Life Underground

Life Underground (2001) is a permanent public artwork created by American sculptor Tom Otterness for the New York City Subway's 14th Street/Eighth Avenue station, which serves the A, ​C, ​E​, and L trains. It was commissioned by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's Arts for Transit program for US$200,000, one percent of the station's renovation budget.[1] This program has commissioned permanent works of art for public transportation facilities the MTA owns and operates.[2] This work is one of the most popular artworks in the subway system.[3]

Life Underground
Some of the "Life Underground" bronze sculpture elements, including the sewer alligator
ArtistTom Otterness
Year2001
TypeBronze
Dimensions30 cm (12 in)
Location14th Street/Eighth Avenue
New York City Subway station
(A, ​C, ​E​, and L trains), New York City

Description and history

The installation is a series of whimsical miniature bronze sculptures depicting cartoon like characters showing people and animals[4] in various situations, and additional abstract sculptures, which are dispersed throughout the station platforms and passageways. Otterness said the subject of the work is "the impossibility of understanding life in New York"[1] and describes the arrangement of the individual pieces as being “scattered in little surprises.”[5] Art critic Olympia Lambert wrote that "the lovable bronze characters installed there are joined together by a common theme of implied criminality mixed with an undercurrent of social anarchy," but labeled them as "too cute", saying that this "undercuts the work's more critical edge."[6] Many of the figures have moneybag heads, and Otterness credits 19th century political cartoonist Thomas Nast's depiction of Boss Tweed and the corruption of Tammany Hall that was ongoing at the time of the subway's initial construction as his inspiration for these.[7][8]

One of the larger pieces depicts a sewer alligator, as described by reporter Michael Rundle: "There is a bronze alligator on the Eighth Avenue and 14th Street subway platform, wearing a suit and tie. A 10-inch (250 mm)-high bronze man — also wearing a suit and tie — is struggling to escape his powerful jaws. Watching the scene, aside from throngs of L train riders, is another 10-inch (250 mm) figure. He stands beside his stricken friend, hands clasped behind his back, as if to say: 'I told you not to get so close'.”[9] Otterness' sculpture has been praised for its appeal to all ages.[10] The New York Times published a 2003 account describing the interaction of a 4-year-old boy with the sewer alligator. After jumping on the alligator's head and trying to wrestle the little man from his bronze jaws, the observer notes that the boy, "about to give up, he kicked the alligator, his foot connecting solidly with the bronze head. Surprise spread across his face as he ran away, crying, 'Mom, it tried to bite me!'."[11]

Otterness had originally been contracted to sculpt 20 bronze figures, which were to have been installed in 1998.[12] Otterness became so obsessed with this project, that he delivered more than four times the amount of artwork he was originally commissioned to produce.[9] His wife finally made him end expansion of the collection by imploring him to stop "giving away our daughter's whole inheritance".[7] The complete series encompasses more than 100 individual pieces.[13] Some of the individual pieces were put on public display in 1996 on the southeast corner of Central Park at Grand Army Plaza,[14][15] and then in Battery Park City in Lower Manhattan in 1997,[16] to get public reaction prior to its installation, which was originally scheduled for 1998.[15] Approximately 25 of the pieces were finally installed at the end of 2000.[17][18] with the balance installed in the following years. The entire project took 10 years from commissioning to the final completion of the installation.[19]

Partial list of item descriptions
A portly figure of a well dressed man sitting on a platform level bench holding a moneybag as a train passes through the station. The bronze surface is polished by the hands of passersby.
  • an alligator coming out of a manhole cover, biting the behind of a person with a moneybag head[7]
  • a sleeping homeless person being watched over by a police officer[7]
  • a couple walking arm and arm[7]
  • workers sweeping up subway tokens[7]
  • a couple of fare beaters sneaking under a barrier and a cop ready to catch them on the other side[5]
  • a little man with a big money bag sitting quietly on a bench[2] perpetually waiting for a train[5]
  • workers carrying oversize versions of the tools used to build the subways[20]
  • people sweeping up piles of pennies[20]
  • colossal feet[20] cut off flat at the ankles[21]
  • a totem-like sculpture whose human features are formed into the shape of a telephone[20]
  • a flummoxed woman standing with arms up in the air, holding onto her head which she has just popped off her neck[20]
  • two figures holding a crosscut saw, going after an I-beam[21]
  • little people sitting atop bulging bags of money[8]

