Mattson’s scale replica of Portland’s St. John’s Bridge is made with about 120,000 LEGO pieces and is 4-feet-tall, 2-feet-wide, and 32-feet-long. It is built to scale with one LEGO “Stud” equaling 1 foot.
The only part that isn’t made of LEGO pieces is the bridge suspension, which is made of fishing line.
Mattson’s LEGO version of the Portland’s St. Johns Bridge is in the Concourse DE display case through July 2020 as part of the PDX Rotating Art Program, which shared these images.
Here’s what the real St. John’s bridge looks like. The steel suspension bridge is the tallest bridge in Portland and spans the Willamette River in Portland.
Credit: Cacophony, via Wikimedia.
This isn’t the first LEGO creation Erik Mattson has shared with travelers passing through Portland International Airport. His 80,000-piece LEGO sculpture of Oregon’s iconic Multnomah Falls was on display in 2018.
Yes, this staying at home and social-distancing routine is getting tiresome. But don’t forget that you can still enjoy lots of art and culture online and, in many cities, on foot, and by car.
Chess Sets
Bullfight chess set at the Maryhill Museum
If chess is one of the games you’ve been playing at home, you can learn about the history of the game and see some incredible chess sets in the online exhibition offered by the Maryhill Museum of Art in Goldendale, WA.
Alice in Wonderland Chess Set at the Maryhill Museum
Drive-By Art
Courtesy Visit St. Pete/Clearwater
If it seems like murals are taking over all the blank walls in many cities, you’re right.
But that makes it possible to take in free art shows from your car or during a socially distanced stroll through a city any time of the day.
By Todd Frain, using images by Creative Clay artists.
Many cities also make their mural collection accessible online. One example: in Florida, the SHINE Mural Festival curates more than 90 murals in the St. Pete/Clearwater area and its virtual tours include photos, videos, and, in many cases, audio descriptions of the artworks.
Wouldn’t it be nice right now to be making your way to an airport and getting ready to visit a new city or an old favorite?
That time will come. For now, here are some tidbits from airports around the country.
Pay respects to civil rights icon John Lewis at ATL Airport
In April 2019, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) unveiled an exhibit in the domestic atrium titled “John Lewis – Good Trouble” to honor the longtime U.S. Congressman and civil rights icon.
Lewis died late last week, on July 17, and the exhibit has turned into a memorial tribute where travelers can stop and pay respects.
New Concourse E extension at PDX Airport
Courtesy Port of Portland
We shared the news last week about the opening of the new Concourse E extension at Portland International Airport (PDX).
Here’s a bit more about the project.
The extension brings the first new gates to PDX in more nearly 20 years and offers views of Mt. Hood and the Columbia Rivier.
The new concourse extension also features two aerial sculptures by Jacob Hashimoto featuring 11,000 paper kits and 450 different graphics representing Portland’s river, bridges, and neighborhoods.
Hashimoto’s PDX artwork may be familiar to travelers. He also has his work displayed at San Francisco International Airport (SFO), in the lobby of SFO Grand Hyatt.
A new concourse at Nashville International Airport too
Portland isn’t the airport that cut the ribbon on a new concourse last week.
On Friday, July 17, the first Southwest Airlines flight took off from Nashville International Airport’s (BNA) new $292 million Concourse D.
Features of BNA’s new Concourse D include: ✈️ 6 domestic aircraft gates ✈️ 115,000 square feet of terminal space with a fresh, modern look ✈️ 2 compelling public art installations ✈️ Wi-Fi ✈️ Gate seating with integrated device charging outlets (continued…)
Poetry exhibit at Orlando International Airport (MCO)
Flying by? Make sure to check out: “Words In Flight: A Celebration of Orlando Area Poets” exhibit, themed with flight, travel and transformation poems. 📍 Level 3, near the Checkpoint for Gates 70-129 (by the Starbucks) 🗓️ Through September 30th 👉 https://t.co/FMUaduhyGUpic.twitter.com/6XF5DQixI1
— Orlando International Airport (@MCO) July 14, 2020
Orlando International Airport (MCO) is displaying it first-every poetry exhibition.
The show features poetry by 13 local writers, including Billy Collins, who is the former two-term Poet Laureate of the United States and the current Senior Distinguished Fellow at the Winter Park Institute.
Words in Flight – A Celebration of Orlando Area Poets includes poems inspired by the theme of flight, travel, and transformation paired with photographs from the airport’s archives.
Look for the exhibit through September 30, 2030 in the MCO Main Terminal, near the Checkpoint for Gates 70-129.
At SFO Airport: Eclectic Taste: Victorian Silver Plate
“Produced in large quantities in England and the United States, silver plate was a hallmark of eclectic décor during the Victorian era (1837-1901).
By the late 1800s, many homes featured extensive collections of silver plate. The most elaborate items were found in the dining room and main parlor, where they served a variety of entertainment functions.
Ownership of silver plate became an indicator of social and economic status, and manufacturers created highly specialized and imaginative designs to meet consumer demand.“
Courtesy SFO Museum
Eclectic Taste: Victorian Silver Plate is located post-security in SFO’s Harvey Milk Terminal 1 through December 13, 2020.
