No Less Than Everything Comes Together

2021 Bedford Ave (L) New York City Transit

Marcel Dzama depicts the hopeful beauty of the sun and the moon’s illuminated mysteries in four mosaic panels at the Bedford Av station. Inspired by Walt Whitman's "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry," the sun and moon rise and set on the city and its constant flow of people throughout time. Depicted in radiant gold and dazzling blue, 400 square feet of glass mosaic, fabricated by Mayer of Munich, appear in locations at the mezzanine and new stairways at the Driggs Avenue end of the station.

The artwork draws upon the artist’s early experiences coming to New York and living in Williamsburg, with scenes of graceful dancers, whimsical characters, and a radiant sun and moon. Employing different illustration styles, the work presents a timeless tableau celebrating New York’s history and its people.

In each theatrical composition, an arabesque patterned curtain adorned with fairy tale figures provides an enchanting proscenium stage setting for these tableaux. The scenes are populated by elegant ballet performers that appear throughout Dzama’s oeuvre of drawings and paintings. Mischievous characters pop up throughout, and representing historical Brooklynites such as Bugsy Siegel and Captain Jonathan Williams, founder of Williamsburg.

"In these works it is my intention to bring the sun, the sky, and the moon to the underground," Dzama said. "What I love most about New York is its people, and for me it was important to represent them and all of their wonderful complexities and diverse beauty in the piece. People looking and quietly observing together. In the subway, it’s always a togetherness that bonds us uniquely like no other place in the world."