13" x 80" x 4", wall treatment, stainless steel and paint
commission for Newark Penn Station, Newark, NJ
Like connecting dots to form an image, linking destinations by train creates a network. In either case, the connections create meaning. Connecting stars, or observing constellations in relation to the Earth’s orbit, identifies time and place for all of us. The constellations of the zodiac, first documented by the Babylonians approximately four thousand years ago, continue to measure the passing of each year. The twelve zodiac symbols, featured on the historic lamp fixtures inside Penn Station’s lobby, are based on these constellations.
While the position of the stars remains constant, the way we visually “connect the dots” varies. In 1952, H. A. Reyes, better known as the author of the Curious George books, came up with a new approach to designing these connections so that each zodiac image was clearly identifiable. It is his configurations, and their humorous gestures, that are the basis for the images displayed here. Each star, varying in magnitude, as indicated by size, is connected to its cluster by two rails suggestive of train tracks, thereby linking these parallel systems of meaning.