Posts in the category "Art":

On the first weekend of every month more than 100 museums, zoos and attractions around the country offer free admission to anyone with a Bank of America card as part of the Museums on Us program.

Visiting one of the participating venues is a great way to stretch a weekend entertainment budget and a good excuse to get acquainted with the work of a new artist or get reacquainted with a favorite animal at your local zoo.

One place on the list this month is the Wichita Art Museum in Kansas, which is hosting a traveling exhibition from the National Air and Space Museum through the end of September.

In Plane View: Abstractions of Flight features 56 large-format photographs by Carolyn Russo showcasing the elegance and beauty of airplane design.  For example, this photo shows grooves in the exhaust cone of the North American X-15.

Can’t make it to Kansas? When the exhibit leaves the Wichita Art Museum, it will travel to the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Triangle, Virginia and then, in January 2011, to the Lakeview Museum of Arts and Sciences in Peoria, Illinois.

You might also take advantage of the Museums on Us program to get free admission to the Henry Ford in Dearborn, Michigan (Saturday only), where the 15 planes in the Heroes of the Sky exhibit includes this 1926 Fokker Trimotor used by Richard Byrd in his attempt to be the first to reach the North Pole by plane.

According to the museum notes:

Because Edsel Ford funded Byrd’s trip to the Arctic, the plane was named for his daughter, Josephine. Tony Fokker, the manufacturer, wanted to be sure no one mistook the plane for a Ford, so he painted the giant “FOKKER” on the wings and fuselage. There’s no heater in this plane, so temperatures inside the cabin could have easily reached -50° F while flying through the Arctic sky.

Categories: Airplanes, Art, Aviation history, Exhibits, Museums, aviation
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What with my appointment to see how the new make-your-own ice-cream machine works and the three hours I spent cooling my heels waiting for a friend’s flight to arrive, I ended up spending a lot of time at Boston Logan International Airport last week.

That was fine with me. The ice-cream was yummy. The Wi-Fi was free. And there were plenty of comfortable rocking chairs to sit in.

Most of the airport’s rocking chairs are plain white models, but a fair number of the chairs have been transformed into colorful works of art.  Next week, there will be even more: the airport is having a reception to celebrate the addition of 19 new art-adorned rocking chairs to the fleet.

We’ve put in a request for photos, so stay tuned.

Categories: Airport shops, Airports, Art, Events, Exhibits, Fun Stuff, Seating, Wi-Fi, free Wi-Fi
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A new exhibit opening next week at Miami International Airport (MIA) includes the work of Haitian artists who are continuing to create their work despite the challenging circumstances in their country.

Hands of Haiti will be on display at Miami International Airport’s South Terminal Gallery from September 2, 2010 to March 2011. The show features more than 60 works of cut metal, woven sequined flags, sculptures made from discarded urban materials, carnival masks, clay pottery and photography.

Categories: Art, Exhibits
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There’s a fresh piece of art at Spokane International Airport in eastern Washington.

But you’ll have to look up to see it.

Fresh art at Spokane International Airport

Louise Kodis’ new textile sculpture “Conversations Between Clouds” in now installed in the rotunda of the airport. The sculpture is a flock of three dimensional floating shapes suspended under the ceiling and is made out of bamboo rod, curved acrylic rod, colored and textured silks and synthetic fabrics.

(Photos of Conversations Between Clouds courtesy Gay Waldman)

There’s another great piece of art at Spokane International Airport that you’ll need to look up to see:

Ken Yuhasz’s Aer-O-Toaster

Ken Yuhasz’s Aer•O•Toaster was installed in 2009.

Yuhasz says his toaster is based on the classic Sunbeam toaster from the 1930s and the ‘Flying Toaster’ used as a screen saver on countless computer screens during the 1980’s and is a re-creation at one-half scale of a Gee Bee racing plane from the early 30′s.

Categories: Air Travel, Art, Exhibits, Layover, aviation
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The Burning Man Festival is a seven day celebration of art, community and fire held annually in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert.

The 2010 festival takes place from August 30^th through September 7^th and tens of thousands of people from around the world are expected to attend.

That includes about 14,000 people who will arrive via flights into Reno Tahoe International Airport (RNO).

To welcome all those travelers, the airport will have a welcome table set up to help with transportation information and tips on where to shop for the supplies festival attendees will need out in the desert.

Through October 15^th, the airport is also hosting an art exhibit in its Connector Collections Gallery. “From Playa to Runway: The Culture of Burning Man” includes photographs of Black Rock City and of the art work, sculpture, art cars and participants that make up this wildly spectacular event.

Thinking of going to this year’s Burning Man Festival? In addition to this great art exhibit, Reno-Tahoe International Airport also offer travelers slot machines, a nice dog park, slot machines, free Wi-Fi and free local calls from phones in the airport’s three Productivity Centers and on several of the cylinders located in Baggage Claim.

Categories: Air Travel, Art, Exhibits, Wi-Fi
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