If you were riding the B, D, N or Q train in the early 80s, you may recall a “20-second burst of color and shapes in the tunnel before emerging to cross the Manhattan Bridge.” That was Bill Brand’s public art project, the Masstransiscope — and it’s still there, under layers of graffiti and subway filth. Using the principles of a zoetrope (the 19th-century optical toy that makes images inside a revolving cylinder appear to move), Brand painted 228 panels along a 300-foot platform at an abandoned Myrtle Avenue station. Now, he’d like to restore it to its former glory. The MTA’s Arts for Transit program isn’t willing to spend $35,000-$40,000 on restoration costs — but if Bill Brand can raise the money, the MTA would help coordinate the project.
Underground art in Brooklyn [NY Metro]
Masstransiscope [Bill Brand Optics]
Masstransiscope [Creative Time]