References
  1. Fisher, Ian (May 11, 1996). "New York Writ Small;Sassy Sculpture Casts Whimsical Cityscape in Bronze". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 5, 2022. Retrieved October 22, 2007.
  2. Dunlap, David W. (January 24, 2007). "Admiring art while waiting for the next train". International Herald Tribune. Archived from the original on April 4, 2007. Retrieved October 22, 2007.
  3. Chan, Sewell (June 30, 2005). "Access to Art With a MetroCard Swipe". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 15, 2012. Retrieved October 22, 2007.
  4. Wolfe, Gerard R. (2003). New York, 15 walking tours: an architectural guide to the metropolis. New York: McGraw-Hill. p. 315. ISBN 0-07-141185-2.
  5. Fredman, Catherine (January 2005). "Underground Treasures: New York City's Subway Art" (PDF). 360 e-zine. Steelcase. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 31, 2006. Retrieved October 24, 2007.
  6. Lambert, Olympia (October 23, 2007). "Tom Otterness at Marlborough Gallery". ArtCal Zine. Archived from the original on July 6, 2008. Retrieved October 26, 2007.
  7. Rosenstock, Bonnie (October 17, 2007). "Artist figures it's all about engaging the public". The Villager. Archived from the original on October 22, 2007. Retrieved October 22, 2007.
  8. Cueto, Cathleen II (June 7, 2005). "The Art Underground". Tracts. Not For Tourists. Archived from the original on January 28, 2013. Retrieved October 27, 2007.
  9. Rundle, Michael (October 22, 2007). "For public artist, 'life is good' : Tom Otterness can be seen at new gallery show, or in the subway system". Metro New York. Archived from the original on October 25, 2007. Retrieved October 22, 2007.
  10. Murg, Stephanie. "Marlborough Gallery makes room for Otterness-size shows". Chelsea Now. Community Media. Archived from the original on August 21, 2008. Retrieved October 27, 2007.
  11. Passoni, Tara (May 12, 2003). Rogers, Joe (ed.). "Metropolitan Diary". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 5, 2022. Retrieved October 27, 2007.
  12. Cembalest, Robin (September 21, 1997). "Art; Public Sculpture the Public Likes. Really". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
  13. Johnston, Lauren (October 4, 2007). "Otterness: Private studio of the very public artist". AM New York. Archived from the original on October 11, 2007. Retrieved October 22, 2007.
  14. Cotter, Holland (August 9, 1996). "Sculpture That Basks in Summer". The New York Times. Retrieved October 22, 2007.
  15. de Pommereau, Isabelle (July 25, 1996). "Sculpted Subway Scenes Elicit Chuckles, Insights From Passersby". The Christian Science Monitor. p. 11. ProQuest 291245147.
  16. "Tom Otterness (American), 1952: Featured artist works, exhibitions and biography from Vered Gallery". Archived from the original on May 25, 2011. Retrieved October 26, 2007.
  17. Fox; Robinson, George (August 31, 2003). "F.Y.I." The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 5, 2022. Retrieved October 26, 2007.
  18. Vogel, Carol (March 2, 2001). "Inside Art". The New York Times. Retrieved October 26, 2007.
  19. "The AI Interview: Tom Otterness" (PDF). ARTINFO. September 27, 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 24, 2011. Retrieved October 24, 2007.
  20. "NYCT Permanent Art : 14th Street/Eight Avenue, Tom Otterness, Life Underground, 2001". MTA – Arts for Transit. Archived from the original on August 16, 2016. Retrieved July 20, 2016.
  21. Carducci, Vince (April 2005). "Tom Otterness: Public Art and the Civic Ideal in the Postmodern Age". Sculpture.org. Archived from the original on December 31, 2017. Retrieved October 26, 2007.
External video
video icon "Life Underground" by Tom Otterness, Metropolitan Transportation Authority; January 13, 2010; 2:34 YouTube video clip
video icon Tom Otterness: Subway Installations, 2:45 The New York Times video clip
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