Exhibits

Saguaro-inspired art at Tucson International Airport

Art,

There’s been a lot of talk about fire and ice and volcanoes this past week, so how about a side-trip to the desert?

A new exhibit at Tucson International Airport features a wide variety of art depicting the iconic Saguaro.

What’s a Saguaro?

“Carnegiea gigantea is native to the Sonoran Desert that extends from Tucson south into the state of Sonora, Mexico. The common name, Saguaro, originated in the language of the Tohono O’odham Native American Nation. While many people pronounce the “g” when saying the name Saguaro, it’s “g” is silent and is pronounced (sa- WAR- o).”

Saguaros are part of the Tucson landscape, so it’s natural that the nine artists whose work is currently on display at the Tucson International Airport would incorporate the plant into their work.

Here are a few examples:

Pam Davidson’s Desert Diva


Naomi Spitzer’s The Crested King

Jack Wennstrom’s untitled watercolor.

You can see the full show at Tucson International Airport, in the Lower Link Gallery, through June 11, 2010.

Vintage movie posters at Atlanta International Airport

Art, Exhibits, Movies, ,

Movie fans: If you’re traveling to or through Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) between April 23rd and May 23rd, make your way to the airport’s Atrium Gallery, where a collection of original, hand-painted, vintage movie posters featuring Clark Gable, Joan Crawford, Marlene Dietrich and other stars will be on display.

“Atlanta’s famed Loew’s Grand Theater on Peachtree Street employed full-time artists to design and paint posters for the films shown there. Artists based their work — which they created in media such as oil, watercolors and chalk — on photo stills and publicity images from the movies.”

The posters come from the collection of Herb Bridges, a movie memorabilia collector who specializes in “Gone with the Wind” items and who worked as an usher at the Loew’s theater when he was a teenager.

Tidbits for travelers: Junk to Funk at PDX; Dillinger at BWI

Art, Exhibits, Fashion, , , ,

Here’s some fun stuff to look at airports on either side of the country:

At Oregon’s Portland International Airport the Junk to Funk exhibit features couture fashion made from recycled and reused materials – and trash.

“Kitty litter bags become a suit; vinyl records are reborn as sequins; coffee filters have an afterlife as the layered ruffles of an evening gown; miniblinds bend magically into a spunky dress.”


You can see these fashions through September 2010 on Concourse E.

And the National Museum of Crime & Punishment in Washington, D.C. has made it possible for Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) to display the getaway car once owned by notorious bank-robber John Dillinger.

This 1933 Essex Terraplane is on display in Southwest Airlines’ Terminal A/B at BWI Marshall Airport

Packards at John Wayne Airport & a salute to women in aviation at the C.R. Smith Museum

Exhibits, History, , , , , , ,

From now through June 1, 2010, a collection of photographs and accessories from the classic Packard automobile will be on display in Terminal A at John Wayne Airport (JWA).   The items are on loan from Orange County’s Packard International Motor Car Club and include hood ornaments, Packard ephemera, and photos of Packards, including this 1932 Twin Six Packard Phaeton owned by actress Jean Harlow

And this month, in recognition of Women’s History Month, the American Airlines C.R. Smith Museum near DFW International Airport, is hosting a photo exhibit honoring the contributions of women who have worked for American Airlines and, on Saturdays, showing a series of movies featuring women in aviation.

Tidbits for travelers: news from JAX, PHL, and ATL

Air Travel, Airport shops, Airports, Architecture, Art, Exhibits, Openings, , , , ,

On Valentine’s Day, volunteers at Jacksonville International Airport (JAX) handed out 1700 red and white carnations to arriving and departing passengers.

(Photo courtesy Jacksonsville International Airport )

On Tuesday (February 16, 2010) Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) had a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its new Terminal E expansion, which includes seven gates for Southwest Airlines and several new food and retail outlets, including a news/gift shop, a McDonalds, and a sit-down restaurant called Cantina Laredo.  The new expansion also brings new artwork to the airport, courtesy of Philadelphia’s Percent for Art Program. Look for Cloudsphere, by Philadelphia artist Mei-ling Hom in the rotunda.

(Photo courtesy Philadelphia International Airport )

And congratulations to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL): it’s Paper Runway exhibit of wearable paper clothing and accessories made with everything from banana leaf fibers to recycled cotton rags and coffee filters, won an award from the Georgia Association of Museums and Galleries.

Look for “Paper Runway” in the cases in the walkway connecting the main security area and Concourse T.  But hurry: the exhibit will only be there through March.

Video game history on exhibit at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport

Art, Entertainment, Exhibits, Fun Stuff, Museums, Openings, ,

A new exhibit at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS)  is all about the history of the video game industry and includes some original video-game-related art and artifacts related to the Austin-based development of such video game classics as Wing Commander, The Black Gate and Thief: Deadly Shadows.

AUS video two

(Pen and ink concept art drawing by Denis Loubet for Ultima VI: the False Prophet; via Austin-Bergstrom International Airport)

In addition to sketches, storby boards and illustrations, the exhibit includes the paper punched tape used by Austinite Richard Garriott to record the video game code for one of his first games, Akalabeth..  There’s also a prototype cartridge of M.U.L.E.’s lost sequel, Son of M.U.L.E. and design documents from Warren Spector’s innovative classic Deus Ex.

AUSTIN - AKALABETH

Behind the Screens is from the collection of the University of Texas, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History and is on display through January 26, 2010. Look for the exhibit in the pylon showcases located on the concourse between Gates 7-12.