The next time you’re in Penn Station take a moment to admire the gorgeous art beautifying the walls from fellow New Yorkers, all thanks to Art at Amtrak.
Year-round public art initiative Art at Amtrak is displaying its second installation of art, showcasing multidisciplinary artist and educator Dennis RedMoon Darkeem‘s work Patchwork Travelers, which draws colors, patterns, and icons such as totems, earth mounds, and the medicine wheel from his dual heritage as a Native and African American into a visually rich and cohesive work.
For Darkeem the site-specific installation, which can be found in Penn Station’s main rotunda area, is an opportunity to honor and share his indigenous traditions with a large and diverse public audience.
Ghost of a Dream (Lauren Was and Adam Eckstrom) installed Aligned by the Sun (Connections) to overlook the departure hall. In this work they asked artists around the world to capture and submit short videos of the sun in which they took stills from and connected to create a continuous landscape that places viewers metaphorically in the center of the planet.
“Art at Amtrak continues to advance our commitment to ensuring all travelers have a modern, inspiring, safe and accessible experience to the cultural capital of the world,” said Sharon Tepper, Amtrak Director, Planning and Development, New York Penn Station. “In its first few months, this initiative has made Penn Station a site for contemporary art that engages visitors from around the world, and we look forward to seeing the station retransformed.”