John Wayne Airport exhibition, the largest public showing of the Festival of Arts’ Permanent Collection, now through November 1
By MARRIE STONE
Airports are liminal spaces. They’re places of physical transitions and open possibilities. Clocks are everywhere, yet time feels strange. Inside an airport, cities all look the same. Cross the TSA barricade and you’re subjected to intrusive laws, yet treated to strange freedoms. Liquids are banned. Shoes are suspicious. Yet here it’s socially acceptable to wear pajamas, day-drink in bars and sleep on the floor. The world works differently in airports.
Travel can also create a conducive atmosphere for experiencing art. Airports, like art, jolt us out of our normal mindsets and heighten our awareness. We’re on notice to pay attention, and we’re often given the gift of unencumbered time. These are perfect conditions to settle us into a suggestive mood and tap into creativity.
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Photos courtesy of Festival of Arts
Selections from the FOA Permanent Collection are now on display at John Wayne Airport through November 1
Art offers comfort, distraction and entertainment to anxious or frustrated passengers. And it acts as a cultural ambassador to the wider community, letting visitors know what they might expect while on vacation, and opening residents’ eyes to artistic opportunities in their own backyard. With the spacious exhibition areas that terminals provide – not to mention their public accessibility – it’s no surprise that public art has proliferated in airports over the past decades.
Something special is happening at our own airport these next few months. For the first time ever, the largest installation of the Festival of Arts (FOA) Permanent Collection is on display. With 88 works by 61 artists stretching across all three airport terminals and the entire past century, travelers are invited to a peek inside one of our town’s most extraordinary artistic treasures. From contemporary photographs to plein air paintings, from intricate sculptures to surreal mixed media, visitors can travel through space and time before their plane even takes off.
Now, with John Wayne Airport’s newly available Airpass (click here), you don’t need a ticket to pass through TSA. All three terminals are accessible to the public with only a valid government ID. (Yes, that means you can go back to greeting your guests at their gate.)
Here’s a small taste of what’s in store in each of the three terminals. The exhibition can be enjoyed in sections or – if time permits – stroll each concourse to view it in its entirety.
Terminal A – serving American, Delta and Westjet
Located across Gates 1 through 4, Terminal A provides an excellent opportunity for time travel. Clarence Hinkle’s 1920 painting A Street in Laguna and two Joane Cromwell oil paintings from 1935 showcase Orange County as it once was – populated by more eucalyptus trees than people. Pause to see what Saddleback Mountain looked like in 1938 under the gaze of William Griffin. Stepping back a century allows us to imagine life without all the hustle and bustle of airport traffic.
One entire case is devoted to Robert Hansen’s photographs of the Yucatan Peninsula. Although these are relatively contemporary images, they feel like gifts from another era. Faces are weatherworn. Animal skins hang from doors. Children learn trades from their elders. “In this isolated region, ancient traditions are still very much alive,” Hansen wrote in his 2004 photography book Yucatan Passages. “Traveling this far into the rain forest can be rather disorienting.”
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“Yucatan Passages: The Village Seamstress” by Robert Hansen – platinum palladium photograph (1996), 8”x10”
Journey to Iran with Rob Gage’s incredible sepia print of a strongman from 1972. Contrast it against Pegah Samaie’s Iranian woman in The Heart of Gravity from 2019. Growing up in Tehran, Samaie experienced Iran’s oppression against women from close range. Her piece speaks to strength of a different kind.
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(L-R) “Iranian Strongman” (1972) photograph by Rob Gage, 56”x54” and “The Heart of Gravity” (2019) oil painting by Pegah Samaie, 30”x20”
Take a fantastical voyage into Murray Kruger’s surreal digital play with tarot cards. The Magician from 2011 is inspired by the first card of the Major Arcana in a standard tarot deck. The elements are derived from the Rider Waite images. The magician symbolizes power, potential and the unification of the physical and spiritual worlds. Not a bad thing to reflect upon as you depart on your journey.
