Cathedral Parkway (110th Street) Subway Art [Detail 2]

tags: Cathedral Parkway, 110th street, Migrations, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC

At Cathedral Parkway, Harlem's southern boundary, three large mosaic murals were created that refer to migration and African homelands. "Overall, the panels present the ideas of uprooting, migration, and progress in symbolic form," says artist Christopher Wynter. He further explains that the blocks of color differentiate various African ancestral homelands, and the circular symbol represents the n'kis, or sacred place concept, of the Nkongo people. Houses on stilts suggest Central African buildings, while horizontal bands of color denote village paths. Wheels and walking feet describe faraway destinations, according to Wynter, and walking feet describe faraway destinations, according to Wynter, and reference the mass movements of Africans throughout history. The station is located below Frederick Douglass Circle. Douglass, the abolitionist crusader, is also depicted.

I have photographed glass tile mosaic artworks from several NYC subway stations now, so far, all are westside Manhattan subway lines; including the 42nd street/Times Square up[stairs platform (1, 2 & 3 trains), West 66th street/Lincoln Center Station (1 train), West 34th Street/Pennsylvania Station (A, C & E trains), Chambers Street (A & C trains), Houston Street (1 train), Pennsylvania "Penn" station (1, 2 & 3 trains) [subway art archives] and, my favorite subway station of all, the American Museum of Natural History station at 81st and Central Park West (B & C trains) [AMNH archives].