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Finding Optimism on Your MetroCard
By
Jen Carlson
Published Nov 20, 2009
Modified Nov 20, 2009
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Nov 20, 2009
Modified Nov 20, 2009
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The latest public art project to glean some attention can fit right in your pocket... but it's gonna cost ya. The NY Times reports that seven million MetroCards were distributed starting in September, all containing the word "optimism" on the back. The MTA, perhaps seeing it as a way to brainwash unhappy customers, oversaw the project.
Did the cards help create Stepford Straphangers, totally okay with fare hikes and delays? No. But the MTA's Christopher Boylan, says: “God knows people want to feel good, they want to feel up, they want to feel positive. If I can make a couple of customers smile a day, that’s nice.”
The artist, Reed Seifer, says, “I like that maybe not everyone’s going to see it. Or maybe one day you just look and say, ‘Oh.’ It exists between the card and the person who receives the card." What word would you put on the back of a MetroCard?
Tagged
metrocard
MTA
optimism
public art
Reed Seifer
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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