72nd Street B, C station outside the Dakota reopens with mosaics by Yoko Ono

The MTA has reopened the 72nd Street B, C station on the Upper West Side after five months of extensive upgrades. In addition to the new digital signs and energy-efficient lighting, the station now features a ceramic mosaic designed by Yoko Ono. Titled “SKY,” the design includes six separate mosaics on platforms and mezzanines that show a blue sky with clouds, with hidden messages of hope written throughout. Yoko has lived in the Dakota, the famed co-op building above the subway station, since 1973. Strawberry Fields, the memorial dedicated to her late husband John Lennon in 1985, is located across the street.

 

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Imagine seeing the blue sky underground as you enter the subway at 72nd Street (B,C), where @yokoonoofficial has created “SKY”, a series of intricate ceramic mosaic murals of cloud-filled skies, fabricated by @instamosaika. As passengers move through the station, messages of hope that appear to be handwritten, float in the vast open sky, as the perspective shifts in each artwork. The transformation of photographs into mosaic sky paintings with subtle gradations in color and tone creates a visually striking environment. “I’m thrilled that my new work, SKY, is at the 72nd street subway station just steps from my home and Strawberry Fields, which I created in memory of my late husband. It brings the sky underground, so it’s always with us. I hope this will bring peace and joy to my fellow New Yorkers for many years to come.” – Yoko Ono. Ono has lived in the apartment building located above the #72Street subway station, since 1973. ? PatrickCashin/MTA. #MTAArts #YokoOno #Mosaika #ImaginePeace #SKY #subwayart #publicart #mosaic #RememberLove #dream #yes #remember #TheDakota #StrawberryFields #Imagine

A post shared by MTA Arts & Design (@mtaartsdesign) on Oct 5, 2018 at 7:07am PDT

The MTA installed Ono’s design where wall tiles needed replacement. The messages of hope appear in the clouds as riders move through the station and as perspectives shift. “I’m thrilled that my new work, ‘SKY,’ will be opening at the 72 St subway station just steps from my home and Strawberry Fields, which I created in memory of my late husband,” Ono said. “It will bring the sky underground, so it’s always with us. I hope this will bring peace and joy to my fellow New Yorkers for many years to come.”

The Central Park West station had been closed since May to allow crews to work on track and platform infrastructure repairs. The MTA repaired slabs and steel columns, waterproofed areas known for leaks, cleaned and repaired rusted infrastructure, and replaced floor slabs and tiles.

“This station is nearly 90 years old but after these much-needed repairs to its structure and modern enhancements to bring it into the 21st century, it will be a completely new and different experience for the thousands of customers who use this station regularly,” NYC Transit President Andy Byford said in a statement.

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• Destroyed on 9/11, Cortlandt Street subway station reopens this weekend
• The second entrance at 34th Street-Hudson Yards 7 station is finally open
• Three Harlem and Bronx subway stations to get upgrades for the first time in 114 years

All images courtesy of the MTA on Flickr