Happy 250th Birthday to Beethoven
“Don’t only practice your art, but force your way into its secrets; art deserves that, for it and knowledge can raise man to the Divine.” —Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) Baptized […]
Category Archives: Public Art
9/11 Inspired Art
“At first, it was hard to work. Everything seemed pretty trivial compared to it. Everybody said, ‘Do something that will take people’s minds off it.’ If you couldn’t figure out […]
Ben Franklin in New York City
“It is appropriate that this statue should be erected in this center of our trade, in the very midst of our craft-work, instead of in Central Park; for Franklin’s life […]
Library Way: Walking with Literature
“Literature is my Utopia. Here I am not disenfranchised. No barrier of the senses shuts me out from the sweet, gracious discourses of my book friends. They talk to me […]
Explained: the Seal of the City of New York
“Sigillum Civitatis Novi Eboraci” — this Latin phrase translates to Seal of the City of New York From school houses to library buildings to police shields, the Seal of the […]
World War I Memorials, Part Five
“Men and Women of Brooklyn Who Died In the World War MCMXIV – MCMXVIII They gave their lives for liberty And universal peace Honor, Duty, Country” —Inscriptions above the benches […]
Lady Liberty’s Father
“Remain steadfast in the faith; instruct yourself; bridle your tongue; repress your wrath; forbear to do evil; associate with the good; screen the faults of your neighbor; relieve the poor […]
Subway Art: “The Greenwich Village Murals”
“I regret profoundly that I was not an American and not born in Greenwich Village. It might be dying, and there might be a lot of dirt in the air […]
Subway Art: “Perfect Strangers”
“I wanted them to be normal people. I know lots of normal people. I kept thinking: Who would make the perfect stranger?” —Vik Muniz (1961–present) talking about his subway artwork […]
