Americans for the Arts, a nonprofit organization for advancing the arts and arts education, recently recognized art projects commissioned by the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), New York City DOT, and the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) in Charlotte, NC, as three of the 50 best U.S. public artworks created and placed in 2011.

Artist Jason Middlebrook created “Brooklyn Seeds,” a glass and ceramic mosaic, on a wall at MTA New York City Transit’s Avenue U Station in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. MTA Arts for Transit commissioned the work, which depicts flowers resembling the wildflowers that grow in unlikely places in urban neighborhoods, as part of the rehabilitation of several subway stations on the Brighton line.

New York City DOT’s “Curbside Haiku” safety campaign—designed by artist John Morse, who also wrote the haikus—brings together silhouette images and safety messages in haiku format on colorful, eight-inch square signs. More than 200 of the signs are being installed at high-traffic locations near cultural institutions and schools throughout the city.

CATS’ North Davidson Bus Facility is the home of North Carolina artist Jimmy O’Neal’s “Wheels on the Bus in 7 Cymatic Sonatas,” which uses a cymascope—an instrument that converts sound vibrations into visual patterns—to produce images based on the key and frequency of each sound he recorded in buses and bus facilities. As a result, the appearance of the work constantly shifts through the incorporation of daily and seasonal atmospheric changes.

Since 2000, the Public Art Network Year in Review has annually recognized outstanding public art projects through an open call submission and juror selection process.

New York MTA/Etienne Frossard and Rob Wilson A detail of “Brooklyn Seeds,” a wall mosaic created by Jason Middlebrook in NYC Transit’s Avenue U Station in Brooklyn.	Photo by JoAnn Sieburg Baker Artist Jimmy O’Neal designed his “Wheels on the Bus in 7 Cymatic Sonatas” to respond to changes in sound and atmosphere at CATS’ North Davidson Bus Facility.