Arts for Transit and Urban Design

Central Park North (110th Street)

Maren Hassinger

Message from Malcolm, 1998

Glass mosaic on stairway walls and platform

The artwork created for the station honors Malcolm X and consists of quotations within mosaic panels that line the stairway walls at the entrance and an upright wall on the station platform. Speaking of her work, Maren Hassinger said, "Basically, I wanted to make something that behaved very physically with the site while also honoring the memory of Malcolm X..." Among the quotations are "I believe in a society in which people can live like human beings on the basis of equality", and "Nobody's going to straighten out Harlem but us." "The upright wall within the station contains images/symbols of prowess on one side and Malcolm's words on the reverse side, the artist said." Here the idea of power, leadership, and spiritual support are linked. Malcolm X believed that we as African Americans have the power to determine our destinies. This station is a reminder of that truth."