New York City brought in the new year in a pretty awesome way: by unveiling some incredible mosaic portraits on the Second Avenue subway line.
One particular piece is especially touching because it features a gay couple. It is thought to be the first permanent LGBTQ piece of public art in NYC.
Sneak peek: This one is from Vik Muniz’s display
The subway has been a long time coming – it’s taken 100 years for the Second Avenue line to be completed, so New Yorkers must feel pretty good right now and the art is a definite bonus.
This mosaic was painted by Brazilian artist Vik Muniz as part of his Perfect Strangers series which aims to show life-sized portraits of average New Yorkers. The city’s governor, Andrew Cuomo, says on his Instagram that Muniz “wanted to show normal people you see on the subway that you remember distinctly, but regard as a stranger”.
This particular portrait shows Thor Stockman and his husband, Patrick Kellogg. Stockman says being featured is “like winning the lottery,” but also says he wishes that LGBTQ representations in public art weren’t such a rarity.
Many artists and many different faces are featured in the shiny new subway – just have a look at the other mosaics which would definitely liven up any underground.
Experts say that depiction of love between gay men is a rarity in public art, so this is a brilliant show of equality and love from the Big Apple.
