The New York City subway, known for its numerous stations, has gained a reputation for being crowded, delayed, dirty, and infested with rats. However, amidst these negative aspects, it also possesses the potential for astonishing experiences. For the past 75 years, the School of Visual Arts (SVA), a prestigious art and design college in America, has been creating posters to captivate and uplift the moods of commuters bustling through the underground stations. This advertising campaign is the longest-running in the history of the city’s Metropolitan Transit Authority.
Now, over 200 posters from this collection will be showcased in an exhibition called “Underground Images: A History” at the SVA Chelsea Gallery. The exhibition will also include multimedia installations, progress sketches, paintings, and even a recreated subway platform. Works from 93 artists, including renowned names like Milton Glaser, Paula Scher, Marshall Arisman, and Gail Anderson, will be featured.
Francis Di Tommaso, the director of SVA Galleries, expresses his hope that viewers will make the connection intended by the original posters. He states, “Here’s visual arts. It’s grabbing you by the lapels. It’s got your eyeballs. That’s what we do here. This is our product. We make artists. I’m hoping that that connection will be furthered by seeing the whole 208 of these things, the whole collection of them.”
The SVA was founded in 1947 by Silas Rhodes and Burne Hogarth, the renowned artist behind the Tarzan comic strip. Initially known as the Cartoonists and Illustrators School, it primarily aimed to provide education to World War II veterans seeking better job opportunities in advertising and publishing. Rhodes drew inspiration from posters (affiches) he observed in Paris and decided to commission faculty members to design captivating posters that echoed the French aesthetic. Hogarth created one of the first posters, and under Rhodes’s leadership, the school began producing two to three posters annually.
Di Tommaso explains that Rhodes sought to replicate the French affiches by creating visually appealing and captivating posters. The posters featured clever taglines and slogans, such as “To be good is not enough when you dream of being great” and “Talent isn’t worth much unless you know what to do with it”.
On the 50th anniversary, the campaign simply focused on the phrase “Art is”. Scher, one of the notable contributors, designed a poster that featured the words “art is” in lowercase, interwoven with the names of countless artists, musicians, designers, and painters. This concept cleverly encapsulated the essence of art.
The collaboration between SVA and Milton Glaser, the mastermind behind the iconic “I ♥ NY” logo, has lasted for 50 years. Following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Glaser designed a poster with the message “I ♥ NY more than ever”, featuring a heart with a small burn mark symbolizing the World Trade Centre’s location. Students from SVA distributed this poster extensively across New York.
Another response to the 9/11 attacks came from Kevin O’Callaghan, who designed a poster depicting a window in Brooklyn overlooking the Manhattan skyline, where the twin towers used to stand. In place of the towers, two living topiaries shaped like the former buildings were showcased under the tagline “Art is… healing.”
Di Tommaso expresses surprise at the lack of imitation by other major art schools in America. He believes that leveraging the talent of faculty members and alumni to create captivating posters would be an effective way to attract attention to these colleges. Other art schools could follow SVA’s lead and produce eye-catching posters that would seamlessly promote their institutions.
Since 2006, a traveling version of the exhibition, Underground Images, has journeyed through galleries worldwide, including countries like the Czech Republic, India, Jamaica, and cities across the US. Now, the exhibition is returning home in an expanded format. It will cover the history, creation methods, evolution, and cultural impact of these posters. The exhibition emphasizes the involvement of various crafts, such as typography, illustration, graphic design, and fine art.
Di Tommaso hopes that visitors will recognize the artistry displayed in these posters and make a connection between them and the college. He emphasizes that the extensive collection and production of these posters reflect the college’s strength and highlights the opportunity it offers, not only in terms of commissions but also in printing 830 copies per run.
With its rich history and creative approach, SVA’s Underground Images exhibition showcases the power of art in everyday life, particularly in the bustling and sometimes chaotic environment of the New York City subway.
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