Tom Otterness

These humorous installations, entitled Life Underground from 1998, were commissioned by the Metropolitan Transit Authority and Arts for Transit for the 14th Street and 8th Avenue subway station in New York. They are the creations of Tom Otterness. I thought his rotund characters were really cute and it's fun to try and spot them. His bronze sculptures emerge from the floors and ceilings throughout and above the station. There are a total of 100 cast-bronze sculptures placed throughout the platforms and stairways of the A, C, E, and L lines of the station.

His style is very whimsical and cartoon-like whilst containing a political punch. He has also created pieces for Times Square, children's playgrounds and other parks around the world.

"These sculptures depict, among other things, huge pennies, pudgy characters in business suits with moneybag heads, helmeted workers holding giant tools, and crocodiles crawling out from under sewer covers. The main theme of his work seems to be the struggle of the little man against the Capitalist machine in a difficult and strange city."- Vince Carducci, cultural critic and social researcher.