Connections

2015 Rockaway Blvd. (A) New York City Transit

"Connections" consists of a series of four portals, each of which has three panels, created with stainless steel and colored glass screens that use light, color, shadow, and texture to animate the platform and roadway below the elevated Rockaway Blvd station. "Connections" has hundreds of laminated colored glass discs encased in bezels that animate and enliven the experience of MTA passengers passing through the station. The size and density of the glass elements are gradated horizontally to simulate the movement of the trains.

The artist’s intent was to create a unique place within the neighborhood station, through the color and pattern of the work and its interactive nature, which invites travelers to look through the colored bezels or to follow the shadows they create. The composition and placement of the individual elements speak to the diversity of the surrounding multi-cultural community by emphasizing the interconnectedness of people, places, information technology and the famed A train that connects Harlem, Midtown Manhattan, Greenwich Village, Brooklyn, Queens, JFK Airport, and the Rockaways. Waiting for the train can now include viewing the surrounding neighborhood via a filter of color and light.

The stainless steel frames were sandblasted and electro-polished to enhance the strength and specular brilliance of the stainless steel. Positioned over the roadway, the screens are visible from inside the station, on the train and outside of the station from a distance, serving as a landmark that celebrates the station’s featured role in the neighborhood.