Last year, artists Jean-Pierre Roy and MIchael Kagan had a brilliant idea. They would recycle the countless, used MetroCards New Yorkers mindlessly throw away and turn them into something amazing. These discarded pieces of trash would serve as canvases on which to create miniature works of art. They would call the show Single Fare.
Well, Roy and Kagen fulfilled their dream and because of its mega success, they decided to put on a second show called Single Fare 2: Please Swipe Again. This year, it took place at Sloan Fine Art Gallery on the Lower East Side in New York. About 1,300 MetroCards were turned into masterpieces by almost as many artists. Art buyers paid one hundred dollars for a piece with a portion of the proceeds going to Alliance for the Arts’ NYC ARTS and Transportation Alternatives.
The art ranged from serene landscapes, pet portraits, and erotic pin-ups to mini-realist paintings, all wonderfully done on the 2 1/8 by 3 1/4 inch MetroCards. What an creative way to portray the love/hate relationship New Yorkers have with their MetroCard!
