Airport art

Fresh art at Philadelphia Int’l Airport

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To mark the 20th anniversary of its locally-curated art program, Philadelphia International Airport asked 20 local artists to transform one previously art-free area of the airport into a colorful installation.

PHL_Jay Walker, taped walkway glass; Miriam Singer ceiling tiles.jpg

Courtesy PHL: Jay Walker, taped walkway glass; Miriam Singer ceiling tiles

The artists used used yarn, fabric, felt, found objects, tape, paint and vinyl and applied their work to the  ceiling tiles, columns, rocking chairs, walls, walkway and windows. Now this part of Terminal A-East is an immersive and experiential art-filled passageway.

“The artists responded to the existing architectural elements  – even the furnishings and planters – to create an unexpected visual experience and an engaging space for people to pass through,” said Leah Douglas, PHL’s director of exhibtions. “It is a form of urban interventionism where art activates the built environment with the intention to see a public space in a new and creative way.”

“It’s a Wrap: 20 for 20” will remain on site through February 2019.

Find out more about the wide array of art exhibits at PHL Airport  online and take a look a some of the other art pieces created just for this art installation below.

Courtesy_PHL Airport. Artist: Kay Healy


Courtesy_PHL Airport. Artist: Kay Healy

 

Courtesy PHL. Rocker by Angela McQuillan

Courtesy PHL. Rocker by Angela McQuillan

 

Courtesy PHL Airport. Artwork by Eurhi Jones

Courtesy PHL Airport. Artwork by Eurhi Jones

Fresh art at Australia’s Sydney Airport

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Fresh art at Australia’s Sydney Airport

United Neytions by Archie Moore

United Neytions by Archie Moore at Sydney Airport

A hard-to-miss work of art made up of 28 large flags now hangs from the ceiling in the international terminal at Australia’s Sydney Airport.

United Neytions is by noted contemporary artist Archie Moore and highlights the diversity of Aboriginal histories and cultures in Australia.

Archie Moore's United Neytions

Archie Moore’s  United Neytions. Photo Anna Kucera at Sydney Airport

Moore said the artwork celebrates issues of place and identity and that installing it at the airport allows the flags to adopt a scale and status more often given to international flags.

Having the flags at the airport draws attention not only to the “histories, voices and presence of local indigenous people on whose traditional lands the airport lies,” said Moore but also to “the passages of cultures, pasts, territories, ages and cultural knowledges that airports foster.”

Sydney Airport has a partnership with Australia’s Museum of Contemporary Art, which chose to bring this work to the international terminal.

Here’s a short video from an earlier installation of the work in which artist Archie Moore describes the piece in more detail, including what each flag represents and why he chose the spelling of “Neytion” for the title.

Heading to or through Sydney Airport? Let us know what the piece looks like in its new home.

Fresh art at San Francisco Int’l Airport: the Cat in Art

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Cat night-light late 18th–early 19th century. Courtesy SFO Museum

The SFO Museum is hosting a new exhibit at San Francisco International Airport featuring more than one hundred objects celebrating cats.

There are an estimated 600 million domesticated cats worldwide, with cats edging out dogs as the most popular modern-day pets.

Historically, cats were worshipped by the ancient Egyptians and celebrated as symbols of good luck throughout Asia. In Europe, cats were associated with magic, witchcraft, and evil spirits and were persecuted for centuries before they gained cultural acceptance

Although officially condemned in Medieval Europe, cats were praised by painters, sculptors, and intellectuals during the Renaissance, with Leonardo da Vinci proclaiming that “even the smallest feline is a masterpiece,” the exhibition tells us.

Caticons: The Cat in Art, explores the history of the cat and its allure through art, literature, and decorative arts from around the world and is on view in the pre-security area of the International Terminal at San Francisco International Airport through April, 2019.

Here are some more images from the exhibit, courtesy of the SFO Museum exhibit:

Seated cats c. 1900

Temple cats – 19th to early 20th century

 

Phoenix Sky Harbor airport celebrates 30 years of airport art

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Tiger – by Esmerelda DeLaney – courtesy Phoenix Sky Harbor

One amenity much appreciated at airports is art.

And Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport has had a top-notch art program for years.

 The program began in 1962 when the mural, The Phoenix, was commissioned for the new Terminal 2.  As the airport expanded, construction was designed with art in mind and in 1988 a full-blown airport art program was established.

Now the Phoenix Airport Museum has more than 900 works in its permanent collection, an extensive aviation archive and more than 40 exhibition spaces.

And this year the museum is celebrating its three-decade anniversary with an exhibition featuring 30 diverse works of art in varying media from the airport’s collection.

Flight – by Helen Burbank. Courtesy Phoenix Sky Harbor

30 Years -30 Artworks is on display at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in two spaces at Terminal 4 on level 3. Eight large display cases on the east and west ends are on display through January 9, 2019. The exhibition continues into the Phoenix Airport Museum’s gallery through June 9, 2019.

San Diego Int’l Airport celebrates opening of new Int’l Arrivals facility

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San Diego International Airport hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the completion of its new 130,000-square-foot International Arrivals facility in Terminal 2 that is five times the size of the previous facility and increases the number of international gates from three to six.

The new facility was needed: the airport has experienced significant growth in international arrivals in the past quarter-century, from about 50,000 passengers a year in the early 1990s to more than 400,000 a year in 2017.

“As airlines look to add to their international networks, it is vital we have adequate facilities readily available to compete and attract new air service,” said Kimberly Becker, Airport Authority President/CEO, “With twice the number of international gates, the latest technologies, and an expanded baggage claim and passenger wait area, this new facility ensures we are equipped to provide a world-class experience for international passengers arriving into San Diego.”

The new facility improves the processing experience for passengers by offering reduced wait times, a more welcoming environment and the newest technologies from U.S. Customs and Border Protection: SAN now becomes one of the first airports to implement 100 percent biometric or facial recognition technology for arriving international flights.

The facility also features two public artworks. Paths Woven, by artist Aaron T. Stephan, is a suspended artwork in the public waiting area that consists of 25 ladders representing the many individual journeys that converge at an airport.

In baggage claim visitors will see Carry On by artist Walter Hood, made up of 52 glass panels featuring more than 600 photos of unique, symbolic items contributed by members of the San Diego community and airport staff.

(Photos courtesy San Diego International Airport)