Five airports across the nation are expanding their art offerings.
“Reinventing the Landscape” is a new collection at Miami International (MIA) made up of traditional and contemporary paintings by six artists from across the country and is on display in the airport’s Central Terminal Gallery in Concourse E.
Through their works, artists Elisabeth Condon, Nancy Friedemann, Mark Messersmith, G. Mirta Paula, Paul Sierra and Elizabeth Thompson interpret diverse environments such as the Florida Everglades, Colombian botanical gardens and isolated habitats in the southeastern United States.
“These artists have taken external reality and developed their own visual language to express their innermost loves and concerns,” states Yolanda Sanchez, Miami-Dade Aviation Department Division director of fine arts and cultural affairs. “As a group, they are asking us not to just see the ‘pretty scenes’ but to take a leap with them and to take in the world not in our usual ways.”
“Reinventing the Landscape” will be on display through June.
At Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL), visitors are able to catch a rare glimpse of “Antarctica.”
Photographer Santiago Vanegas spent time in January 2009 in Antarctica and has shared 50 visual pieces for the exhibit, which can be found between Concourses A and D.
“These beautiful landscapes capture the unique qualities of this seldom-seen continent and are perfect to attract the interest of the diverse passengers who pass through our airport every day,” says Katherine Dirga, Airport Art Program manager.
Vanegas was aboard a 240-foot ship, the Ocean Nova, on a photographic expedition. He says he took more than 11,000 photos of the land that he considers “another planet.”
The exhibit will be on display through February.
Farther north, at Boston Logan International (BOS), “Opening Doors: Faces of Boston’s Housing History” is an exhibit of 60 photographs consisting of black and white archival images from the 1930s.
Among them are Mayor James Michael Curley in the cab of a crane at the development of the D Street (now West Broadway) housing project, and contemporary color photographs of today’s housing developments and the residents who call them home.
“We always like it when our exhibits provide travelers at the airport a sense of place and this exhibit excels in that regard – it is quintessentially Boston,” says Ed Freni, Director of Aviation for the Massachusetts Port Authority, which announced the exhibit in conjunction with the Boston Housing Authority. “More importantly, it shows how diverse a city Boston has become and the role of government in providing quality and affordable accommodations to more than 50,000 people in the city.”
“We are excited to be able to share the archival photographs, as well as the present photographs, with the public so that people can see firsthand the positive changes in our affordable housing programs over time,” said BHA Administrator Bill McGonagle. “Our residents have dreams and aspirations just like anyone else, and we hope that by providing them with needed affordable housing, we help them reach those dreams.”
The housing authority was formed in 1935 and provides affordable housing through the Public and Indian Housing and Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) Programs funded through the state and federal governments. It subsidizes approximately 14,000 public housing apartments throughout Boston and approximately 15,000 Section 8 apartments primarily throughout the Greater Boston area.
The exhibit is on display in the walkway between Terminals B and C until May 20.
At Nashville International (BNA), a permanent glass suspension sculpture called “Waveform: Pan American Blues” hangs above the ticketing counters. The piece was publicly dedicated March 28.
Inspired by a digital sound wave from the song “Pan American Blues,” performed by DeFord Bailey, measures 85 feet long and was created by renowned artist Shan Shan Sheng using 82 colored glass panels ranging in length from 7.5 feet to 14.5 feet.
“‘Waveform’ is a permanent installation for the airport’s art collection and is another example of how the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority brings a great Nashville Airports Experience to its passengers, partners and employees,” says Raul Regalado, president and CEO of the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority.
And finally, on the West Coast, the San Diego International (SAN) Airport Art Program presents “Within the Heart of Time and Space.”
The exhibit is made of 15 sculptures by San Diego-based artist Jeffrey Steorts.
The self-taught artist uses found objects and poetry to convey a synthesis of past and present, along with his personal interests. For each sculpture, he uses found objects, gold-, copper- or silver-leafed wood, and combines it all with steel and brass fasteners and other hardware.
The installation will be on display in the Terminal 2 East/West Corridor, post-security, until Sept. 15.
