Scott Rothkopf

Roy Lichtenstein: Times Square Mural Scott Rothkopf

Twelve years ago, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Arts for Transit commissioned Roy Lichtenstein to create a mural for the Times Square subway station at 42nd Street and Broadway in Manhattan. Fabricated by Lichtenstein in 1994, the mural was finally unveiled on September 5, 2002, a gift from the artist to all New Yorkers. Standing 6 feet high and 53 feet long, the mural provides a skyline view of a futuristic metropolis, as represented through Lichtenstein's trademark benday dots and comic book flair. The development of the mural is explored here through an essay by Harvard University scholar Scott Rothkopf and "Report on Miniaturization (Metropolis, 2030 A. D.)," a new, specially commissioned short story by Rick Moody. In this appropriately oversized book, viewers get a glimpse of Lichtenstein's creative process, interweaving motifs, and visionary themes, and of the four decades of art making and rich associations that went into the making of the Times Square Mural.