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“The Magician” (2011) digital photograph by Murray Kruger, 58”x44”
Terminal B – serving Alaska and United
All the art in Terminal B is three-dimensional and displayed in cases located in the atrium beside Gate 14. Here you’re treated to intricate and colorful designs in wood, bronze, glass and porcelain. Some sculptures are fairly contemporary, like Sherry Salito-Forsen’s stunning 2015 piece Circular Meditation, produced in collaboration with her husband. Others, like Lewis Cohen’s bronze statue Venus, are nearly 50 years old.
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Look for the 3D sculptures between terminals A and C, near Gate 14
Take time with Steven Dahlberg’s 2001 chess set The Carolina Castle. The longer you look, the more you’ll see. Dahlberg’s chess sets, which took on average six months to make, have sold for as much as $27,000. Using exotic woods like Brazilian satin wood, teak, Honduran mahogany and Central American rosewood, as well as walnut, oak and maple, the sets are considered fine art more than brainy entertainment.
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“The Carolina Castle” (2001) in bronze & wood by Steven Dahlberg
Stroll down to Michael Graham’s 1992 Spector Bench. Fans of innovative design will appreciate this painted metal sculpture which tricks the eye with its unconventional form.
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“Spector Bench” (1992) painted metal fabrication by Michael Graham
Terminal C – serving Southwest and Spirit
Terminal C offers some epic visual travel opportunities as well. Visit Times Square, Saturday Night with Chris Bliss’ hyper-realistic color photo of New York. Soar over Laguna’s Festival grounds in Robert Hansen’s 2017 twilight aerial photograph. Swim with the koi in Julie Watson’s 1985 watercolor. And, of course, travel back to Laguna’s tranquil times with local plein air legends Anna Hills, Clarence Hinkle, Edgar Payne and Joseph Kleitsch.
Hidden in plain sight is a little Laguna treasure. Look for Virginia Woolley’s 1932 oil painting Flower Stalls. Woolley co-founded the FOA that same year and was an active participant until 1971. This painting was the first ever to sell at the Festival.
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“Flower Stalls” (1932) by Virginia Woolley
Anxious travelers might appreciate Mariana Nelson’s 2016 Mandala. In Sanskrit, the word itself simply means “circle.” Used chiefly in Hinduism and Buddhism as meditation tools, mandalas are geometric designs that symbolize the universe. Nelson, however, created this mandala from recycled materials. “My vision is to turn discarded materials, especially plastic waste, into something visually interesting and compelling,” Nelson said. “At the same time, I hope to educate the public about the amount of plastic we consume and discard on a daily basis.”
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“Mandala” (2016) mixed media by Mariana Nelson
Before your plane takes off, be sure to sink into the sea with John Taylor’s breathtaking Winans Russian Proposal. Using found objects like scrap wood, wire coat hangers, computer motherboards and deteriorating children’s toys, Taylor uncovered the history behind obscure vessels that formed part of the mystery of maritime culture. This piece is a cigar ship designed by American inventor Ross Winans that was never built. Note the many minute details, patinaed to perfection, that create a kind of poetic resonance that evokes the beauty behind aging and decay.
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“Winans Russian Proposal” (2011) John Taylor’s mixed media, 8.5”x51”x4”
Finally, don’t miss the Festival’s homage to Laguna’s greeters. Ronald Greene’s undated silver gelatin photographs of Eiler Larsen, alongside Leslie DeMille’s 1970 oil portrait, paint a rich picture of Laguna’s storied past.
Whether you’re taking a trip, greeting a friend or relative, or curious to see what’s on display, the current exhibition is worth arriving early or sticking around to experience. Just don’t miss your flight.
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With John Wayne Airport’s new Airpass system, guests can visit the exhibition without booking a flight. Just bring a valid government ID.
For more information about the Festival’s Permanent Collection, visit their website by clicking here.