What if you could step inside a vintage postcard? That’s the invitation offered by “Postcards From Sheepshead Bay”. It is a captivating mural right here in the Sheepshead Bay subway station. The mural transports us back to the turn of the twentieth century. At that time Sheepshead Bay was a popular tourist destination.
DeBorah Goletz created this artwork. It captures historic sites and views from Sheepshead Bay’s past. The large outdoor mural is an oversized replica of a vintage postcard. It nostalgically presents a couple fishing and a jockey on horseback. Also featured is a summer home. Of course, the mural includes a sheepshead. That’s the fish for which the village was named.
Goletz designed “Postcards From Sheepshead Bay” for interaction. She fancifully cut out the couple’s faces. This allows people to stick their heads through for souvenir photos. It is just like the old boardwalk props, she says.
Inside the station, there is another mural. It depicts turn-of-the-century people. Two smaller murals capture quiet moments on the bay. Goletz created intricately patterned tiles. These tiles feature color gradations from green to blue and back to green. The rhythmic patterns evoke the feeling of water itself. Passengers at the Sheepshead Bay subway station can engage. They can interact with “Postcards from Sheepshead Bay” like an old-time souvenir photo prop.
DeBorah Goletz has been a potter, tile maker and educator for over 30 years. She trained with exceptional artists in the U.S. and Japan. She shares her passion for clay by teaching at three universities. She also teaches at an art school and her studio, For Love Of Mud Pottery. The Sheepshead Bay station project was her first big public art commission. It garnered her the NYC Arts Commission Award for Design Excellence in 1997. Since then, she has completed murals for several railroad stations. She also created them for a public library, corporate and private settings. She authored the book “Ceramic Art Tile for the Home”.
“Postcards From Sheepshead Bay” is more than just a pretty picture. It is a window into the past. It is an interactive experience, and a testament to the power of public art. The cutouts in the mosaic are accessible from behind. This allows people to look out through and become part of the artwork. So go ahead. Become part of the postcard. Create your own Sheepshead Bay memory.