Art

Flag of military uniforms on display at San Antonio Int’l Airport

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As we head into July 4, San Antonio International Airport (SAT) is unveiling a 25-foot by 12-foot American flag woven out of 100 military uniforms.

The uniforms were worn in conflicts dating back to World War I. Most uniforms are donated by employees of USAA, an insurance and banking organization serving military families headquartered in San Antonio. The company is celebrating its 100-year anniversary this month.

The artwork is made by Minnesota Veteran and artist Jeffrey Stenbom. He spent more than 1,000 hours weaving together uniforms from all five branches of service for this latest, and largest, piece in his “Freedom’s Threads” series.

“Those pieces of fabric are interlinked, just like those service members are interlinked to protecting our freedoms and keeping the freedoms that we have,” Stenbom said. “Those uniforms that they wore, they bled in, that they sweated in, they cried in, it’s hard, it’s real hard.”

The flag made of military uniforms will be on display at San Antonio International Airport for around 6 months, through January 2023, and then transferred to USAA headquarters for permanent display.

During its time at the airport, the flag “has the potential to be viewed by millions,” said Stenbom. “It feels only fitting that it be displayed at the airport of Military City USA. My hope is that many travelers are able to view it. Especially active duty military members, veterans, and their families.”

The video in this tweet shows Stenbom working on the piece.

https://twitter.com/johnheid68/status/1542885224517976064?s=20&t=DL6Kb100J-YOOnUOJboy8A

Factoids about the new Freedom’s Thread Art Piece at SAT

  • The finished piece weighs nearly 100 pounds.
  • Pieces of more than 140 different uniforms were woven into this flag.
  • In addition to uniforms donated by USAA employees, Stembon used uniform pieces from his grandfathers and from one of his own uniforms. He bought some uniforms online to help represent a few missing time periods.
  • More than 65,000 feet (over one mile) of parachute cord was used to create the loom he worked on to weave the uniforms together.

“The uniform items veterans own often end up in a box or deep in our closets and are rarely seen,” said Taylor Clark, Assistant Vice President and Executive Sponsor USAA’s 100th Anniversary. “To know that we can contribute to something so meaningful…makes it really special.”

Look for this flag at San Antonio International Airport (SAT) presecurity in the Terminal B Lobby.

Art scavenger hunt at PHL Airport

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This summer, passengers at Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) have a fun way to spend their dwell time, engage with art, and maybe win a prize.

In PHL’s Art Puzzle Challenge guests seated at the airport’s large B-C food court will find tabletop decals with a scannable QR code. The code is also on B and C info counters and on 4 art exhibition locations.

The code first gives directions to puzzle 1, which is Kiki Aranita’s exhibition of re-created yarned snacks and sauces based on her Korean/Hawaiian heritage. 

In that first stop, players will be asked to find an object named after a Hawaiian island. (Hints are provided).

When that piece of the puzzle is completed, passengers are directed to the other three exhibitions and asked to locate an element of the art. When all 4 pieces of the puzzle are solved, passengers may submit their information online and receive a prize from PHL’s exhibition program: 6 artist-made pins that feature PHL and a selection of international destinations.



The art scavenger hunt kicks off Tuesday, May 31, and is designed by Eric Dale, who creates puzzle challenges for Philly street art. As the art exhibitions at PHL change, the puzzle challenge will be updated. (Photos courtesy PHL Airport).

Travel Tidbits from airports near you

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Please tune in Tuesday to part 2 of my ‘appearance’ on the Dallas Love Field podcast, Love Field Stories. We’ll be chatting about the great art collection at the airport and learning the stories behind some of the pieces.

Airport traditions are back: Flowers on Mother’s Day

Since 2009 (except for a pandemic pause) Jacksonville International Airport (JAX) has been handling out carnations to moms traveling through the airport on Mother’s Day. We’re glad to see the tradition continued this year.

Discounts for Military at O’Hare

During May active, retired, and veteran members of the US Military will be eligible for discounts at both O’Hare and Midway Airports.

