(“Mercury Zero Summer Glut” 1987, courtesy Robert Rauschenberg Foundation)
October 22 marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of postmodern artist Robert Rauschberg, who died in 2008 and this year there are wide range of exhibitions and activities to mark the centennial.
One of those is Smithsonian Books’ publication of The Ascent of Rauschenberg: Reinventing the Art of Flight, written by Carolyn Russo, who is the curator of the art collection at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum.
Rauschenberg is most famous for his groundbreaking “Combines,” which are painting and sculpture hybrids that often incorporated everyday objects and a connective tissue through it all was his fascination with flight.
Throughout his body of work, Rauschenberg skillfully intertwined himself thematically with the subject of flight—spanning birds in nature, aviation, and the vastness of space,” Russo writes.
Her book includes more than 150 images of Rauschenberg’s work, from lithographs inspired by the Apollo 11 launch that NASA invited him to witness and document, to a Combine featuring a taxidermied eagle that evokes Roman mythology.
The work spans 16 feet by 12 feet, includes 400 vertical strands holding 3,200 elements, and fills the high bay triangular area across from Gate 15 in the main AUS Barbara Jordan Terminal.
Quilt exhibit at MIA Airport
(Courtesy of MIA Galleries, Miami International Airport)
On display through March 9, 2026, the exhibition features large-scale, sewn and quilted artwork by local artist Regina Durante Jestrow, who uses repurposed fabrics from Miami and other locations.
Founder Tony Caldwell is taking his private collection public, with a display of more than 20 classic aircraft, including several from Caldwell’s own assortment and others on loan from various private collections.
Notable among Caldwell’s aircraft are several Waco biplanes, originally manufactured from 1920 through the end of the 1940s, which were the best-selling civilian biplanes in the U.S. at the time.
Another standout in the collection is a Stearman PT-17 on loan from Waldo Wright’s Flying Service out of Florida. The 1942 trainer is piloted by its owner, Waldo “Rob” Wright. Wright runs the on-site Waldo Wright Restoration Shop. The shop serves as both a workspace and a living exhibit, allowing visitors the chance to watch the antique revitalization process firsthand.
The collection, along with a restoration shop, a café, and a small library, is housed within a 30,000-square-foot, fully restored 1943 WWII hangar at El Reno Regional Airport.
Las Vegas is synonymous with lots of things, most notably neon.
And the city’s Neon Museum has saved and now celebrates the neon signs of the past in a wonderful outdoor site.
One of the newest additions is a sign for the entrance of the Dunes Hotel and Casino, which opened in Las Vegas in 1955, was hailed as the “Miracle in the Desert” and offered extravagant shows, luxurious dining and over-the-top amenities.
(Exterior of the Dunes Hotel and Casino at night in Las Vegas, Nevada, June 5, 1958. Credit: Las Vegas News Bureau.)
The Dunes Hotel closed in 1993 and was imploded to make way for an even more extravagant hotel, The Bellagio.
Now the restored Dunes entrance sign is on view at the Neon Museum, which includes an outdoor exhibition space known as the Neon Boneyard; the North Gallery, home to the immersive audiovisual experience “Brilliant! Jackpot” which uses technology to re-illuminate more than 40 non- operational signs; the Boulevard Gallery outdoor exhibit and event space; and its visitors’ center inside the former La Concha Motel lobby.
The museum’s collection also includes 15 restored signs displayed as public art in downtown Las Vegas.
Love beer? Here’s what happens to harvested hops
We took a tour of the Morrier Ranch hops farm in Yakima, Washington to see what happens to hops once they’re harvested from the field.
Yakima farms produce about 75% of the country’s hops and October 4 is Yakima’s Fresh Hop Ale Festival, a beer festival timed to the hop harvest that includes music, food and fresh hop beers using hops just off the vine.
You’d think that after hiring the best architects and builders and spending billions of dollars, a new airport terminal would be ready to spring into action when the work is done.
But before flights begin to come and go from a new terminal, airports usually run a dress rehearsal day with volunteers pretending to be passengers.
Why ask fake passengers to test airport terminals?
Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) is putting the finishing touches on a new $1.7 billion terminal set to open in October. Architectural and engineering firms Gensler, HDR and Luis Vidal + Architects designed the terminal and all systems and areas have been completed and rigorously tested.
“But construction and operational readiness aren’t equal,” Daniel Bryan, the consultant leading PIT’s operational readiness and transition team, said. Before the official opening date can be set and announced, PIT is conducting two public trial days, or dress rehearsals, where volunteers act as passengers to help make sure everything — and everyone — is truly ready for the big day.
The first terminal-wide test took place Saturday, Sept. 20, and included about 1,000 of the 18,000 people who responded to the airport’s initial call-out for volunteers.
Pretend passengers traveling on a pretend peak travel day were asked to do all the things real passengers do when they travel from the curb to the gate — checking bags, skis and golf clubs, going through the security checkpoint and finding their gate.
“This will be the first time we’ll see the building come alive,” Bryan said, so the team planned to check the acoustics, the public address system levels, signage and more. The test day was also a day for airport staff to do a run-through for the first day.
San Diego International Airport’s new terminal
It was the same story at San Diego International Airport (SAN) on Sept. 14. Opening day for is Sept. 23 for the $3.8 billion Terminal 1 designed by Gensler in partnership with Turner-Flatiron.
All went well, with adjustments planned in response to feedback that the paging system was too loud in some areas and not loud enough in others, and that better signage was needed for the outdoor dining deck and the oversized baggage belt.
What did Kansas City International Airport learn from its test?
All systems worked well, said airport spokesman Justin Meyer, and in response to volunteer feedback, the airport ordered more hefty paper towels for the restrooms.
Then there was the problem of test day volunteers missing their fake flights because they were spending too much time checking out the terminal.
