The Middle-earth mock transit notices that are sweeping the New York metro
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TORn: Was there a particular trigger that made you want to spoof the MTA posters using Tolkien’s Middle-earth? Why Middle-earth in particular?
I had been thinking of doing some kind of art-work in the subway. I didn’t want to just put up a marker tag or sticker because it seemed too easy. I wanted to do something more challenging.
I observed that the MTA (Metropolitan Transportation Authority) was putting up a lot of advisory notices in the stations. People sometimes read them and sometimes didn’t — but everyone had to pass by them. That’s what inspired me to create the posters. I would mimic this phenomenon — place art in front of commuters who would have to look at it directly to see it’s true nature.
“But, what to post?” I asked myself. Other artists had put up fake advisory signs in the past. What could I do that was different? I spent days racking my brain and came up with nothing. So, I shelved the idea.
Dead Marshes by William Puck.Then one day, I was on the R train and had to be somewhere at 6pm. I had very little time and the train I needed to take was more messed up than usual: there was a delay because of a sick passenger … I had to wait to transfer to another train, but that train had mechanical problems … I had to take an express train past my stop and then had to back track to my original destination …
Finally, I climbed the stairs out of the station and into fresh air. I got to where I needed to be with moments to spare. Walking down the street I thought, “My God! Frodo and Samwise had it easier traveling to Mount Doom to destroy the One Ring, than I did traveling the subway today.” Of course, that is a complete exaggeration. But still, I was inspired. Every time I take the subway, it is an adventure. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are considered the ultimate adventures stories. It just clicked right then and there for me.
I started looking at subway notices differently in the days that followed.
Instead of: “Because of a broken rail, there will be track work this weekend. Expect delays and take the 4 or 5 as an alternative route”; I saw: “Because of high Goblin activity, expect delays in service. Take an Eagle as an alternative route.”
Posted in Creations, Fans, Green Books, Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit on August 15, 2013 by Demosthenes