Grand Central Station #2

Copied Jim Campbell, Grand Central Station #2, 2009, custom electronics, LEDs, and mounted photo-transparency, 334415 in. (83.8111.838.1 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase made possible by the American Art Forum, 2010.22A-C, © 2009, Jim Campbell

Artwork Details

Title
Grand Central Station #2
Artist
Date
2009
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
334415 in. (83.8111.838.1 cm)
Copyright
© 2009, Jim Campbell
Credit Line
Museum purchase made possible by the American Art Forum
Mediums
Mediums Description
custom electronics, LEDs, and mounted photo-transparency
Classifications
Subjects
  • Architecture Exterior — civic — Grand Central Station
Object Number
2010.22A-C

Artwork Description

Jim Campbell’s Grand Central Station #2 consists of a grid of LED lights that illuminate an image of the main terminal at Grand Central Station in New York City. The point of view, hovering above the marble floor as shadows pass through the terminal, mimics that of contemporary surveillance systems. The artwork functions as a layered schematic diagram of the structures of human psychology and memory, and challenges technology’s ability to accurately represent the human experience.


Watch This!: Revelations in Media Art, 2015
New Acquisition Label
Grand Central Station #2 is a major artwork by one of today's leading media artists. Jim Campbell has developed a sophisticated methodology to create his visually complex aesthetic. His custom electronics and the circuit-design element of his digital programs bring a new dimension to contemporary art. The articulating movement of figures walking through the terminal in Grand Central Station #2 subtly shifts our perception of the pictorial plane in relation to the still photographic image. The result is a haunting meditation on architectural surface as a reflection of memory.

Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2010

Exhibitions

Media - 2010.5 - SAAM-2010.5_1 - 73850
Watch This! New Directions in the Art of the Moving Image (1.0)
December 10, 2010March 2, 2012
Watch This! New Directions in the Art of the Moving Image is a series of rotating exhibitions drawn from SAAM’s permanent collection.