June/July Final Parts

May Forming Palettes + Compositing

On the Ground

February Prioritizing Parts

January New Year

2023

September-December Introduction

Colorized 3D Prints, August 2024

Wet Paint: A Study of Subway Columns

The path to pursue the S-C-A surfaced in the Spring of 2020 through a project called “Wet Paint: A Study of Subway Columns.” This study focused on the 23rd Street E/C station, a local stop with moderate foot traffic— paint chips were collected from the platform, dissected, and examined for chroma, thickness, and texture. Seven unique color phases emerged. Each progressive column reveals a new portal to the layer below.

From Wet Paint to the Subway-Color-Archive

Columns along the 31 stations between 207th St. and Jay St. Metrotech, which opened from 1932-33, have nearly a century of layered color history. Bulletins aim to provide updates and insight into the research process as it unfolds. Leads on additional support and funding are appreciated.

Printed perspective/ortho view stills from composited 3D scans. And a ~ 1”=1’ Physical model of 14th Street, Fall 2023. Read the January Bulletin for thoughts and more information on both.

Route map

Between 1932 and 1940, the city built and managed the Independent Subway System (IND). Unlike the privately operated Interborough Rapid Transit (IRT) and Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit (BMT), the IND was meant to be owned and operated by the municipal government. These three networks were unified in 1940. Current A, B, C, D, E, F, and G trains derive from the original Independent services.

Architect Squire J. Vickers designed an art deco-inspired wall tile system in which the color of stations shifts at express stations to aid underground navigation. The columns at these stations do not follow his pattern, but occasionally, they match.

S-C-A 3D Scan - 145th, February 2024

Contact subway.color.archive@gmail.com for questions, comments, and image rights.

The time is now :

August-November Pre-print