Arts for Transit and Urban Design

Jamaica Center-Parsons-Archer

Sam Gilliam

Jamaica Center Station Riders, Blue, 1991

Painted aluminum sculpture on wall above entrance

The wall sculpture consists of two elements, a large ellipse and an armature that holds it, constructed of aluminum plate with deep welds. Gilliam's has long been interested in sculptural and theatrical work that interacts with the space it inhabits. He began draping his canvases and this led to his public sculpture such as this piece, where aluminum has taken the place of a canvas. In the artist's words, the work "calls to mind movement, circuits, speed, technology, and passenger ships...the colors used in the piece... refer to colors of the respective subway lines. The predominant use of blue provides one with a visual solid in a transitional area that is near subterranean."