Taking Notice of Airport Art

The Canyon, Gordon Huether, 2020

Are you one of those travelers who rush through airports, train and metro stations to your designated gate/quay as soon as you clear Customs and TSA? If so you may have missed some interesting and intriguing artworks which are now mainstays in many terminals around the world. The Louvre-Rivoli metro stop in Paris displays replicas of sculptures from its museum collection like the Venus de Milo. And I recently found out that there is an archaeological museum at Istanbul Atatürk International Airport. So if you have some time to spare, check out the beautiful works of art at your next airport, train/metro stop.

The Canyon installations span 362 feet and are made of 500 individual tensile membrane fins with an aluminum frame wrapped in fabric material. Huether was inspired by the canyons of Utah and how light transformed the rock formations. He brought his impressions to the new terminal at Salt Lake City International Airport complete with an immersive light experience.

High Heels for Going to Heaven, Yayoi Kusama, 2013,

San Francisco International Airport

“A polka dot has the form of the sun, which is a symbol of the energy of the whole world and our living life, and also the form of the moon, which is calm. Round, soft, colorful, senseless and unknowing. Polka dots become movement .... Polka dots are a way to infinity.” Yayoi Kusama

Pantopol, Ted Jonsson, 1972

Seattle International Airport, Concourse A, curvilinear stainless steel tubing

Suvarnami International Airport, Bangkok, Thailand

Dancing Crane by Leonard, Incheon Intl. Airport, Terminal 2

The Dancing Crane, a bird in flight, symbolizes Incheon Airport.

Spider, Louise Bourgeois, Incheon Intl. Airport, Terminal 1

Lichtraum ( Light Space), James Carpenter

Lighting by Christian Bartenbach

Munich International Airport, Terminal 1

Replica of the statue of Alexander the Great, Istanbul Atatürk Intl. Airport

There is an archaeological museum inside Atatürk Internațional if you have time to check it out between flights.

Flight Paths, Steve Waldeck, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Intl. Airport

This $4 million tree canopy art installation by Waldeck is underground between concourse A and B in the domestic terminal. It also incorporates sound effects including bird calls, crickets chirping and a thunderstorm to mimic a rainforest experience.

Corncorde, Craig Nutt, Hartsfield-Jackson Intl. Airport, Concourse E

At Train and Metro stations

L'Heure de Tous, Armand Pierre Fernandez, 1985, Gare de l’Est, Paris

Angel Bear, Richard Texier, Gare du Nord, Paris

Copies of Impressionist paintings, Osaka Metro Station

L’Ange Protecteur, Niki de Saint Phalle, Zurich Bahnhof

Orpheus, Krum Damyanov, Sofia Intl. Airport Metro Station

Why do airports, train/metro stations expend money for these precious artworks? Consider it a welcome mat for those who pass through the airport. It also helps to relieve the stress and chaos of going through airport lines and delays and all the hassles passengers have to endure when departing for a carefully planned vacation or business trip or returning from a beautiful trip. So these artworks are for all of us travelers. Let us enjoy them.

*****

Images by TravelswithCharie

Filipino Struggles in History - Carlos Botong Francisco

In 1968, Antonio Villegas (then Mayor of Manila), commissioned Carlos "Botong" Francisco to paint the history of Manila for Manila City Hall. The series of large scale paintings was called Kasaysayan ng Maynila (History of Manila). The paintings deteriorated over time and no attempt was made to preserve these historical canvases until 2013 when Mayor Amado Lim sent them to the National Museum for extensive restoration. Four years later, in 2017, Mayor Joseph Ejercito Estrada and the Manila City Council signed an agreement with the National Museum to leave the paintings at the museum so they may reach a larger audience in exchange for museum grade reproductions to replace the originals. Kasaysayan ng Maynila was later renamed Filipino Struggles in History and is now on display at the Senate Hall of the National Museum . Carlos "Botong" Francisco died in March 1969, a few months after completing the paintings. He is one of the first Filipino modernists and

The Art of Carlos Botong Francisco - Progress of Medicine in the Philippines

Pre-colonial period Pag-unlad ng Panggagamot sa Pilipinas (The Progress of Medicine in the Philippines) is a group of four large-scale paintings depicting healing practices in the Philippines from pre-colonial times to the modern period. Carlos Botong Francisco was commissioned in 1953 by Dr. Agerico Sison who was then the director of Philippine General Hospital (PGH) together with Dr. Eduardo Quisumbing of the National Museum, Dr. Florentino Herrera, Jr. and Dr. Constantino Manahan. These oil on canvas paintings measure 2.92 meters in height and 2.76 meters in width (9.71 ft x 8.92 ft) and were displayed at the main entrance hall of PGH for over five decades. Owing to its location, the artworks were in a state of "severe deterioration" at the beginning of the 21st century from exposure to heat, humidity, dirt, dust, smoke, insect stains, grime, termites and an oxidized synthetic resin used in an earlier restoration. These canvases were restored three times, the last was

8 Heritage Houses of Iloilo

Lizares Mansion The province of Iloilo on the island of Panay has a rich trove of heritage houses, left over from the sugar industry boom in the 19th century. Iloilo also had the largest port in the Philippines at that time which facilitated the export of sugar to foreign shores and deposited money in the hands of the sugar barons. The barons dropped their earnings into the acquisition of properties in Negros and the construction of beautiful homes in Iloilo, many of which are located in the vicinity of the Jaro Cathedral. The Lizares Mansion was built in 1937 by Don Emiliano Lizares for his wife, Concepcion Gamboa and five children. The family fled to safety when World War II broke out and the house was occupied by the Japanese military. The family returned to the house after the war but left once again after the demise of Don Emiliano. It was sold to the Dominican order in the 1960s and was converted in 1978 to a private school, Angelicum School. The mansion now houses the

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