One of my favorite subway stations in Manhattan is the 66th Street-Lincoln Center Station because of the beautiful glass tile mosaics spanning the walls along the train platform. Created by long-time New York City resident and artist Nancy Spero, the installation is titled Artemis, Acrobats, Divas and Dancers. Visitors can clearly see how the nearby Lincoln Center for the Arts inspired Spero’s art.
Here’s the description of the installation, originally found on MTA Arts & Design’s website:
This series of 22 brilliantly colored glass mosaic panels lines the walls of the station and bows to Lincoln Center’s opera, ballet, and classical music halls – and the vibrant, artistic character of the Upper West Side neighborhood. Spero conveys this through the use of iconic images of women both real and mythical, from such varied sources as archaeology, architecture, mythology and the contemporary world.
In Artemis, Acrobats, Divas, and Dancers, the central icon of opera, the Diva, is repeated in various forms that lead and follow riders through the station, giving the illusion of movement and change. Elsewhere, Spero represents scenes from the subway and the city outside, the architectural backgrounds enlivened by musicians performing and athletes running, signaling you are in a creative and energetic place, the Upper West Side of Manhattan.
Here are some of my favorite images from the Artemis, Acrobats, Divas and Dancers installation. (There are numerous more images as well, which you can discover yourself if you visit the station!) As you can see below, the diversity of images and artistic styles makes this subway station art delightful.
If you wish to see this subway art for yourself, take the 1 train to 66th Street-Lincoln Center Station on the Upper West Side. The mosaics are different on each platform, so make sure you check out both sides!