Life Underground by Wichita-born Tom Otterness is my favorite kind of public art, tucked into various places in the 14th Street/8th Avenue subway station in New York City. Over 100 small bronze sculptures are installed throughout the station in vignettes that playfully reference class warfare.
Above, a cop catches a fare evader. Below, a cop is about to engage with a homeless woman.
One of the recurring themes is the figures interacting with oversized subway tokens.
To me, the aesthetic is reminiscent of the cartoon man from Monopoly. There’s a cuteness to the figures that undercuts the sinister aspects of the depicted scenarios. Check out more photos here and here.
This is my favourite kind of public art too! The kind you have to keep your eyes peeled for, or you might miss it. Thanks for sharing it with the rest of the world. Really made my day.
Thanks for your kind words! I’ll share more examples like this as soon as I come across them.
We loved seeing these bits of whimsey when we went to NYC. The first time rushing from one train to another and I did a double take. Did I really just see a tiny guy there? Then we see more.
Loved it, always brought a smile to my face when we’d see the next one. Where they really only in one station?
Here’s a bit of background information from NYC Subway:
So, depending on where you were there, it seems like you might have seen parts of this outside of this particular station.
The crazy thing is that I’ve wandered around to try to spot as many bits of this installation as possible but, when I look at other people’s photos, I realize that there are tons of figures I still haven’t seen, even after a few explorations of the station.
I want to tie Otterness to a fence and shoot him.
I will film it and name it “shot Otter”
Fair enough.
Every time I’m in that station, I see one I’ve always missed before.
Exactly! I love that this installation is meaningful and impactful even if you only see a few of the sculptures, but the narrative becomes more complex and layered if you spend more time exploring the station.
It’s an instance of public art having more than just immediate impact but evolving over repeat visits.
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