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Visitors Flock to the New South Ferry Subway Station to See the Amazing Art Installation, See it split, see it change by Doug and Mike Starn, New York City's Latest Public Art Project

Posted on: Friday, 27 March 2009, 16:30 CDT

Features Signature Starn Artworks -- Silhouetted Images of Trees, and Mosaic Maps of Manhattan.

Spans 250 Feet up to 14 Feet Tall.

NEW YORK, March 27 /PRNewswire/ -- As tourists travel to and from Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty they've added a new downtown destination to their agenda. MTA Arts for Transit premieres its latest project, See it split, see it change, by artists Doug and Mike Starn. See it split, see it change is a major installation spanning the entire interior of the new South Ferry Terminal concourse, a crucial transportation hub that includes the terminus of the 1 line, with new transfers to the R and W, and is located at the entrance to the Staten Island Ferry Terminal.

As passengers enter the station through the turnstiles they are met with a view of a 20-foot wide, floor-to-ceiling marble mosaic map of the island of Manhattan, created by the Starns, extending down the stairs to the platform. The map's perspective mirrors passengers' own position, aimed uptown, and was inspired by a map from the United States Census Bureau in 1886, that integrated a map drawn in 1640 with a street plan from the Battery to 155th Street. The island's original topography emerges behind a more familiar diagram of the modern city, emphasizing how the Big Apple has evolved over the years.

The station's concourse is lined with photos of intertwining branches taken by the Starns. Floor to ceiling silhouetted trees follow the flow of passengers through the station. The images are based on photographs of Battery Park trees, symbolically re-rooted into the underground network of the subway. Passengers catch glimpses of their reflections through the blurred images of the trees. The installation is made from 425 glass panels that measure 14" by 28" each. The tree limbs fan out, and are reflected in the stainless-steel fence that separates the entry from the station.

Along and above the stairwell leading down to the platform, the trees are centered around the image of a single leaf. The large leaf was created using the same technique revealing the delicacy of its veins, the leaf echoes the shape of Manhattan.

Sandra Bloodworth, Director of MTA Arts for Transit said, "The Starns' installation is brilliant in its simplicity and clarity as it captures the historic context of the new South Ferry Terminal. The work compares and contrasts the veins and arteries of the natural world to the routes and lines of the transportation system, the similarities are stunning. Likewise, the silhouetted trees are portrayed in fused glass that powerfully evokes the Park at the Battery in breath-taking beauty."

For more than two decades Doug and Mike Starn have created photo-based artworks. In See it split, see it change (2005-2008), they have created a subway station that conveys a state of constant flux. Located at Battery Park, it is a historic gateway to the city: both literally and metaphorically, this is where New York City begins and began.

Of the South Ferry work the Starns write: "We build a dual sense of continuity and change into our work. The concept of passage and progress integrates well with the function of the subway system as a whole."

Through the MTA Arts for Transit's Permanent Art Program, over 200 site-specific artworks have been installed at stations throughout the metropolitan area. See it split, see it change is the latest addition to the MTA's Arts for Transit program.

Arts for Transit encourages the use of public transit by presenting visual and performing arts projects in MTA NYC Transit subway, Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad stations. For more information, see www.mta.info/mta/aft/. For more information about Doug and Mike Starn please visit www.starnstudio.com/.

Contact: FITZ & CO: Dan Tanzilli / Bethanie Brady 212-627-1455 x226 / 212-627-1455 x232 dan@fitzandco.com / bethanie@fitzandco.com

SOURCE Starn Studio

Source: PR Newswire

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