Whimsical Bronze Art in Subway

I have been hopping in and out of the subways every day for the past week in New York so much so that I'm beginning to feel like a rat traversing an underground maze. Yesterday, on my way to the American Museum for Natural History, I unexpectedly stopped in my tracks when I noticed these delighful little sculpture pieces scattered all over almost unnoticed within the 8th Avenue-14th Street L Subway. Ignoring the flow of human mass around me, I clicked away with my trusty Nokia camera phone. There are dozens of them at all corners, over the beam and under the staircase. One can turn this into a treasure hunt for amusement, except that New York subways are so dingy and ugly that you don't really want to hang around any minute longer than necessary.

A google search tells me that there are in fact 40 of such bronze figures, done by an artist called Tom Otterness, who is inspired by 19th century political cartoons that skewered corruption in New York. Called "Life Underground", the series is commissioned by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The MTA has set aside 1% of their reconstruction budget for the installation of works of art at subway stations and platforms.

The bottom photo shows an alligator dressed in a suit peeking out from a sewer cover biting into a man with a moneybag for a head. It's apparently one of the most favourite pieces. The other photo shows a man crushed by a heavy weight.

I think this is fun and whimsical. But for the jaded New Yorkers, many of them probably just hurry through to catch their trains.