Year-round poetry at Indianapolis International Airport

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Indianapolis International Airport (IND) hosted a Poetry Day this week with poetry readings and live music in honor of National Poetry Month.

But there’s poetry at IND year-round.

A video exhibit on Concourse A features a selection of poems by Mari Evans, one of the founders of the Black Arts Movement.

A poem by Mari Evans is one of the six poems featured in a series of 14 floor-to-ceiling glass panes in the concourses. The mural collection, The Indiana Windows, is the work of British artist Martin Donlin, who created the poetry-inclusive mural series using more than 2,000 hand-blown panes of glass.

Airport Amenity of the Week: PHL flight pins

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The Airport Amenity of the Week is Philadelphia International Airport’s (PHL) celebration of summer flights marked by a collection of artist-made pins.

We spotted them in a tweet a while back and admired them.

And PHL was kind enough to send a batch to Stuck at the Airport’s headquarters.

The package was larger than we thought. And we were pleased to see that not only are the pins larger than we thought – 2 inches across – but that there’s also a bright poster also celebrating the return of many European flights this summer between Amsterdam, Madrid, Athens, Rome, Dublin, Venice, and many other destinations.

It’s a great way to draw attention to the return of flights. A great new airport collectible. And a great way to support local artists and promote the airport.

So, we’ll declare this art, and the idea, the Airport Amenity of the Week.

Spot a cool new airport event, effort, or amenity? Nominate it for Airport Amenity of the Week by leaving a comment below.

Fresh airport art from SFO, PHL, & Albany Int’l Airports

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SFO Museum presents an exhibit about art from pineapple leaves

At SFO: From Pineapple to Piña: A Philippine Textile Treasure 

The newest exhibit from the SFO Museum at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is about textiles made from pineapple leaves.

“Unique to the Philippines, piña is an extraordinary textile made by weaving the fibers of the leaves of the pineapple plant. This light, airy fabric was perfectly suitable to the tropical climate. The textile enjoyed a golden age during the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, particularly on the island of Panay, where it was made into shirts, women’s blouses, shoulder scarfs, handkerchiefs, and table linens.“

A new exhibition at Albany International Airport (ALB)

Albany International Airport (ALB) will open a new Gallery exhibition on May 7. The Life Around Us, features recent paintings by Ashley Norwood Cooper and Heidi Johnson, as well as a new site-specific installation, Stream by Laura Moriarty.

Iced Coffee With Friends – by Heidi Johnson

Route pins from PHL Airport

And Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) recently handed out pins created by local artists to celebrate the return of several transatlantic flights. Great idea!

Fresh art at Miami International Airport

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(Kristi Bettendorf, Lignum vitae, Guaiacum sanctum, and Honeybee, Apis mellifera, Courtesy of the artist.)
 

Pollinators art exhibition at MIA celebrates South Florida plants

Pollinators, the newest art exhibition at Miami International Airport, features watercolor and mixed media works that give a close-up view of plants from South Florida and their animal and insect pollinators.

Focusing on these complex natural relationships, members of the Tropical Botanic Artists Collective illustrated birds, butterflies, moths, bees, wasps – even aquatic zooplankton – with the plants they pollinate. The artists in Pollinators worked in collaboration with Biscayne National Park in Florida.

(Donna Torres, Wild Cotton, Gossypium hirsutum, and Western or European Honeybee, Apis mellifera, 2018, Courtesy of the artist.)

Find the Pollinators exhibition on Concourse E pre-security area on the arrivals level near Door 11.

Dark skies, free pins & a giant flamingo

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A Big Bird for Tampa International Airport

A flamingo sculpture by Matthew Mazzotta depicting a flamingo gently dipping its head beneath the surface of the water is being installed in the center of rhe main terminal at Tampa International Airport. (TPA).

Don’t worry – you can’t miss it. The sculpure is pink, 21-feet tall, and its giant head, neck, beak, and legs are already in place near The Shoppes at Bayshore. The sculpture is expected to be completed over the next few weeks.

