KITES & FLIGHTS

While in Jacksonville installing the 'Sky Bridges' aerial sculpture at the airport we installed our kite exhibition "Kites & Flights" in the Haskell Gallery there. The show features kites from our collection made by Melanie and myself over the years. It is a great pleasure to see the kites in an environment that is so public and available to people who are in transit, waiting for arriving friends and family and need a little diversion and vision into the world of kites. What better place than an airport!

The idea for the show came from early discussions with the airport's public art commission. We were presenting our proposal ideas for the newly renovated main connector bridge to the concourses and showed a few pictures of our kite works. The kites have been a big inspiration for the themes and aerial sculpture we've done in the public art realm over the years so it was good to put up a show in conjunction with the installation of the permanent 'Sky Bridges' sculpture.

Cabeth Cornelius who manages the Haskell Gallery and the airport's public art collection encouraged us to combine the show with the completion and dedication ceremony for the commissioned work. We ended up pulling many of the kites that have been our dedicated 'show' kites. These are either ones that we prefer not to fly at the kite festivals to keep them in good condition or prototype and test kites that, how should I say it, preformed slightly below our international kite festival criteria. Ok... they didn't fly so great. Most of the kites exhibited fly well. It does take a special appreciation level to see the kites close up in the intimate gallery space. We're proud of the craft involved in kite making and like it when people can get close up to the kites to appreciate that aspect. Many people who came to the show opening enjoyed the show and colors. Some told us it was the best show they have seen in the gallery.

The show opened a couple days after the last hanging cable was crimped on the 'Sky Bridges' sculpture on March 24th and will continue until July 14th 2011. If you're flying through Jacksonville anytime soon, please stop by and see the show.... as well as the 'Sky Bridges' aerial sculpture. Can't miss it. Just look up before you go down to baggage claim.

live music for the opening!

Melanie and George at the opening of the show 'Kites & Flights'

For more images from 'Kites & Flights' go to our Flikr slide show

SKY BRIDGES - Jacksonville International Airport

If you think of public art the most public place one can imagine would be the busy terminals and of our international airports. They are extraordinary transit zones and places where humanity is on the move. Both Melanie and I confessed to each other that we liked going to airports in our youth just to witness the drama of air travelers. There are lots of people waiting which is why I always took a sketch book to draw people there. People are busy sleeping, reading papers, checking their cell phones, hurrying to their flights and generally hanging out. In the rush of humanity on the go are people arriving, departing and meeting their loved ones in great shows of public emotion. Airports now have all distractions of ordinary street life with few places for rest. Occasionally there are rest zones for art to occupy.

In all the years we have been applying for public art projects both individually and collaboratively, airports have been at the top of our list. The link to aerial sculpture inspires much of what the work of Airworks Studio has been about for a very long time. From the flying forms of kites to banner installations, atmospheric suspended installation sculptures and kinetic wind sculptures. All have the element of flight and the movement of air over form. We have applied for close to a couple dozen airport calls for public art commissions. I became a finalist back in 1994 for the Denver International Airport before I was ready for a seriously large scale work. We’ve also been finalists for the Philadelphia International Airport arrivals hall.

Last year we were selected for a newly renovated concourse connector bridge at the Jacksonville International Airport in Florida. We had presented a proposal to the art selection committee of a simple group of suspended truss-like forms in gentle curves through the overhead space. We chose materials that were reflective, light reactive, transparent and colorful to cover the truss forms and give a light and airy atmospheric effect to the ceiling of the bridgeway.

the computer 3D model

The forms derived from the bridges of airplane routes one sees on those flight maps in the in-flight magazines that show arching lines connecting cities to each other. The paths of airplanes make contrails across the skies each day connecting people on these bridges across the sky. The white cloud lines are made from crystallized vapor trails and sometimes in the right weather conditions the sunlight catches prismatic ‘sun dog’ parhelion effects along the edges.

Another strong influence in our design for the works was the great number of bridges in the downtown and river front areas of the city of Jacksonville. There are bridges crossing the St. John river that reflect many eras of civil engineering from the classic steel truss bridges made with rivets and human sweat to the extraordinary gravity defying forms of the ultra modern bridges . The engineering of these bridges is breathtaking and the Acosta Bridge, the blue truss elevator bridge of Main Street and the harp-like lines of the Dames Point Bridge make Jacksonville one of the best bridge cities in the country.

