MTA Arts & Design

Bowling Green

Patrick Cashin

Vantage Points: Rarely seen vistas captured from the unique perspective of former MTA Photographer Patrick Cashin

Patrick Cashin’s images in the Lightbox Photography exhibition on view at the Bowling Green station offer a glimpse into the singular perspective of an individual who spent 20 years immersed in every aspect of the transit system visually documenting MTA locations, projects and milestones. The seven large-scale photographs in this exhibit trace Cashin’s photographic journey, from his ascent to the highest points of the city’s bridges to the green pastures of the Metro-North Railroad region.

Vantage Points is a special opportunity to showcase Cashin’s distinct photographic eye and unique subject-matter in a public space. Some of his most striking images come from the quiet moments with nature, like the graceful arch of the Henry Hudson Bridge framed by the fall leaves of Inwood Park, or views from areas of the system that were off-limits to most people, like the top of the Brooklyn Tower of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge where he captured an intimate encounter with a falcon. In describing his experience climbing atop the 138th Street Bridge, something usually reserved for maintenance workers, he said “I took my time there because I knew I probably wasn’t going to get up there again.” Cashin approached each scenario not just as a documentary opportunity but also by artfully bringing a human connection and two decades of experience to each image, capturing the details, climate and environment of his surroundings.

Patrick Cashin was born in Brooklyn, New York and attended Automotive High School. His interest in photography began while in the U.S. Navy, after which he joined Newsweek magazine, where he worked for 16 years, photographing worldwide. Cashin was the esteemed staff photographer for the New York State Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) from 2000 - 2020. His photography has appeared in countless publications such as the New York Times, The Sunday Times, New York Daily News, The Weekly Flickr, Channel Thirteen Metro Focus, and MTA brochures and ads.

The exhibit was generously sponsored by Griffin Editions and Kodak Alaris.