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Posts Tagged ‘Subway’

Swim on the Subway: Taipei Train Cars Transformed into Sports Venues

22 Jul

[ By SA Rogers in Art & Installation & Sound. ]

Subway cars in Taipei have become swimming pools, basketball courts, baseball fields and track lanes to get residents amped for the upcoming 2017 Summer Universiade, an international multi-sport event for university athletes. While the installations mostly consist of photorealistic photographic murals stuck onto the floors, the illusion comes together pretty nicely, especially in the case of the swimming pool, which matches the existing subway car chairs and poles.

These ‘moving sporting venues’ will transport lots of tourists attending the events, and the city hopes to add to their excitement. The Universiade is the second-largest international sporting event after the Olympics, set to begin on August 19th and end on August 30th, and will include competitions in 22 different sports across 70 venues.

Images by: Taipei City Government Department of Information and Tourism, @skywu0326, @chi._.851229, @nikoleko1007

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Last Stop: 2,800 Drowned NYC Subway Cars Turned Marine Habitats

04 Dec

[ By WebUrbanist in Destinations & Sights & Travel. ]

dropping reef closeup

Since the early 2000s, decommissioned New York City subway cars have been seeded into the waters around New Jersey, Delaware, Virginia and other eastern states, creating infrastructure for fish habitats along the coastal shelf running from New York to North Carolina. Artificial reefs like these can increase sea life concentrations dramatically in otherwise-flat subsurface regions, boasting up to hundreds of times as much biomass per area of seafloor.

dumping subway cars

dropping reef filling

In late 2000, the Metro Transit Authority began dumping 1200 old cars into the water; in 2007, another 1600 were added to the list. These frameworks of these sunken cars serve as replacement rock outcrops on which corals and plants grow, leading to oysters, mussels and further sea life. Photographer Stephen Mallon has spent years capturing this deliberate subway-dumping activity in action on the surface.

dropping reef then

Meanwhile, sequential underwater images show the subsurface results over time. The progress photos above and below were shot after 5 years and 10 years, respectively, demonstrating just how rapidly and effectively these places can become populated, first sparsely and then densely.

dropping reef now

The critical amount of biomass that develops makes these cars hotspots for diverse populations of underwater creatures all along the food chain, together forming self-sustaining regional ecosystems.

dropping car crane water

In turn, these locations can attract fishermen and divers as well, keen both to see the thriving populations of aquatic life but also to explore the underwater ruins of modern machines. Far as they may be from their original subterranean homes, these train cars still manage to serve citizens of cities along the Atlantic coast in their own unusual ways.

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Subway Angels: Painted Figures Spliced into Contemporary Cities

11 Nov

[ By WebUrbanist in Art & Drawing & Digital. ]

historic bored bus scene

Gods, angels, cherubs and human mortals from famous historical artworks can be found browsing the beverage display at the corner store, passed out in front of the liquor shop, or riding the bus with an aptly bored expression in these clever remixes.

historic shopping corner store

historical attack subway setting

In his ongoing series Art History in Contemporary Life, Ukrainian artist Alexey Kondakov continues to document a fictional world in which ancient figures find themselves transplanted into modern cityscapes.

subway nude

historic mother child lamb

historical drunk liquor store

Among his hacks: Cesar van Everdingen’s Bacchus, Caravaggio’s David and Goliath and William-Adolphe Bouguereau’s Nymphs and Satyr, all hacked to fit into new times and places.

historical park cherub sitting

historical streetscape sidewalk scene

historical painting modern city

The scenes are so expertly edited it is left to the figures themselves to stand out from each setting through their actions or attire. Madonna, child and lamb are, for instance, a bit of a strange find in an old apartment staircase and cherubs generally aren’t seen on the Earthly plane, at least by ordinary people.

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No Exit: Bricked Train Door Blocks German Subway Commuters

01 May

[ By WebUrbanist in Art & Installation & Sound. ]

brick blocked train car

Presumed a prank at first by online skeptics, authorities have since confirmed that these precisely-stacked cinder blocks were indeed carefully assembled and bonded together to fully block the door of an S-Bahn train in Hamburg.

brick blocked train line

Placed inside the actual sliding doors, the bricks proved a surprise when the aperture slide open to reveal the blockage. Passengers who managed to board before the intervention was reported were forced to exit at an upcoming station while an investigation was performed and the problem ultimately fixed.

bricked train interior view

While some may be amused and no one was trapped inside the car, blocked by blocks, the impacts were significant for those faced with cleaning up after this vandalism. The train was routed to a depot and the wall carefully broken down piece by piece, the story ending 12 hours and an estimated 10,000 dollars later.

bricked subway car line

With no sign of the perpetrators, the biggest clue is the professionalism with which the wall was assembled, apparently by a team of people with construction expertise. With no one claiming credit, overtly or anonymously, one is left to wonder whether some reference to the Berlin Wall was intended or if this was an attempt at some other kind of art or message.

