Oakland Artists
Commissioned for Three Public Artworks at Oakland International
Airport(Port of Oakland’s Public Art Ordinance
Implemented)
The Port of Oakland, through the Oakland Museum of
California, announced yesterday the artists approved to create
artworks for three of the five public art projects planned for the
Oakland International Airport Terminal Improvement Program. The
Board of Port Commissioners unanimously approved Oakland artists
Hung Liu and Alan Rath to create works for Terminal 2 and Joyce Hsu
to create a work for placement on the plaza outside a new parking
garage planned for the airport. Port Commissioner Darlene
Ayers-Johnson, who has championed the Port’s public art program and
policy stated, “I am absolutely thrilled that all three of the
artists selected are Oakland residents. They represent the fine
talent and high level of quality that exists right here at home. I
have been a strong advocate of local participation in all of the
Port’s projects and that applies to our public art programs as
well.”
Art Selection Process
Over the past eight months, the Oakland Museum of California Public
Art Team issued Requests for Qualifications to Bay Area artists for
three site-specific projects. More than 300 applications were
received from professional artists who live or maintain a studio in
the Bay Area. An Artist Selection Panel consisting of arts
professionals with specialized expertise in the media being
considered was convened for each project. Criteria used to evaluate
the artists included (1) artistic excellence, innovation, and
originality of artwork as evidenced in slides of past artwork; (2)
strength of exhibition record and measure of professional
accomplishment; and (3) assessed ability of the artist to perform
the work required in a timely and professional manner. For each
project, the Artist Selection Panel narrowed down the list of
applicants to five finalists. Those five finalists were invited to
submit design proposals to an Art Selection Panel that consisted of
the members of the Artist Selection Panel and select stakeholders
from the Port of Oakland.
After hearing all five proposals, each panel made a recommendation
for the artist to be awarded the commission. The recommendations
were taken to the Port of Oakland’s Public Art Committee (PAC) for
approval. Upon PAC approval, the recommendations were then presented
to the Port’s Administrative Committee and to the full Board of Port
Commissioners for final approval and award of commissions.
“We are very pleased with the final selections,”
stated Harold Jones, Director of Communications for the Port. He
added, “There were hundreds of artists who expressed an interest in
these opportunities. The process for selection was very thorough and
fair.”
Window in Terminal 2
Oakland painter Hung Liu was selected from a pool of 160 applicants
to create artwork for a 10’ x 160’ window in a walkway that will
lead to new gates in the renovated and expanded Terminal 2. Ms. Liu
will work closely with Oakland-based Derix Glass Art Consultant,
David Wagner, to fully develop her design. She will also work at
Derix Glasstudios in Taunusstein, Germany overseeing the fabrication
of the artwork onto the glass panels that comprise the window.
Liu’s artwork, entitled Going Away, Coming Home,
involves four major elements: imagery from satellite weather maps; a
flock of airborne imperial cranes from an ancient Chinese painting;
the play of light upon, through, and across the window; and
passengers in transit as they pass along the terminal walkway. Using
the technique of acid etching, the window sections will show
elongated cloud forms and weather patterns taken from a
geo-synchronous satellite hovering over the American West Coast.
Passengers moving toward the terminal gates (Going Away) will see
the images scale up from an image of the Bay Area in the first
section, the California coast in the following section, the Pacific
Northwest in the third, and finally, much of the Pacific Ocean and
the United States in the last section.
Conversely, passengers disembarking from airplanes
(Coming Home) will see the images scale down, in the reverse
direction, coming to rest in Oakland and the Bay Area. “The overall
idea of Going Away, Coming Home is that of the constancy of change,
an idea represented by weather patterns and formations of birds, at
once elegant and fleeting,” says Liu. “The satellite images show us
a modern image from space, while the traditional Chinese cranes
remind us that we have always sought lift-off, both physically and
in spirit.”
