San Francisco International Airport

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

Art, Exhibits, , , , , ,

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

 

SFO Museum offers free films at SFO Airport

Art, Movies, ,

 

Courtesy SFO Airport

Airports in Portland, Oregon and Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn. have them. And now San Fransciso International Airport has one too!

The SFO Museum has opened a gallery space for video art and short films at SFO Airport.

Located in the the International Terminal Main Hall, the gallery will show a rotating reel of short films, including documentaries, narratives, experimental films and all forms of animation – with a new film introduced weekly.

Up now: a program that includes works by South African filmmaker Tlhonepho Thobejane and an award-winning animated short by Michael Bidinger and Michelle Kwon.

This free gallery is located pre-security at SFO Airport is free and is open daily from 5:00 a.m. to Midnight.  You can also see the videos on the SFO website.

 

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Exquisite airplane models on view at SFO Museum

aviation, Aviation history, Exhibits, Museums, , , ,

Hughes H-4 Hercules (“Spruce Goose”) model. Courtesy SFO Museum

A new exhibition from the SFO Museum at San Francisco International Airport features almost  three hundred 1:72 scale (one inch = six feet) models of pioneer, sport and commercial aircraft made with plastic, wood, metal, wire, string, and epoxy and detailed with paint and decals.

Air France Concorde SST (Super Sonic Transport) model aircraft. Courtesy SFO Museum

The models come from the collection of Jim Lund, a Bay Area native who made aircraft models as a kid and returned to the practice as an adult.

“Numerous models were constructed or modified from kits produced by manufacturers worldwide,” exhibit notes tell us,  and “In the many instances when no kit was available, Lund crafted the model parts from scratch based on manufacturers’ plans using the ‘vacuform’ process—a method that creates plastic parts from his hand-carved wood forms.”

Aviation Evolutions: The Jim Lund 1:72 Scale Model Airplane Collection is on view pre-security on Depatures Level 3 through May 13, 2018.

Here are some more examples of what’s on view.

 

American Airways Curtiss Condor T-32 airliner model aircraft. Courtesy SFO Museum

 

SCADTA (Sociedad Colombo Alemana de Transporte Aéreo) Junkers F.13 airliner model aircraft . Courtesy SFO Museum

 

Dornier Do X flying boat airliner model aircraft. Courtesy SFO Museum

SFO Museum explores history of United Airlines

Airlines, Exhibits, History, , , ,

On July 1, San Francisco International Airport will Kick off an exhibition exploring the history of United Airlines through over 300 artifacts and images.

The items date from the 1920s to the present and include model aircraft, cabin and cockpit equipment, meal service wares, promotional items and more, so here’s hoping you have a long layover at SFO.

Here are some pics from the exhibition. All images courtesy SFO Museum.

Mechanic roll-up tool set late 1920s. Courtesy SFO Museum

Ford Tri-motor passenger seat c. 1928. Courtesy SFO Museum

DC-3 Douglas Sleeper Transport sleeper service late 1930s

Flight dispatch clock. C. 1940

Flying the Main Line: A History of United Airlines is located post-security, in the Terminal 3 Boarding Area F Upper Level at San Francisco International Airport from July 1, 2017 to March 4, 2018.

Groovy SFO Airport celebrates 50th anniversary of the ‘Summer of Love’

Art, Exhibits, Music, , , , ,

 

Pretty much all of San Francisco is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the ‘Summer of Love’ with exhibits, festivals, tours and happenings.

And San Francisco International Airport – groovy as always – is no exception.

On Saturday, May 13, the city will be celebrating Flowers in your Hair Day” to honor the pop song “San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)” that became a “flower-power anthem” for the hippie movement.

On that day, local radio stations will play the song at noon and flowers will be distributed at various spots throughout the city – including in Terminal 3 East at SFO.

At 11 a.m. United Airlines’ specially-numbered flight 1967 will arrive from Los Angeles – at Gate 67 – and  a path of flower decals will lead passengers to Madame Tussaud’s selfie-friendly figures of Janis Joplin, Jerry Garcia, and Jimi Hendrix.

The pups from the airport’s Wag Brigade will be on hand (wearing tie-dyed outfits) and, at 11:30 a.m., the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus will perform the song of the day.

SFO’s Summer of Love celebration kicks off earlier, however, with the May 4 opening of SFO Museum’s exhibition of a dozen photographs taken by Elaine Mayes at the Monterey Pop Music Festival June 16-18, 1967. That festival helped launch the ‘Summer of Love’ and featured early performances by The Who, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and others.

The exhibit “Elaine Mayes: It Happened in Monterey” is located post-security, near Gate 76 in Terminal 3, Boarding Area F through August 10, 2017.

 

Jimi Hendrix at the Monterey International Pop Festival, June 18, 1967. Photo: Elaine Mayes. Courtesy SFO Museum

  

Janis Joplin at Monterey Pop Festival. Photo by Elaine Mayes, Courtesy SFO Museum