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Subway Cars to Churches: 15 Creatively Converted Offices

22 Jul

[ By Steph in Architecture & Offices & Commercial. ]

Converted Offices Soccer 1

Anything from a graffiti-covered subway car to a Route 66 gas station can become the setting for creative modern offices. Architects and intrepid homeowners have converted junked buses into home offices, $ 20 construction trailers into backyard studios and subterranean garages into company headquarters.

Slice of an Old Bus Turned Home Office
Converted offices School Bus 1

Converted Offices School Bus 2

One creative thinker in Hungary saw something most of us wouldn’t when he gazed at an old bus sitting in a junkyard: a corner office. That is, a home office in the corner of his bedroom, made from a sawed-off section of the bus. A new paint job and working lights give the bus a fun update.

Former Steel Plant to Light-Filled Work Space
Converted Offices Steel Plant 1

Converted Offices Steel Plant 2

The existing shell of a former steel plant has become a wide-open industrial setting for the offices of engineering firm IMd, with sections in the two-story structure linked by foot bridges. Translucent volumes set within the large space provide quiet and private places to work and meet without sacrificing the spacious feel.

Underground Garage to Architecture Studio
Converted Offices Garage 1

Converted Offices Garage 2

Half-hidden by an overgrowth of ivy, all that’s visible of this architecture office from ground level are a few desks and some unusual lighting. Architect Carlo Bagliani remained an underground car garage as an inhabitable workspace filled with industrial accents. A long glass wall facing the lawn prevents the subterranean space from feeling dark and cramped.

Low Budget House-to-Office Conversion
Converted Offices Low Budget House

Austrian architecture firm Bad Architects turned a house in Innsbruck into their own office on a tight budget using sliding-wall systems made of foam to divide the interior spaces. The foam panels feature cut-out patterns that let light pass from one space into another, and give the office visual appeal from the street.

Graffiti-Covered Subway Cars to Rooftop Offices
Converted Offices Subway Cars 1

Converted Offices Subway Cars 2

Graffiti-covered subway cars (or ‘tube carriages’ as they’re known in the UK) were hauled onto a rooftop and stacked together to create offices for international arts charity Village Underground. The spaces are leased to creative small businesses and art-related start-ups, who’d naturally feel right at home in a reclaimed urban space decorated with vivid street art.

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Subway Cars To Churches 15 Creatively Converted Offices

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Masters of Photography: Bruce Davidson, Master of the Subway

03 Mar
Coney Island, NY. 1959. From Brooklyn Gang.

Coney Island, NY. 1959. From Brooklyn Gang – Bruce Davidson/Magnum

We can all learn a great deal by studying the work of photographer, Bruce Davidson. Born near Chicago in 1933, Davidson has extensively photographed for over 50 years, including subjects such as the Civil Rights Movement in the early ’60s, circus performers, a Brooklyn gang, Spanish Harlem, and a five year project on New York’s subway system in the gritty days of the ‘80s. A few of his main influences were Robert Frank, W. Eugene Smith, and Henri Cartier-Bresson. Davidson joined the Magnum photo agency in 1958.

Besides Davidson’s intimate photographic style, which you need to view a few of his projects in their entirety to get a feel for, there are a few very important lessons that he can teach you about your own work.

Much of Davidson’s work was focused on series and projects. One of his most important works is East 100th Street, where he captured life within a single block in East Harlem in the late ’60s. While many photographers may have tried to capture East Harlem in its entirety, Davidson honed in. He got familiar with a smaller area with a lot of life, and told broad stories by narrowing the subject matter. By focusing on a small part of a large area, he was able to become much more familiar and intimate with his subjects.

East 100th Street, Spanish Harlem, 1966.

East 100th Street, Spanish Harlem, 1966 – Bruce Davidson/Magnum

Davidson also spent time following a Brooklyn gang of youths called the Jokers in 1959, and he created a series of civil rights work when he following a group of freedom riders in the south (in 1961) through dangerous situations.