Escalator Wall
Oakland electronic sculptor Alan Rath was selected from 106
applicants to design, fabricate, and install a kinetic artwork to be
located on a wall at the base of the escalators inside the security
checkpoint area. Birds in Flight is a kinetic sculpture consisting
of three pairs of aluminum wings, eight feet in diameter, which
simulate flapping and gliding flight. The motions of the wings are
coordinated by a computer custom-built and programmed by Rath to
instruct the birds to bank left or right, flap up and down, and
glide both in tandem and separately. The birds will be mounted on a
sky-blue background and placed in an ascending manner, which
parallels the rising escalator directly underneath it.
Because the site is an area that travelers will
pass through quickly, Rath wanted to create something that could be
grasped quickly and be infused with beauty and grace. The artist has
long been interested in the concept of aviation and its origin in
the flight of a bird. “Commercial aviation,” says Rath, “allows us
to forget what we’re about to do… we forget the exhilaration
underlying the experience of flying.”
Parking Garage East Plaza
Oakland sculptor Joyce Hsu was selected to create a large-scale
sculpture for placement on an 18,300 square foot plaza located on
the east side of a new multi-level parking garage. Oakland’s
colorful aviation history influenced Hsu’s thoughts regarding the
type of sculpture to create for the plaza. “It is my hope to create
a monumental sculpture that will evoke some thoughts in the hurrying
passengers about flying and freedom while honoring all the brave
pioneers who sacrificed so much for our history,” says Hsu. “I
wanted to create an icon, a universal cultural symbol that can be
understood by people from all cultures and backgrounds.”
Hsu’s artwork, entitled Hybird, is an airplane
that resembles a mechanical bird, an awkwardly “in-between” species
that belongs to both land and air. Its intricate architectural
structure is contrasted sharply by its cuddly, almost organic,
shape. Skeletal in structure, it is designed like a model airplane
and exposes the extensive engineering hidden in an aircraft.
The Terminal Improvement Program
Oakland International Airport (OAK), owned and operated by the Port
of Oakland, is moving forward with its Terminal Improvement Program.
The project includes a five-gate extension of Terminal 2 with a new
concourse, concessions, and waiting areas; expanded ticketing,
security, and baggage claim facilities; new utilities; and a
6,000-space parking garage. Upon completion of the terminal
improvement project, future plans call for additional gates and
other associated customer service improvements.
Aviation Director Steve Grossman stated, “The
airport’s Terminal Improvement Project will bring much needed space
for our ever-increasing level of passengers. The public art approved
by the commission will greatly enhance the experience of those
passengers and visitors.”
Port of Oakland Public Art Ordinance Vision
A vital partner to the region’s economy, the Port of Oakland is
committed to a public program of high artistic excellence that
supports, articulates, and enhances the work of the Port, while
providing enjoyment, education, access, and a sense of the unique
place that is the Bay Area.
The Port’s Public Art Ordinance requires a percent for art for all
major construction projects and for private development on land
purchased and leased from the Port. It is the intent of the Public
Art Program to provide opportunities for the public to experience
high quality art of enduring value that reflects the diversity of
the region and its people. The Port is committed to commissioning a
wide range of artistic styles, forms, media, and disciplines that
characterize the breadth of contributions an artist can make to the
public arena.
Port of Oakland
The Port of Oakland oversees the Oakland seaport, Oakland
International Airport, and 19 miles of waterfront. The Oakland
seaport is the 4th busiest container port in the U.S.; Oakland
International Airport is the second fastest growing airport in the
nation with more than 13 million passengers a year; and Jack London
Square is Oakland’s premier entertainment spot along the
waterfront. The Port of Oakland was established in 1927 and is an
autonomous department of the City of Oakland.
Oakland Museum of California
The Oakland Museum of California provides unique collections,
exhibitions, and educational opportunities to generate a deeper
understanding and appreciation of California’s environment, history,
art, and people. Museum programs are responsive, accessible, and
meaningful to the public, including school children, teachers,
scholars, the immediate Oakland community, and an
increasingly diverse California population.
Media Contacts
Oakland Museum of California Port of Oakland
Cherie Newell or Megan DeArmond Harold Jones, Director of
Communications
(510) 238-6836 (510) 627-1564
P.S.@museumca.org
hjones@portoakland.com