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Washington Heights psychiatrist molds mini portraits of commuters on subway, uses them in study
Peter Bulow's sculptures now on display at Fort Tryon Park
Comments By Joseph Tepper / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Joseph Tepper for New York Daily News
A train riders watch as Peter Bulow sculpts his latest masterpiece. He has amassed more than 400 of the sculptures (r.).
An uptown psychiatrist is giving new meaning to “head shrinking.”
Washington Heights psychiatrist Peter Bulow has transformed the A train into his personal art studio, sculpting miniature busts of commuters from blobs of clay.
“I had a long commute to work, so I though it would be a good time to practice sculpting portraits,” says Bulow, 38, who has degrees in art and clinical psychiatry and works as a researcher at Columbia University.
Since he started his subway sculpting four years ago, Bulow has amassed more than 400 of the sculptures, which he calls portraits that help to “capture a moment in time.”
“It’s like I have a live connection with the subjects,” says Bulow. “It satisfies my fascination with people’s inner life.”
The hobby is more than just a way for the psychiatrist to pass the time. He’s also writing a book that connects more than 100 of the portraits with his research in neuroesthetics, the study of how the brain interprets art and music.
“When you look at a sculpture you feel all these emotions, but it’s not the sculpture that’s doing it; it’s you,” Bulow says. “It interests me how art affects the brain.”
Armed with a sculptor’s knife and a backpack full of clay, Bulow begins by kneading the fist-sized ball of clay while he scouts out potential subjects. Once he finds an interesting face, Bulow has to sculpt swiftly; his model may stay on the train for only a single stop.
“It’s kind of exciting,” Bulow says. “Sometimes, I’m standing up on a crowded train, balancing the clay and a bicycle while I work.”
Quickly, the features emerge: The pointed nose of a tourist; the bald head of a baby, wrapped in his mother’s arms, the beady eyes of a man trying to hide behind his newspaper.
Bulow says he gets along with his subjects, for the most part — except for one rider who insisted on smelling the clay to make sure the doc wasn’t sculpting plastic explosives.
“I meet all kinds of people and it’s usually pretty positive,” Bulow says. “It’s like a cross-section of New York.”
Commuters aren’t the only ones interested in Bulow’s unique craft. The city Parks Department recently opened an outdoor display for Bulow’s work at Fort Tryon Park, titled “Passing Glances.”
“He has such a treasure trove of these portraits, so we wanted them displayed on the promenade almost like a flip book,” says jennifer Lantzas, the public art coordinator for the Parks Department.
For the exhibit, which runs through the end of June, Bulow enlarged 13 of his favorite sculptures to sit near the park entrance at 190th St.
“He pays so much attention to what’s going on in the subway,” Lantzas adds. “While the rest of us try to zone out
Peter Bulow's sculptures now on display at Fort Tryon Park
Comments By Joseph Tepper / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Joseph Tepper for New York Daily NewsA train riders watch as Peter Bulow sculpts his latest masterpiece. He has amassed more than 400 of the sculptures (r.).
An uptown psychiatrist is giving new meaning to “head shrinking.”
Washington Heights psychiatrist Peter Bulow has transformed the A train into his personal art studio, sculpting miniature busts of commuters from blobs of clay.
“I had a long commute to work, so I though it would be a good time to practice sculpting portraits,” says Bulow, 38, who has degrees in art and clinical psychiatry and works as a researcher at Columbia University.
Since he started his subway sculpting four years ago, Bulow has amassed more than 400 of the sculptures, which he calls portraits that help to “capture a moment in time.”
“It’s like I have a live connection with the subjects,” says Bulow. “It satisfies my fascination with people’s inner life.”
The hobby is more than just a way for the psychiatrist to pass the time. He’s also writing a book that connects more than 100 of the portraits with his research in neuroesthetics, the study of how the brain interprets art and music.
“When you look at a sculpture you feel all these emotions, but it’s not the sculpture that’s doing it; it’s you,” Bulow says. “It interests me how art affects the brain.”
Armed with a sculptor’s knife and a backpack full of clay, Bulow begins by kneading the fist-sized ball of clay while he scouts out potential subjects. Once he finds an interesting face, Bulow has to sculpt swiftly; his model may stay on the train for only a single stop.
“It’s kind of exciting,” Bulow says. “Sometimes, I’m standing up on a crowded train, balancing the clay and a bicycle while I work.”
Quickly, the features emerge: The pointed nose of a tourist; the bald head of a baby, wrapped in his mother’s arms, the beady eyes of a man trying to hide behind his newspaper.
Bulow says he gets along with his subjects, for the most part — except for one rider who insisted on smelling the clay to make sure the doc wasn’t sculpting plastic explosives.
“I meet all kinds of people and it’s usually pretty positive,” Bulow says. “It’s like a cross-section of New York.”
Commuters aren’t the only ones interested in Bulow’s unique craft. The city Parks Department recently opened an outdoor display for Bulow’s work at Fort Tryon Park, titled “Passing Glances.”
“He has such a treasure trove of these portraits, so we wanted them displayed on the promenade almost like a flip book,” says jennifer Lantzas, the public art coordinator for the Parks Department.
For the exhibit, which runs through the end of June, Bulow enlarged 13 of his favorite sculptures to sit near the park entrance at 190th St.
“He pays so much attention to what’s going on in the subway,” Lantzas adds. “While the rest of us try to zone out