LAX, other airports turn off light for Earth Hour

Saturday, March 25, cities, attractions, hotels, and airports around the country marked Earth Hour by turning off non-essential electric lights, for one hour.

Get pinned at PHL Airport

PHL Airport is celebrating the restart of international flights to several destinations this week by handing out collectible pins to mark the day.

We’re trying to figure out how to book those flights so we can nab some pins…

Spring has sprung – in art – at PHX Airport

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The newest exhibition at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) offers an artistic look at the wide variety of plant and animal life in Arizona and the Sonoran Desert with work by 21 artists.

The diverse selection of artworks, all from the Phoenix Airport Museum’s own collection, includes a realistic bronze tortoise family, an embroidered and appliqued art chair with butterflies and flowers, and large vibrant paintings of cactus blooms – to name a few.

Persistent Plants and Desert Dwellers is in Phoenix Sky Harbor’s Terminal 3, on level 4, and is an inviting and colorful respite, especially for travelers from colder climates who will appreciate the sunshiny images.

Travelers can visit the exhibition in the post-security gallery while airport visitors without a flight ticket can see a sampling of works near the PHX Sky Train® portal through August 2022.

Memphis Airport apologizes to artist

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In mid-February, Memphis artist Tommy Kha shared an Instagram post celebrating the fact that one of his pieces was included among the artwork installed at Memphis International Airport as part of the newly reopened Concourse B.

“Termin[inal]s of Endearment,” the Asian American artist and Elvis fan wrote, “still kinda stunned to be part of this collection…”

The artwork, a self-portrait depicting the artist dressed as Memphis icon Elvis Presley, was one of 61 new art pieces Memphis pubic art non-profit UrbanArt Commission helped choose for the new terminal.

But at the beginning of this week, Kha was back on social media. This time sharing a photo of the empty wall at the airport where the artwork had been.

“Apologies to those who wished to see this piece: it is no longer on display,” he wrote. “After some disturbing complaints about my work, it was decided, and without my knowledge, the pictures were removed.”

Why was it removed?

In a statement shared with local media, airport president and CEO Scott Brockman said that after receiving “a lot of negative feedback” from Elvis fans, and a “small number” of complaints that referred to Kha’s race (and which MEM officials said were “completely inappropriate,”) the airport had decided to temporarily remove the piece.

“When the airport created its art program, our goal was to purchase and display artwork that did not include public figures or celebrities,” Brockman said in his statement. “Our selection committee made an exception in the case of Tommy Kha’s piece and recommended its purchase.”

As you may imagine, the decision to remove the piece didn’t sit well with art fans and many members of the community. Nor with the Urban Art Commission, which said on social media that it had worked with the airport authority and selection committee to curate “an art program that speaks to a diverse and authentic creative community representative of Memphis.”

“We are opposed to Tommy Kha’s installation being removed from display, especially considering the openly racist comments made online in the development of this situation,” the group added.

Good news: the airport authority listened and will reinstall Kha’s work

Constellations VIII by Tommy Kha

In a “doing the right thing” move, the airport has quickly decided to apologize to the artist and reintall the artwork.

Here’s the statement – and apology – from Memphis airport authority President and CEO Scott Brockman:

Over the past 24 hours, we have heard from many in our community regarding the temporary removal of Tommy Kha’s artwork in the new concourse. The Airport Authority appreciates the support that the community has shown for Tommy and we have made the decision to reinstall the artwork. We apologize to Tommy for the effect that this ordeal has had on him.

As stated yesterday, when the airport created its art program, our goal was to purchase and display artwork that did not include public figures or celebrities but made an exception in this case.

The Airport Authority will continue to emphasize local artists, diversity, and inclusion with this art program, and we will explore additional best practices to address how we handle complaints and public feedback about our artwork.

Right move.

Pitchfork has more on this story, along with some comments from Kha.