Besides his technical ability, one of Davidson’s main strengths was figuring out where the interesting stories were and putting himself where the action was. Then, he got close and familiar to his subjects. That idea might make you nervous, but based on some of his writings you can see that he was nervous at points as well. However, he did not let that stop him from doing it. He got close with his subjects and this closeness is shown within his images. It is one of the most important aspects of why his photographs are so successful.

New York City, 1962.

New York City, 1962 – Bruce Davidson/Magnum

While this intimacy was very important in his work, Davidson did not seem to think of himself as a documentary photographer, stating, “Documentary photography suggests you just stand back, that you’re not in the picture, you’re just recording. I am in the picture, believe me. I am in the picture but I am not the picture.”

Starting in 1980, Davidson began an extensive five year project documenting the New York Subway system. The subway project is what hits closest to home for me, and it is inspiring to read about. When you visit New York City it is interesting to compare his photographs to the modern day look of the subway system. It helps to see your own work through this perspective. How would he do his project today? The subway system looks so much different, so how can I also capture it in an interesting way?

NYC Subway, 1980.

NYC Subway, 1980 – Bruce Davidson/Magnum

When talking about prolific photographers, it is easy to think that we cannot repeat their success. They seem bolder and more fearless. However, when you read Davidson’s quotes about the project, he does not sound much different than any of us would probably feel. He was just self aware enough and able to push through it. It is inspiring to say the least.

“As I went down the subway stairs, through the turnstile, and onto the darkened station platform, a sinking sense of fear gripped me. I grew alert, and looked around to see who might be standing by, waiting to attack. The subway was dangerous at any time of the day or night, and everyone who rode it knew this and was on guard at all times; a day didn’t go by without the newspapers reporting yet another hideous subway crime. Passengers on the platform looked at me, with my expensive camera around my neck, in a way that made me feel like a tourist—or a deranged person.

It was hard for me to approach even a little old lady. There’s a barrier between people riding the subway—eyes are averted, a wall is set up. To break through this painful tension I had to act quickly, on impulse, for if I hesitated, my subject might get off at the next station and be lost forever. I dealt with this in several ways. Often I would just approach the person: “Excuse me. I’m doing a book on the subway and would like to take a photograph of you. I’ll send you a print.” If they hesitated, I would pull out my portfolio and show them my subway work; if they said no, it was no forever. Sometimes, I’d take the picture, then apologize, explaining that the mood was so stunning I couldn’t break it, and hoped they didn’t mind. There were times I would take the picture without saying anything at all. But even with this last approach, my flash made my presence known. When it went off, everyone in the car knew that an event was taking place—the spotlight was on someone. It also announced to any potential thieves that there was a camera around. Well aware of that, I often changed cars or trains after taking pictures.”

Read more from Davidson on this project: Train of Though: On the ‘Subway’ Photographs. Now it’s time to explore Davidson’s work and think about a photographic project that you can do in your own area.

Subway.

NYC Subway, 1980.

NYC Subway, 1980 – Bruce Davidson/Magnum

Brooklyn Gang.

Brooklyn Gang, 1959.

Brooklyn Gang, 1959 – Bruce Davidson/Magnum

East 100th Street.

East 100th Street, Spanish Harlem, 1966.

East 100th Street, Spanish Harlem, 1966 – Bruce Davidson/Magnum

Circus

The Dwarf, Circus, Palisades, NJ. 1958

The Dwarf, Circus, Palisades, NJ. 1958 – Bruce Davidson/Magnum

Times of Change: Civil Rights. 1961-65.

Birmingham, Alabama, 1963 by Bruce Davidson

Birmingham, Alabama, 1963 by Bruce Davidson/Magnum

The post Masters of Photography: Bruce Davidson, Master of the Subway by James Maher appeared first on Digital Photography School.


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Time Stands Still: Sublime Slow-Motion Subway Panoramas

11 Feb

[ By WebUrbanist in Art & Photography & Video. ]

slow mo foto

A subway speeds by the platform, leaving most passengers with a fleeting impression and fast-fading memories of people glimpsed only for a moment, but not this crafty slow-motion documentarian. If you watch no other video today, this week or this year, make the time for at least one of those below.

