On Saturday, December 10, 2011, on my commute over to the American Museum of Natural History, my peers and I were lucky enough to come across a vintage train running on the F line. We were on the E train when we got off on the 53rd and Lexington Avenue stop, when we came across the green, vintage train going the direction we came from. It did not stop us from spontaneously running across the track and getting on the train, despite the direction it was heading towards.
Every year, the MTA expresses its spirit during the holiday season by releasing 1930s trains during the holiday season, every Saturday in December!
The train interior had a very 1930s feel. The seats were some sort of straw-like material that was ironically firm, but cushioned. The seats, themselves, were only wide enough to sit three people at their max. The doors read “Keep Hands Away From Doors,” which I found really funny because I pictured someone getting their hand getting chopped off if their hands did manage to get stuck (sorry for the gruesome image). If you looked up you would see a clean column of ceiling fans along the train cars, which you have to admit, is pretty awesome. The thought of having fans to circulate the air in the hot summer days inside the New York City subway system is pretty refreshing, being that not all current trains are consistently air conditioned. The windows were also allowed to be opened more than today’s trains!
However, out of all the cool features that the 30s train had, the advertisements were the most fascinating, for me. From used cars and cigarettes to Coca-Cola and Gerber, the variety of the ads are astounding for the confined space they had to be placed in. I would like to estimate and say there were about 30 different ads on one side of a train car whereas today, are ads are enlarged and reproduced in the same train. I like how most of the advertisements were colorful and drawn rather than a collection of photographs; it almost seems like ads were subtler and simpler.The little catch phrases like ” Say ‘Luckies’ are less irritating” and “You can’t have my number fella if you’ve dull white teeth!” within the advertisements were really cool to see because they were so authentic to the time period, which makes them all the more interesting. In the end, it was a great experience seeing the artwork of the 1930. It was interesting to see how advertisements have changed since then. I’m so excited to visit the New York Transit Museum again after that experience because it reminded of how much we can learn about our history in the art that is found in places we see as “everyday,” like trains, for example. Make sure to catch one of these vintage trains. Find out when and where here!
I actually visited the NY Transit Museum myself several years ago. They had a lot of different types of exhibits, but what I found the most interesting was definitely the old trains, and specifically the advertisements on them. The advertisements from the thirties and forties are definitely different from modern ads. The ads blatantly show what the average American at the time thought of family life, gender roles, and politics, which, to me, was fascinating to see. Although ads are not usually thought of as art, they are similar in the sense that, from a historical perspective, they give a glimpse into what was considered important or normal or shocking at the time.
This sounds like an excellent experience, one which I hope to take part in over the next few weeks. What I find so great about a thing like this is not the fact that things in the 1930’s looked far cooler than things nowadays (which is also true), but it is how something that was not intended to be art from the past can be put into a new context and is suddenly art. It is similar to how I felt when I attended the Jewish Museum this year to see the Cone Sisters collection. After viewing the gallery, I went upstairs to one of the permanent exhibits of Jewish art to look around. What struck me the most was how most of the things there, while beautiful, were never intended to be art. They were practical objects like scrolls with text in them and books, which happened to be beautiful. Suddenly, when they are placed in an exhibit, they can be classified as “art” and now serve an added function.
I am very excited for the future when they will have museum exhibits with objects used in my lifetime displayed as art. It is interesting to think of the things that will change in popular design that will make older versions “art.” Will a flatscreen TV be art? An iPad? A gameboy? I guess only time will tell.
Let’s talk about the New York City Subway Stations. I am aware of what good music is. However, I am also aware of what entertainment is. I feel like NYC is the only large metropolitan that actually allows street performers to have shows in the moving carts of the subways. I always have a fun time if there are a bunch of exultant African bongo players or a really good Accordion player with his Senorita. The monotonous train ride suddenly turns into an adventure of its own. Sometimes there are young break dancing groups that have a boom box in hand and put up a show of flexibility and great moves two inches away from you. There are also some really old men playing serene violin repertoire’s sometimes. These performances may not be world class but they are usually very entertaining and give me that nostalgic feeling that if I ever leave this city this is one of the thing’s I’m going to miss about it the most.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePzSy23YROI&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWGy7FQsofc&feature=related
This brings us back to the idea of being an active participant in art, as oppose to a passive observer. Rather than just seeing the train, you were actually able to ride in it yourself (good for you!). In doing so, you were able to be a participant in the art of the 1930s and absorbed what it would have been like if you were from that time period. Just like the Gamelan with Professor Lipsey where we got to play the Bali instruments and participate ourselves rather than just watch, you too experienced New York life from the 1930s in the feel of the train and the 1930s advertisements and the stuff that they advertised. It is a totally different experience to experience something yourself than to watch it as an outsider.