right now but to my amazement it was all coming from this one set of guys. I thought it was really creative in the way they did that and managed to capture the attention of everyone in an unorthodox way. Rather than being loud, in the middle of everything or something else along those lines, these performers caught my attention because they were unique.

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NYC Public Parks

New York City’s public parks are one of the greatest things about out city. The type of socializing done there is so much better than the type of cyber-socializing everyone is encouraging nowadays. The parks offer a place to relieve oneself of all the pressures and little things that stress us out everyday. Here is a snapshot of the scenery found in my local neighborhood park. I was sitting there watching the children play their games, the birds singing their songs, and adults jogging and doing all sorts of different exercises. Everybody has their own way of finding peace,and sitting down on a bench here in this park makes you want to just breathe. Central Park, Astoria Park, Bryant Park, Madison Square Park, and so many others. The atmosphere at these public parks is like no other.

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Paradise on a Garage Door

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I felt like I was in paradise when I saw this on  a garage nearby our school, somewhere in between Lexington and Park Avenue. I always walk past all types of graffiti, but I completely came to a stop when  I saw this. It was too pretty to leave behind without capturing it. I looked at this picture and I thought about Florida, where I spent most of my childhood, mostly by the beach with the family on the afternoons. The best thing about Florida was the palm trees. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a palm tree anywhere else in the country. The other thing about this picture is that I can’t even say that its a form graffiti, because its just way too nice, and makes me feel like I need a vacation….quick!

Unexpected Art

Hey guys, so I recently stumbled across this one video where a homeless man shared one of his original poems. Within the poem he shared his story and truly expressed his feelings. Before watching the video I really never considered poetry and or great art coming from homeless people. Going to school in New York we pass by many homeless individuals on a daily basis but unfortunately we have become rather numb to their presence and as a result have gained to ability to easily walk right pass them without giving it a second thought. Art is a tool that can be used by anyone, and that being said inspiration for that art can come from anywhere. It made me rethink all of the times I walked by the homeless and reconsider the stories they might have behind their current lives.

NYC Squirrels

Why does it feel like the squirrel population in New York City is increasing? Everyday, I see more and more of them, and its freaking me out. I have always had problems with squirrels, partly because I hate rats, and I feel like squirrels have close connections with rats. So last summer, this squirrel below was just running around the rim on the top of the trash can. My friend and I were trying to walk across Union Square Park, until we saw the little show the squirrel was putting on for the public. I don’t know. Sometimes they’re cute. Sometimes they creep me out. I just hate when I’m trying to walk and they are in my way. Anyways, this one was definitely a creeper. Anybody else have issues with squirrels?

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