In the above video excerpt, Adam Magyar captures frozen bystanders in fast succession (50 frames per second) at a Tokyo, Berlin and New York (Grand Central) train stations. His custom technology captures everything, and limited post-processing generates a kind of three-dimensional panoramic portrait of everyone in view. These finished products come both in the form of prints and videos, but the latter in particular are must-watch wonders.

“In Stainless, I scan rushing subway trains arriving to stations. The images record a number of tiny details of this moment. We see people staring towards their destinations standing at the doors framed by the sliding door windows. They are scrutinizing the uncertain future. Similarly to all my images, their main motivation is arrival. The darkness of the tunnels deep below the city turns these chemically clean mock-ups into fossils of our time. “

time subway black white

Magyar uses slit-scan and other technologies and techniques to, as writer Joshua Hammer describes, “bend conventional representations of time and space, stretching milliseconds into minutes, freezing moments with a resolution that the naked eye could never have perceived. His art evokes such variegated sources as Albert Einstein, Zen Buddhism, even the 1960s TV series The Twilight Zone.”

The extended film from Tokyo is shown above. It is truly mesmerizing to watch the most mundane behaviors caught in mid-act, be it a wet dog in mid-shake, creamer hanging over coffee mid-pour or a woman seen in mid-sneeze. It took Magyar years to perfect his craft – the worthy projects that led up to it (shown below) are essential to understanding how he achieved his current mastery.

1-uyFMTPB431muvczp1PH1uQ

time people linear rows

time square people aligned

If the process behind this uncanny effect seems impossibly complex: his signature un-moving montages came with a great deal of time and technological experimentation. This Stainless series is indeed just the latest in a long line of  experimental photo projects, starting with Squares (shown above) which features collections of people taken out of time and selected to force a grid-like order on passersby.

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Time Stands Still Sublime Slow Motion Subway Panoramas

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End of the Line: Exploring Unseen Terminal Subway Stations

09 Feb

[ By WebUrbanist in Art & Photography & Video. ]

end of the line

Bustling hubs give way to spindly spokes, infrequently taking locals to particularly distant destinations and often entirely unseen by tourists and other travelers. In the city business or pleasure and lost your way? Sorry, last stop, folks – everybody out.

German video journalist Janosch Delcker has created two short documentaries (End of the Line parts 1 and 2) exploring the terminal points of public transit lines in Berlin and New York, respectively. These locations are off the beaten path for most urbanites, and are primarily known as end stops that indicate you are taking the train in the right direction.

His short films are simple documentaries of the mundane, harshly-lit reality of unloved subway tunnels, stops and stations far from metropolitan centers. Per Pop-Up City, “Delcker’s short, atmospheric documentaries draw upon French anthropologist Marc Augé’s concept of the ‘non-place’ — ‘a space which can not be defined as relational, or historical, or concerned with identity’.” Beyond impersonal spaces, though, Delcker’s urban work also features personal stories:

In his Urban Observations series, Deckler features “A drag performer, a cartoonist, a curator, a filmmaker, an author and a painter.” The series “followed 6 artists through New York City and 6 through Berlin. Each one has a story to tell. Each one has a past. Each one has dreams.”

“The 12 videos of the series form a mosaic; a portrait of New York City and Berlin in the age of recession. Episodes of Urban Observations were screened at festivals and events in Berlin, London, and New York City. The series was awarded with the 2012 Mulert Award on Mutual Understanding.”

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Underground but Overboard: 15 Extreme Subway Stations

25 Sep

[ By Steph in Architecture & Public & Institutional. ]

Amazing Subway Stations Main
Far from the stereotype of a dark and grungy underground space where you don’t want to touch anything with your bare hands, these 15 standout subway stations are practically art galleries. From the gilded Baroque metros of Moscow to the world’s largest glass dome in Taiwan, these transit stations are worth a stop just to take a look around.

Drassanes, Barcelona

Amazing Subway Stations Drassanes 1

Amazing Subway Stations Drassanes 2
An old subway station in Barcelona, built in 1968, was covered with new surfaces to create an entirely new look, with black resin floors and lightweight white glass-reinforced concrete over the walls. The result is bright and clean with pops of color and a much more updated feel.

Radhuset, Stockholm

Amazing Subway Stations Radhuset

Stockholm boasts an incredible 90 decorated subway stations, each of which bearing its own unique visual identity. This one, Radhuset (courthouse) was built in 1975, and resembles a bright red cavern.

