Going Underground: A Culture Show Special
In celebration of the 150th anniversary of London Underground, Alastair Sooke presents a cultural history of the oldest tube network in the world.
He follows the progress of a major new artwork for all 270 stations by the leading contemporary artist Mark Wallinger, and shows that art has played an absolutely central role in the identity of the tube.
Through posters by some of the finest artists of the day, the system became the people's gallery. Through architecture, and design, its typeface and its branding, it became the image of modernity.
Alastair uncovers the story of a relatively unsung hero, Frank Pick, whose 32 years running the Underground shaped London and Londoners more than anyone since Sir Christopher Wren.
The tube has won itself a place in our imagination, as contemporary writers, Paul Morley, Peter York and John Lanchester testify.
