What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear “subway”? Dirty? Grimy? Smelly? What about artistic? With over 200 exhibits scattered throughout its 468 different stations, the New York City subway is probably the world’s most vast museum. From the colorful, bright mosaics that line Manhattan interchanges to the mysterious face-shaped windows adorning stations on the city’s fringe, the subway seems to have art for just about every mood.

Lexington and 59th Street: “Blooming”

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            Located in the mezzanine of the Lexington Avenue/59 Street Station is a beautiful, 120-foot long mosaic titled “Blooming,” by Elizabeth Murray. Murray is an experienced author, photographer, painter and gardener. She is also experienced in public space artwork—Murray was responsible for the restoration of Claude Monet’s historic gardens in Giverny, France.

            “Blooming,” placed in a passageway between the Broadway and Lexington Avenue lines, is a breathtaking piece. The mosaic depicts a large tree spreading its wings against a blue background. The wall is also adorned by the image of a blue shoe and a steaming cup of coffee. Written across the mural is the phrase, “Conduct your blooming in the noise and discipline of the whirlwind”- a line from the Gwendolyn Brooks poem “The Second Sermon on the Warpland.”

            The artwork is most likely a play on the name of Bloomingdales Department Store, located outside the station.

“I absolutely love it because it reminds me of my two daughters when they were younger,” Upper West Side resident Jim Hirshack said. “We always stopped to look at these mosaics and now that they’ve grown up, I just like looking at these mosaics, reminding me of times past.”

 “It’s all about growth, blooming, living life to the fullest,” Bronx-resident Chris Akers said. “Whenever I see the sprawling tree, it reminds me of the growth of life and I tell myself to live this day like the last.”

14th Street/Eighth Ave: “Life Underground”

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            To your right you see a police officer scolding a man trying to sneak into the subway, while to your left you see a money bag-headed man shriek with anguish as an alligator tries to take him into the depths of Manhattan’s bedrock. As long as you’re on 14th Street, you’ll never be by yourself.

            The platforms and mezzanine of the 14th Street/Eighth Avenue station are full of rambunctious bronze statues, collectively titled “Life Underground.” The statues seen here are only part of public artist Tom Otterness’s much larger series of bronze statue exhibits scattered across the city. The bronze statues of pennies and animals in Battery Park are also part of an Otterness exhibition titled “The Real World.”

            “I absolutely love it,” said Valerie Bridges, a subway maintenance worker from the Bronx. “It really brightens up my day and seeing these statues go about their business puts a smile on my face. The statues each tell a different story and it’s fun to think of the adventures they’re going though.”

            The positioning of the statues is unbelievably whimsical. One statue proudly sits on an 8 Avenue Line platform bench, while another statue appears to be diving underneath the fare gate. Money remains a constant theme—one portly statue with a top-hat is seen handing a gargantuan penny to his far smaller counterpart.

            To some, the statues provide a constant source of entertainment. “Whenever I’m standing on the platform waiting for the train, I like looking at the statutes and try to think of a story that goes along with their actions,” said Amandal Garza, a resident of New Jersey. “It’s great because there’s nothing written so I can make up what I want.”

Eastern (J/Z): “Five Points of Observation”

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            Along the eastern part of the (J/Z) lines, five stations are adorned with a unique addition: a face. The 75th Street, Cypress Hills, Woodhaven Blvd, 102-104 Sts and 111 St stations all exhibit face-shaped windows installed by Kathleen McCarthy in 1992. The exhibit is titled “Five Points of Observation.”

            The unique use of copper-mesh in the “masks,” which jut out from the otherwise opaque walls of the elevated platforms, allow the masks to appear as solid structures in the daytime and serve as windows at night. From the platform, however, one can always view the street below through the tinted windows. Unfortunately, many riders have squeezed used MetroCards between the copper mesh, equating the masks’ chins to trash cans.

            “It’s good art, but I don’t think it’s a good spot,” said Oscar Esquivel, a commuter at the Woodhaven Blvd station. Esquivel also felt that the title was deceiving, since all of the masks are placed at separate stations. “I don’t see why they call it five points. When you approach the figure, you don’t see any five points.”

            Many of the locals simply don’t notice the installation. “I really never paid it any mind,” said Tonequa Wilson, who was waiting on the Manhattan-bound platform at Woodhaven Blvd. “I don’t think I would choose this station. Maybe somewhere like inside Penn Station.”