Masstransiscope (1980) by Bill Brand

This piece is located in the Myrtle Avenue subway station, which was once a stop on the Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit line between Manhattan Bridge and DeKalb Avenue. The disused station was converted into an artwork in 1980 by Bill Brand. Restored in 2008, Masstransiscope is now include in the permanent collection of Arts for Transit.

Each of the thirty foot high images is viewed through narrow slits. The movement of the train creates the correct tempo for fusing the individual elements into a motion sequence, using the principle of the zoetrope. This may be seen as the opposite of a motion picture. Instead of the audience being still and the images moving, the images stay still and the viewer moves laterally past them.

This idea has subsequently been taken up for advertising on other subway systems, including Tokyo.

This ad for a commercial product demonstrates how the original zoetrope functions.