‘Humans of New York’ Transforms Grand Central Into a Monumental Photo Show

For the first time possibly ever, there is not a single ad to be seen in Grand Central Terminal. “Humans of New York,” Brandon Stanton‘s popular social media art series of photographs of people he’s interviewed on the city’s streets, has taken over each and every one of the 150 video billboards in the grand concourse, as well as the subway ads below in Grand Central Station for “Dear New York.”

“This beautiful art installation transforms the terminal into a photographic display of New Yorkers telling their stories from all walks of life—serving as a powerful reminder of our shared humanity,” MTA director of commercial ventures Mary John said in a statement. “It is the first time an artist has unified digital displays in both the terminal and subway station below, and the MTA coordinated across many corners of our organization to make this happen.”

It’s New York’s largest public art installation in 20 years, since by Christo and Jeanne-Claude, a magical pathway of saffron-colored fabric in Central Park. And it’s all the more impressive in that Stanton paid for it all out of pocket, as a gift to the city.

“If it provides even the slightest amount of joy, solace, beauty, or connection to the 750,000 people who pass through Grand Central every day—we have achieved our goal,” he wrote on Facebook.

The Project Was a Massive Undertaking

The original plan was to use the proceeds from his new book, , but Stanton ended up having to dip into his life savings to cover the total cost, which included space rental and covering the station’s lost ad revenue. The artist and journalist, who wrote the best-selling book , declined to provide an exact figure, but told the that “I no longer have any stocks.”

Stanton has shot portraits of 10,000 people across the five boroughs and beyond since beginning “Humans of New York” in 2010, creating a kind of photographic census of the city. (He has since expanded the project’s scope internationally, to 40 countries and counting.)

“Dear New York” is projecting some of those images, enlarged to be 50 feet tall, onto the towering columns beneath the station’s famed starry ceiling. It’s all set to a soundtrack from the Juilliard School, which has provided more than 100 hours of music in various genres from live performances by students, alumni, and faculty.

Other photos have been printed on vinyl and affixed to the tile walls of the passageways down in the subway station. There’s also a photo display mounted inside the station’s Vanderbilt Hall, where Stanton has shared the stage with 10 local artists and 600 New York City public school kids.

To bring the project to life, Stanton tapped Broadway producer David Korins, who worked on , , and Immersive Van Gogh, as the creative director for experience in the main concourse. Andrea Trabucco-Campos, a partner at the design firm Pentagram, was responsible for laying out the installations across the labyrinthine subway tunnels below.

Stanton, who has over 30 million followers across social media platforms, spent about six months organizing the exhibition.

The opening was timed to the release of the . (Once he covers the exhibition’s installation costs, Stanton plans to donate the book’s profits to New York City charities; he has raised over $10 million to date through “Humans of New York.”)

“It is a love letter to the people of this city, and about the people of this city,” Stanton said of the exhibition in a statement. “Everyone who visits ‘Dear New York’ will not only see the art, they will become a part of it.”

Source: Exhibition - news.artnet.com