Arts for Transit and Urban Design

Grand Central-42nd Street

Christopher Sproat

V-Beam, 2000

Functional stainless steel ceiling sculpture on 7 platform incorporating lighting, signage, LED, and fan system

V-Beam is a functional structure and an aesthetic statement. Artist Christopher Sproat has combined standard transportation hardware - signage, air circulation, and safety equipment - with his artistic sensibility to integrate the sculpture into the transit environment. The artwork takes the form of a large V, which Sproat judged to be the most practical shape in terms of access and stability, and is equipped with extruded aluminum panels and light-emitting diodes to carry out its functions. "Rather than make an artistic or decorative statement and add it to the station so that the viewer knows 'this is art,' I chose to make the entire space exuberant and unique," the artist says.