Airport Art

 

This is a photo that was used in the Bob Haozous exhibit at the Heard Museum that I posted about yesterday.  There is a series of these huge sculptures that line the street just outside of Sky Harbor International Airport.  Each one has a theme of air travel. The sculptures were created by Bob Haozous and they are located along 24th street where it curves around the end of the runway.  I've admired them as I drive on this street for many years now.  Behind the fence in this photo is the airport runway.

This is another example of one of of the sculptures. This one was recreated on the gallery wall.  

I have wanted to get photos of these wonderful sculptures  for many years but there is simply no way to get one.  24th Street is a very busy thoroughfare with no parking on either side of the street and jet airplanes taxiing right up to the fence on the airport side. I'm willing to bet that the photo above was taken by city staff who could park an official city truck with flashing lights near the art to take that photo.

So now I can finally post about these fabulous pieces even if it's only two of them and they are just reproductions.  

Caught in the Act

 

Today I have a series of photos of people caught on camera doing something interesting.  First up is the lady at the airport with the dog in her backpack.  That dog looked perfectly happy with the arrangement.

In this particular case, I'm the one caught in the act.  I wanted to snap a photo of the colorful floor in this Scottsdale restaurant and it looks like the guy at the bar caught me doing just that.

I stopped to pick up some dry-cleaning when I saw this guy doing some touch-up painting.  I saw him attempt to stand with both feet on the very top of that ladder and then he thankfully decided it might not be a wise thing to do.  

This lady enjoyed the "Barbie" movie so much she decided to pose in the Barbie box.  

I grabbed my phone quickly so I could capture these colorful sneakers.  They go rather nicely with his pink pants.

This last one isn't a candid shot.  It's just me playing with some of the crazy options in my photo editing app.  I wanted to see how I'd look with this colorful hairstyle.  I like it but I've never had that much hair in my entire life.  I also like how the software made me look young and thin and with a very long neck.  

Dramatic Lights

 I took this photo last August when I was at the airport for my trip to California.  I was coming up the escalator when I noticed this rather dramatic light fixture.  As I was slowly heading up, it looked like it was getting bigger and bigger.  I wonder if the interior designer had that in mind when they put it up in that spot.  

Memory Arizona

 

When I went to the airport last month for my flight to Santa Fe, I saw this mural that I had not seen before.  It was created by Howardena Lindell and it's a glass mosaic mural called "Memory Arizona".  I see lots of Arizona memories in this mural.  There are two buildings from ASU, a glass high-rise from Central Avenue, a saguaro cactus and the mountains that surround our city.  There are also a couple of things represented that no longer exist.  

A Group of "Dangos "

 

A few years ago, the Desert Botanical Garden had an exhibit of artworks by Jun Kaneko.  Long before that exhibit, his works could be seen at the Phoenix Art Museum or this collection that used to be at the airport.  These "Dangos" have since been moved to the new airport rental car center.  

There are two rows of them and the rental car center, the polka-dotted ones at the top and this group with different patterns.  You can see a variety of these sculptures on his website.  

The last time I was at the Phoenix Art Museum, I noticed they had one that is currently on display in the lobby of the museum.  

Jun Kaneko's artwork is well distributed throughout the city.  

A Closer Look

 I'm taking a closer look at the mural I featured yesterday.  The city put up a display case near the mural telling about how the mural was created and about the artist.  I loved this sign with photos from its original location in the now demolished terminal 2.  When I first moved to Arizona, this was the primary airport terminal.  It would be years before construction started on terminal 3 and even more years before terminal 4 was added.  I loved seeing these old photos.  They remind me of trips taken so many years ago.

I decided to zoom in on certain areas of the murals to bring out the details.  It really is a beautiful piece of art. 

This mural also has the distinction of being the first piece of public art commissioned by the City of Phoenix.  The city's collection of art has grown significantly since then and that is certainly a good thing.

A Very Special Mural

 

This mural was recently unveiled at the new rental car center at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.  It was originally created in 1960 by artist Paul Coze for the then new "Terminal 2" at the airport.  However, terminal 2 was closed last year and the fate of this fabulous mural was uncertain.  Fortunately, the mural was carefully taken down and cleaned before it was installed in this new facility.

This beautiful Phoenix bird was the perfect way to greet passenger arriving in the city.  

In addition to the magnificent Phoenix bird in the center of the mural, the two side panels depict aspects of the history of the Phoenix area.  The mural includes tiles, glass and gemstones and there was also sand and soil used from Hopi and Navajo reservations, the Grand Canyon and other Arizona locations.  Abalone shell and volcanic glass make up the bird's eye.

