art

Welcome back: cool(est) art at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) starting buying and commissioning art back in 1972.

The collection is now worth millions of dollars and includes work by many noted artists, including Frank Stella, Louis Nevelson, Robert Rauschenberg and many local and regional artists.

One of the more fun and fantastical works is by the MacArthur genius award-winning artist Trimpin.

And it is one of my favorites.

“On: Matter, Monkeys and the King,” is a colorful, 80-foot-long, Rube Goldberg-style kinetic musical contraption that can – once again – be found in Concourse A at Sea-Tac airport.


According to the airport art tour, Trimpin’s airport installation is a metaphor for the movement of travelers throughout the airport.

The mulimedia and kinetic piece is intended to depict “what sound looks like.” Two interactive mobile “contraptions,” as Trimpin calls them, are constructed from found objects. The work is witty and charming, embodying both sound and rhythm. The colorful shapes you see on the roof modulate in different ways the sound originating from within the glass case.

Here’ a short video of Trimpin describing the piece – and the work in action.

The work is charming. It is witty. And it is very complicated. And, sadly, it stopped working a while back.

For months the piece stood still. Then parts start disappearing. Then the 80-foot long glass case was empty. And I was pretty sure it wasn’t coming back.

But it did! Trimpin returned to the airport a few weeks back and fixed it.

Thank-you!

(All photos courtesy Port of Seattle/Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, and Trimpin)

Brussels Airlines honors Flemish artist Bruegel with livery

Brussels Airlines has a tradition of honoring Belgian icons on its airplanes.

So far, they’ve painted planes to honor Tintin, Magritte, the Red Devils, Tomorrowland and the Smurfs.

Now, Brussels Airlines has a 6th plane honoring a Belgian icon. This one is inspired by Flemish painter Bruegel the Elder.

Each side of the airplane has a different design and there are images both inside and out.

The Bruegel plane is part of a larger project to promote the Flemish Masters in 2019 and 2020.

To do that, Brussels Airlines and VISITFLANDERS are offering the Hi Belgium Pass: The Flemish Masters Experience. The pass gives visitors the opportunity to fly to Brussels from 48 European cities, take unlimited train rides to Belgian cities and visit a long list of cultural attractions for free, including Flemish Masters exhibitions and collections across Flanders and Brussels.

One bonus attraction: at Brussels Airport there’s an animated art installation at gate A40 that highlights the figures in Bruegel’s art.

Art museum inside an airport lounge

Corutesy Turkish Airlines

Here at StuckatTheAirport.com, we’re big fans of art in airports.

And art in airline lounges is a nice bonus for those who have access.

A new addition to the list of airline lounges with great art is the Turkish Airlines Lounge at the new Instanbul Airport.

Turkish Airlines is working with the Instanbul Museum of Modern Art to display artwork from the museum’s collection in the Turkish Airlines Busines Class Lounge at Instanbul Airport.

Turkish Airlines says the 1,400 square-foot exhibition titled, A Selection from the Istanbul Museum of Modern Art Collection” will change three times each year at year and include artworks ranging from the early 20th century landscape painting tradition to the abstract paintings of artists looking for a synthesis between eastern and western arts during the 1950s.

If you take a moment – and have access – you’ll find great artwork in airline lounges elswhere. Some of my favorite pieces are in the Delta Air Lines Sky Club at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

This work, by Rebecca Coles, not only look great, if you look closely you’ll see that it is made entirely of recycle postage stamps.

Spotted some great art in an airline lounge? Tell us about in the comments section below.

Stuck at the airport: news from LAX, FAT and OAK

Lovely LAX

Here’s a lovely spring report from Los Angeles International Airport.

Heavy rains have left behind a rare super bloom of wildflowers.

LAX reports that the flowers are located across the airfield complex, with the highest concentration on the north airfield – between runways 24L and 24R. The bouquet of flowers spreads along the length of those runways, approximately 10,885 feet.

New arts lounge at Fresno Yosemite International Airport

Fresno Yosemite International Airport (FAT) has added an arts lounge to its art exhibitions program.

Over the past year, the program has expanded to include larger works of art, live music performances and a partnership with a local art gallery featuring local photographers.

Travelers love the offerings so far. So the airport is adding more features. FAT’s new arts lounge has tables and chairs, couches, charging ports and “offers a friendly airport environment for travelers,” said FAT’s Director of Aviation, Kevin Meikle.

Showing now: Leslie Batty’s large scale works, including a painting of Lewis Carroll’s Alice Through the Looking Glass and “Projections” by John Moses, a series of photography images blending iconic films with ghostly images from some of Hollywood’s most acclaimed films.

Oakland International Airport celebrates Southwest Airlines first flight to Hawaii

On Monday, the first Southwest Airlines flight to the Hawaiian Islands arrived in Honolul after leaving Sunday evening from Oakland International Airport.

Scores of passengers, airline and airport staff, officials and hula dancers crowded Terminal 1 at the Oakland International Airport for a send-off of the long-awaited launch of Southwest Airlines’ inaugural service from the US Mainland to Hawaii.

And there was cake.

500 kids color a new livery for a Korean Air plane

On Saturday morning, 500 lucky kids (and their parents) poured into a Korean Air hangar in Seoul, Korea to help color a giant picture that will soon wrap one of the airline’s Boeing 777-200 planes.

Korean Air livery design - photo Harriet Baskas

Map of the design to be colored by children – photo Harriet Baskas

The event marks the 10th anniversary of a competitive drawing contest in which one child’s drawing is usually chosen to adorn a plane. This year, however, the airline commissioned its own design and created a festival where children worked together in teams to color and paint sections of the 64 X 40-foot image that were then put together to form one colorful whole.

Korean Air livery

Here are some more snaps from the day, which included live music, a magician, crafts activities and a chance to tour a 787 plane.

Korean Air coloring event

 

Participants in Korean Air kids coloring festival

 

Korean Air coloring event

Putting all the pieces together

 

Korean Air art

Finished artwork – courtesy Korean Air

 

My attendance at the children’s coloring festival in Seoul is courtesy of Korean Air and kicks off a week of touring some of the carrier’s operations throughout the country. Stay tuned for more images and stories from my visit.