Westfriedhof, Munich

Amazing Subway Stations Westfriedhof

The dramatic Westfriedhof station in Munich, Germany features eleven large lamps that cast colored lights onto various areas of the platform. The ceiling and walls are just barely illuminated in a deep, dark blue.

Komsomolskaya, Moscow

Amazing Subway Stations Komsomolskaya

The busiest transport hub on the Moscow metro is a showcase of Stalinist architecture, with a palatial Baroque theme in bright yellow. It’s one of the most luxurious subway stations in the world, with marble columns, murals and massive chandeliers.

Toledo, Naples, Italy

Amazing Subway Stations Naples

The stunning Crater of Luz by Oscar Tusquet Blanca is the centerpiece of the Toledo station in Naples, Italy – one of the most art-filled subway lines in the world. The Naples metro features 13 ‘Art Stations’  that aim to give everyone a close-up look at prime examples of contemporary art.

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Underground But Overboard 15 Extreme Subway Stations

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Transits Of Venus: 8 Women-Only Subway & Train Cars

08 Sep

[ By Steve in Global & Travel & Places. ]

women-only subway train cars
Subway sandwich: good if you’re hungry, bad if you’re a female commuter. These 8 women-only transit cars offer groups of gals a grope-free rail road trip.

Japanese Rail & Subways

Tokyo Metro women-only subway train car(image via: Wikipedia)

Japan first introduced women-only subway cars in 1912, though their usage was sporadic and isolated. Modern usage of train and subways carriages specifically restricted to women dates from the year 2000 with the Tokyo Metro succumbing to popular demand for such cars in 2005.

Japan subway women-only cars(images via: Apple Daily, The Japan Times and The Grid)

They may have been late to the dance but the Tokyo Metro now serves as a model for other city’s and nation’s transit systems on how to do women-only transit right. Designated cars are consistently color-coded (pink, naturally) to avoid confusion by the visually-impaired, signage on the trains in in the stations is profuse, and transit police are on hand to enforce the rules.

Rio de Janeiro Metro, Brazil

women-only car Rio de Janeiro Metro Brazil subway(image via: RAYRAY IN RIO!)

Brazil’s first gender-specific subway cars first appeared on São Paulo Metro in October 1995, but the scheme was discontinued in September 1997 after the Companhia Paulista de Trens Metropolitanos (CPTM) received complaints from married couples. There was also the possibility that Article 5 of the Brazilian Constitution, which guarantees equality among citizens, might be inadvertently flouted giving rise to an expensive legal challenge. Curiously, the Rio de Janeiro Metro was untroubled by these sticking points and introduced women-only subway passenger carriages in April of 2006.

women-only cars Rio de janeiro Metro Brazil subway(images via: NBC News and Andén 2)

The official policy regarding women-only carriages dictates that for trains with six passenger cars, one car must exhibit predominantly pink colors and signage denoted the car to be for the exclusive use of women. It should be noted that pinkness notwithstanding, the women-only restriction only applies on weekdays during the morning and afternoon rush hours (3 hours each). Metro police enforcement is provided to ensure non-women (also known as men) stay out of the cars and station platforms have signs in pink, white and yellow on their floors indicating where women should assemble for boarding.

women-only car Rio de Janeiro Metro Brazil subway(image via: Wikipedia/Mario Roberto Durán Ortiz)

The recent introduction of Rio de Janeiro’s “Women’s Exclusive Cars” has allowed the system to borrow from other successful subway networks around the world: note the “Mind The Gap” warning on the platform, lifted from the London Underground circa 1969.

“Kereta Khusus Wanita”, Indonesia

Kereta Khusus Wanita Indonesia women-only commuter trains(images via: CharlesKKB, The Jakarta Post and Tempo.co)

If the Indonesian commuter train you’re about to board is trimmed in pink & purple and bears the legend “Kereta Khusus Wanita”, back off Jack… unless you’re a Jill.

Kereta Khusus Wanita Indonesia women-only train(image via: Korean Lecture Heeya)

Indonesian women have taken to the women-only services provided by the nation’s commuter train lines, and if such service is withdrawn they don’t take the loss lying down. Such was the case in May of 2013 when PT KAI Jabodetabek Commuter decided to discontinue the exclusive cars on its women-only Electric Railway Train (KRL) line running the Bogor to Jakarta route. “”

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Transits Of Venus 8 Women Only Subway Train Cars

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