One of the few things I look forward to on the rare occasions I pass through Times Square are the various art installations on view thanks to organizations like Times Square Arts. Currently, Times Square is one large construction pit, but a new public art exhibit coordinated by the New York City Department of Design and Construction (DDC) and Times Square Arts has turned the construction chaos into a rotating art gallery.

Plastered across construction barriers, plywood walls and scaffold netting are large-scale, black and white eyes of those who participated in JR’s INSIDE OUT PROJECT earlier this year.

The striking eyes are reduced from larger portraits and are perfect for the location. Are they representational of the lookie-loo tourists who come to gawk at every tiny thing they come across while on vacation or are they a subversive reference to the peep show booths of “old” Times Square? It’s an open ended statement that lends itself well to both the viewer and the location.

The project is on view through January 2014 and, though it is in the tourist-trap of Times Square, it’s definitely worth checking out. For more info on the project visit www.timessquarenyc.org and to learn more about JR’s INSIDE OUT PROJECT visit www.insideoutproject.net.