Dipang is an architect who graduated from the School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi. He has had no formal training and has been painting since he was very young.
His influences range from the floral and decorative style of Art Nouveau, among which Gustaav Klimt is his favourite to the stark minimalism and abstraction of the modern painters like Rothko and William de Kooning. The oriental styles also influence him.About the MTA Series
We call it Dreams in Transit: An Artist’s Memoirs of Grinding in the Big Apple
A brief explanation:
James Truslow Adams in “The Epic of America”:
"If, as I have said, the things already listed were all we had to contribute, America would have made no distinctive and unique gift to mankind. But there has been also the American dream that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for every man, with opportunity for each according to his ability or achievement."
The American Dream is a topic under constant speculation. Is it the search for a higher truth, the ideal of freedom and opportunity? A dream where every man and woman is considered equal and allowed to attain their fullest stature regardless of their birth or position in society? A dream that nurtures minds into their utmost capabilities and gains recognition for them?
Or is it just a search for selfish material prosperity?
Whatever the reason, it drives people in hordes from all over the world to its shores and many to the Big Apple, the city that never comes to a standstill, a city that signifies the best and worst of America.
No doubt there is romance here. One belongs to New York instantly and reads his or her own meaning unto this city.
For the artist, New York City leaves no room for explanation. It is. Every definition seems inadequate and every assertion about the unpredictable city is vulnerable to the contrary. The attitude that the city declares with no remorse and probably defines itself with a decent amount of exactitude is “love it or leave it”.
Nevertheless, New York City is a muse for anyone with an inclination towards exploration, be it of the self, the milieu or humanity. It is a canvas in wait, time frames anxious to be choreographed. It is humanity, blatantly evident with the dualities of the novelties of the human mind and the perils of experiment. It is the epitome of the perseverance of the human spirit in a world that seems so pressured for achievement and recognition. It is the representation of battered exhausted anxious nights and indelible sardine hopeful mornings. And finally, without finality, it is the battle of mirth and gaiety against hopelessness and destitution for travelers in time and space.
These facets inspire one to love New York City while one is there and when or IF one does actually leave, leaves it in love. There is no place like New York. It is…
The MTA is the lifeline of New York City. It is where everyone, be it a million dollar Wall Street broker, a 5th Avenue super beauty, a Broadway or Hollywood shiner, a Billboard Top 100 crooner, a upper Manhattan Columbia Nobel prize scientist, a minimum wage struggler, a lethargic ‘uncouth’ homeless person etc… and the millions of rats and conspicuous tourists that infest the city mix in anonymity as they traverse through the light and dark of the city in bright metro capsules.
The drawings, sketches and writings were inspired in the MTA by the everyday commute and melancholy of New Yorkers, in their pursuit of transit dreams.
About the Metropolitan
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is the largest public transportation provider in the Western Hemisphere and 14.6 million people are served by its agencies which are sprawled over 5000 square miles. It covers the whole of New York City through the south east of New York State, Long Island, Hudson Valley and Connecticut.
A 17 – member board representing New York City and the counties in the transportation district governs the MTA.
