Published: September, 2004
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