We are missing the adventures that start at airports. And we’re missing all the great art and history exhibits that airports around the country offer.
For example, if we could go to San Francisco International Airport (SFO) right now we would take our time exploring some of the ongoing and new exhibitions offered by the SFO Museum.
Extra ‘O’ – African Barbershop and Hairdressing Signs (Terminal 2 Departures through November 1, 2020) features colorful hand-painted barbershop signs. The exhibit also displays items relating to hair in traditional African culture, including headrests, hair combs, and helmet masks.
And a just-opened exhibition features photographs from the early days of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park.
This year marks the 150th anniversary of Golden Gate Park and SFO is hosting an exhibition of historical photographs by photographer R.J. Waters, who documented life in the park between 1896 and 1902.
The exhibition is on view through November 19, 2020, near Gate F5 in Terminal 3 and is part of the citywide celebration of the 150th anniversary of Golden Gate Park.
Ihr habt am Wochenende noch nichts vor? Schaut doch mal bei der Drive-In-Ausstellung "Nachtbrötchen" in unserem Parkhaus 1 vorbei. Hier "erfahrt" ihr Kunst und Kultur aus eurem Auto heraus. Sa von 19-24 Uhr, So von 11-16 Uhr. Eintritt 4,50€ pro Stunde. https://t.co/NGmXDKAxsRhttps://t.co/g9ETz18VKq
Außergewöhnliche Kunst in außergewöhnlichen Zeiten: Unser Parkhaus 1 verwandelt sich am ersten Juni-Wochenende zur Drive-In-Galerie. Bei der „erfahrbaren“ Ausstellung der Initiative @nachtbroetchen treffen Pop und Street Art auf auf Club-Sounds und Lichtinstallationen. pic.twitter.com/vaeAsiBBLW
And if you haven’t seen this yet, take a minute to watch Dana Nicole Jondahl’s hysterical and on-point vacation video.
Her real birthday trip is canceled this year due to the coronavirus. Instead, she charmingly and skillfully recreates the experience of going to the airport, going through security, getting on a plane, and heading off for a trip – in her home. And she plays all the parts herself.
Our favorite bits in the video? The automatic sliding doors of the ‘airport’ and the cloud balloons. Yours?
As we enter another week of staying off the road and close to home, we find ourselves missing the fun of hanging out in airports that go the extra mile to make the terminals enjoyable.
With lots of greenery and gardens, cool shops and restaurants and plenty of entertaining art, Singapore’s Changi Airport is one of the best.
Here are just a few of Changi’s treasures we look forward to seeing on a future trip.
A Million Times at Changi
Kinetic Rain sculpture
Light & Sound Show – Rain Vortex at Jewel Changi Airport
As the COVID-19 crisis continues, airlines are grounding aircraft and cutting flight schedules. And fewer and fewer travelers are passing through airports.
But in most cities airports are considered essential facilities. So they remain open.
One example: Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT), which must stay open not only for the remaining commercial flights currently flying, but because it is home to two military bases: U.S. Air Force and Pennsylvania National Guard.
Anyone passing through PIT airport right now will find it quieter than usual.
But they might notice something different in the art installation known as “Fraley’s Robot Repair.”
Toby Fraley/Blue Sky PIT
Atticus Fraley created this storefront robot repair shop and sometimes makes changes to the items inside.
His most recent addition was to give a robot a hand-lettered sign with an inspirational message for this stressful time:
And London’s Heathrow Airport is on a mission to become the world’s most Instagrammable airport.
In an effort to grab the title, Heathrow has commissioned the street artists behind four of the most Instagram-famous murals in the world to recreate their work in its terminals.
The campaign brings together new renditions of Colette Miller’s iconic angel wings in Los Angeles (above), Rogue One’s ‘Floating Taxi’ in Glasglow, Alice Pasquini’s ‘Above the Lines’ in Rome, and Odeith’s ‘Anamorphic Frog’ in Lisbon.
The installations are in Terminals 2,3,4, and 5 until this summer. And the airport is hoping that travelers will snap photos of themselves and friends with the images and post them on Instagram to help Heathrow move up from 2nd-most Instagrammed Airport in the World, past South Korea’s Incheon International Airport to #1.
It just may work.
Each artwork measures between 10 and 16 feet, so will be easy to spot. And each is very selfie-friendly.
The pieces are also strategically placed in terminals that have flights to their original street art location, which means that many passengers may also go and see the original and get their photos taken in both places.
Heading that way? Send us your Instagram photo with one of these images at Heathrow.
Curious about which airports are on the “Most Instagrammed” list?
Here you go.
WORLD’S MOST INSTAGRAMMED AIRPORTS
Incheon International Airport,
South Korea
Heathrow, London, England
Schipol, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Sheremetyevo, Moscow, Russia
Haneda, Tokyo, Japan
Singapore Changi, Singapore
Gatwick, London, England
Narita, Tokyo, Japan
O’Hare, Chicago, USA
Dubai International, UAE
The street art will be at Heathrow terminals 2,3,4 and 5 in the departure lounges, after security, until the summer. See what people post by following #Heathrow on Instagram.
