Funktional Vibrations, X. Bailey New York
Subway Art 11
Xenobia Bailey (women's life coach) is a Harlem-based female African-American fine artist, fiber artist, designer, supernaturalist and cultural activist. This installation of her work in the new MTA Hudson Yards station is probably the largest piece in the subway network. Three mosaics installed in three different locations are based on some of Bailey's crocheting patterns.
About Funktional Vibrations, Bailey said "It's the cosmos. I wanted the pieces to be motivating like the sunrise, sunset, and shooting stars. I wanted to design something with a similar ambience that would inspire an invigorating state of being."
This station is more than 100 feet deep, placing it among the system's deepest, and a counterpoint to the system's highest, Smith/9th Street at 90 feet. Hudson Yards is a new development on the far west side of Manhattan, formerly industrial - factory buildings, train tracks, that sort of stuff. The Jacob Javits Convention Center is nearby. This station terminates the brand new $2.4 billion extension of the 7 Train.
I think the subway art about which I write is meant to provoke you in unexpected ways. It's not destination art. Instead, if after spotting a few pieces, one feels one's curiosity piqued, reaching that higher plane pays rewards in other ways. There may be fifty or more pieces scattered about, nearly all beautiful and provocative. Keep your eyes peeled! And, it's not all new - some date back many decades.
I've been searching for a retail outlet selling her work. So far, no luck, but she does have an online presence.
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West 34th Street 564
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