Yay another trip to Oklahoma today! It is one of my top 50 favorite states (in the US). And getting there is fun too, sometimes.
Anyone been to the fancy New Jersey Transit waiting room at Penn Station? I’ve taken the train to Newark Airport from there before but hadn’t seen the waiting room before this trip for some reason. It’s such an interesting atmosphere, combining the dinginess of contemporary American rail travel with what seems like an attempt to recapture the glamour of trains from the past. So homeless people nap and tinny classical music plays overhead. Also: an art installation!
This is “New Jersey On Parade,” a piece by George Mossman Greenamyer that was commissioned by NJ Transit in 2002, according to a plaque on the wall. It’s actually a pretty neat display of New Jersey landmarks and icons made of steel suspended from a track and constantly in motion. You see, because of trains and stuff. And here is Mr. Peanut.
The nostalgic style of the piece and the clicking mechanical sound it makes going around the tracks seems so very 1940s, I think, and strangely complements the old flickering monitors, the surly passengers, the piped-in classical music, and the smell of Auntie Anne’s Pretzels mixed with body odor.
I’m depressed.
Don’t be depressed! It is awesome that the NJT can commission art. (That is why I categorized it under “Awesome Things.”
i kind of love it
You paint such a vivid picture. . . unfortunately. I can smell that pretzel/BO combo as I sit here. I think I’ve spent too much time in the city. Plus- mad propers to the Jersey Shore! Have a safe trip to OK~
Art is pretty and stuff XP
I actually really like this. I see it every day; keeps me entertained. Not during rush hour though. Nothing can entertain me then.