Paul Coze (1903-1974) served as French Council in Phoenix and he taught art classes.  He was born in Lebanon and spent his youth in France before moving to the United States.  It is said that this was the first piece of public art to be commissioned by the City of Phoenix.  I am thrilled that this fabulous work of art has been so lovingly preserved and will continue to be enjoyed.  

Taking part in Monday Murals

Flying Across the Country

 

I'm heading off to New York this morning and will be on a plane very much like the one seen here.  I've been looking forward to this trip for months now and it has finally arrived.  My friends and I have a lot planned.  We have tickets for three plays and a number of dinner reservations and plans to visit five museums.  It should be fun!

I'm taking my laptop with me and I plan to post from the road.  However just in case I run out of time, I've scheduled some posts.  If all goes well, I'll have some New York shots to share with you.

Global Transport

When my plane landed in Phoenix two weeks ago when I returned from California, I saw this huge aircraft parked to one side with a nose cone that lifted up revealing a ramp to drive something into the belly of the plane.  I was curious about it so I zoomed in on the photo to see what was printed on the side.  It reads "Volga-Dneper".  I did a little investigating and found that it is a company based in Ulyanovsk, Russia that specializes in providing air charter services.  It operates a fleet of twelve AN-124 Boeing 747-8F aircraft that are certified for global transport operations.  Now I'm very curious to know what it was doing here.  Was it bringing something big here or is it taking something big away. Who knows!

Airport Art Gallery

As long as I can remember, the Phoenix Airport has had a small art gallery featuring works from local artists.  The new gallery is even bigger and since the gallery is celebrating 30 years at the airport, it's great that they have a space that draws attention.

I stopped in for a look around and saw several pieces that I admired.  The one above is called "Food Yet" by Baje Whitethorne.  I'm a big fan of Whitethorne. I've owned several prints he's made.

To the left is a weaving by Helen Burbank and it's called "Flight".  Perfect for an airport gallery, don't you think?

To the right is a mixed media piece by artist Jeff Falk called "Sky".  It's composed to two fragile looking wings against a painted background.

In the top photo you might be able to make out a large mural on the back wall of the museum space.  It was painted by Hopi artist Dan Namingha.  It's a beautiful landscape that is 26 foot wide.

Featuring Local Businesses

About four years ago, the Phoenix Airport did a major rehab and along with some of the decor, changed out all of the businesses located in the airport.  The aim was to highlight local businesses as opposed to national chains.

So now most of the restaurants featured are all locally owned like the one I mentioned yesterday and this one called Chelsea's Kitchen.  Chelsea's Kitchen is a popular restaurant located close to where I live now.  I meet friends there every now and then for dinner.  As with Cheuvront's that I mentioned yesterday, I haven't tried this airport location but, the restaurant near me has great food.

Along with the eating establishments, they changed out some of the shops too.  Roosevelt Row is a section of downtown Phoenix that is full of art galleries and small shops.  This shop highlights items from the different shops on Roosevelt Row.  Many of the items are hand made works of art.

I wonder how well shops at the airport do.  They appear to be thriving.

Change Location - Change Clientele

Around 5 years ago, I used to be a regular at a restaurant/wine bar called "Cheuvront's"  It was right on Central Avenue not far from where I used to live.  I knew the owner and most of the people who worked there so it was a fun place to go for dinner or a drink.  About 4 years ago, the owner got a contract with the City of Phoenix to open a spot at the airport so he closed his local restaurant and moved the business to the airport.  I've never been back.

With all my recent travels, I'm in and out of the airport often but I never stop here because it's usually early in the morning or late at night and I'm either in a hurry to get to my gate or in a hurry to get home.  Last Friday I had an appointment at the airport so I went early so I could wander around.  I snapped this photo of the bar which seems to be popular with some guests but there was no one there I knew so I didn't stop.

This place used to be a neighborhood place where everyone knew each other and met up with friends.  Now it's a travelers watering hole with customers who rarely return!  Somehow that seems a shame to me.

Sky Train

The Phoenix Sky Train has been in operation for about 3 years but it seems that every time I go to the airport, I forget to snap a photo of it.  I corrected that last Friday.  I was off on another weekend trip and this time I remembered to take a photo.  There is now a connection from our light rail to the airport but, I took this at the economy parking lot station.  The completion of this train and station makes parking at the economy lot so much easier.

Once you get to the airport, this colorful bridge leads directly into the airport.  Tomorrow I'll show you where I flew off to.