Arts for Transit and Urban Design

Hicksville

Roy Nicholson

Morning Transit, Hempstead Plain & Evening Transit, Hempstead Plain, 2002

Glass mosaics on waiting room walls

In the Morning Transit, Hempstead Plain & Evening Transit, Hempstead Plain murals, Roy Nicholson takes viewers back in time. The area around Hicksville was once a notable rarity, an example of an original prairie landscape most often associated with the Midwest. Nicholson recaptures that setting, in look and spirit, as if seen from a speeding train. The colors vary according to the time of day depicted - soft green and blue hues for sunrise in Morning Transit, and red and blue hues for sunset in Evening Transit. "Each commuter imagines his or her own personal scenery," says Nicholson. "One can look at it over and over again and discover new images." The artist creates a contemplative meditation on landscape and rewards the viewer with an affectionate look back at Long Island before the post-war housing boom forever altered the landscape.