MetroCards Turned into Art
(Nina Boesch Courtesy of the New York Transit Museum)
New Yorkers said farewell to MetroCards in January after 30 years of use. The blue-and-gold relic has now been replaced by OMNY cards and tap-to-pay, but it has not been forgotten.
Artists are using MetroCards to make collages, paintings, sculptures, and even dresses. Now, these art pieces are on display at the "Inspired by MetroCard" exhibit at Grand Central Terminal.
Jodi Shapiro, curator for the New York Transit Museum, is behind the new exhibit. She said it was fun to pick which pieces to display — and how it was "really interesting" to see how different artists used the MetroCard, even though every one is the same size and colors, except for special advertisements.
The exhibit features a wearable wedding dress, collages of birds, and sculptures of skyscrapers, all made out of MetroCards. One artist also used MetroCards as a canvas for paintings of pigeons, taxis, and apples.
Shapiro said the purpose of the exhibit is to highlight the cultural significance of the retired payment system. "Anything related to our transit system sort of becomes iconic by default,” Shapiro said. “Subway cars, the token – which was the fair payment system before MetroCard – people instantly identify that with New York City."
George Koehler, a Manhattan native, has seen the change from subway tokens to MetroCards and now OMNY cards. He said it is important to highlight these transit icons of New York City.
"Obviously I used the MetroCard from its inception to its demise and was forced to change," Koehler said. "And I also used the tokens back in the day and I miss them both. Seeing the utilization of the cards in so many different ways is fantastic."
Koehler also said the MetroCard is an important part of New York City’s history.
"You can't have New York without the subway system, and so the MetroCard represents that," he continued. "As a true native Manhattanite who's never had a driver's license, the subway has always been my way of getting around and connecting to everything that's New York.”
The exhibit is located at the New York Transit Museum’s Grand Central gallery and store and will be open until the end of October.
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