Work began in late summer of 2010 constructing the fiberglass rod frame trusses while we searched for a larger studio space for the fabrication processes. Our rear alley awning studio served as a construction space while storing the 20’ long truss units in the only space available… our back yard. Soon the weather dictated that we hurry with our search for an indoor studio in Boulder. After two months of searching we finally found a perfect space. It was a high end used car showroom just east of town with just enough space to store the frames overhead on the ceiling and brought down to the floor tables to complete the covering process.

We recruited three university graduate students we’ve worked with before to help us with the laborious task of the covering the trusses with a lace work of aluminum, polycarbonate and dichroic materials. This process took us two months and about two or three thousand screws to attach all of the materials to the fiberglass frames. Spencer, Evan & Marianna worked tirelessly with us through long days to get everything done and ready for shipment.

the studio got really full

the units arrived at the airport... at the end of the ticketing counters

the cabling center

When all fifteen twenty foot truss units were complete everything was wrapped for the packing and shipping in a large cavernous fifty three foot trailer truck. We flew in six days later to meet the truck at the airport. Everything arrived in good condition thanks to carefully roped and strapped supports. The trusses were then carried into the front door of the airport and put in a staging area at the end of the airport ticketing area. We set to work immediately putting in a 10pm to 4am work shift each night for the six nights it would take to install the hanging eyebolts into the ceiling, the cables and the trusses. Fortunately we contacted a local sign company and arranged for some assistance with the hanging operation. Austin, Cleave and Larry from Harbinger Sign Company were tireless in their help in getting everything up.

It all went like clockwork except for one small slip on my part the first night. While tapping the threads for an eye bolt to the ceiling steel tube beams the tap tool broke in my hand and dropped twenty five feet to the floor. I thought it had bounced harmlessly down the escalator below me. Further inspection by the airport maintenance crew later that night revealed the tool had bounced and ricocheted off of a tempered glass panel, shattering it into a spider web of broken glass. This may be the first serious damage done during an installation in over 35 years. My bad!

After a week all the trusses were cabled to the ceiling we switched gears to hang a kite show in the Haskell airport art gallery at the request of the Jacksonville Aviation Authority and public art director, Cabeth Cornelius. We had brought a group of exhibition art kites with us for ‘Kites & Flights’ that would be shown in conjunction with the dedication opening of the ‘Sky Bridges’ aerial sculpture for the airport.

Lots of people came for the dedication and kite exhibit to see the final results of the Sky Bridges install. We hear many compliments for the works and everyone had great things to say about how well the ‘Sky Bridges’ sculpture fits the new concourse bridge way. A step back to see what we had done and we were ready to make our way home again.

Melanie speaking

and George speaking

To see a slide show of the complete process go to our Flikr site.

THREE IN THE AIR, ONE IN THE NEST

"CIRCUMSPECTRUM"

Hubert H. Humphrey Comprehensive Health Center, Los Angleles

Last year we completed three projects at our studio installing two here in Colorado and one in Los Angeles. We’re also working on our first airport public art commission for the Jacksonville International Airport in Florida that will be installed in March. The size of this project made us have to expand into a larger space to construct the parts and pieces of it that will then be put into a large eighteen wheeler and sped to it’s destination for the install.

The first project was completed last April for the City of Broomfield here in Colorado for the Municipal building lobby. We designed a series of leaf mobiles for the space that move gently in the air currents overhead. The mobiles are made from fiberglass sunscreen, fiberglass rods with acrylic coloring added using masking techniques.

"LEAF & FEATHER"

I especially liked the shadow patterns on the spray paint board...

In May and June we traveled to Los Angeles to install another series of mobiles for the newly renovated Hubert H. Humphrey Comprehensive Health Center. The central atrium area provided lots of light for the group of colorful units strung to the upper beams of the skylight. The work moves slowly in the natural air currents and we’re pleased with the way it came out.

"CIRCUMSPECTRUM"

During the summer we started work on a series of wind vanes for an exterior project in City Park of Aurora east of Denver. After many start and stop delays from the renovation and landscape contractors for the park the project was finally installed before the first snow fell in December. The wind vanes turn on 25’ aluminum poles and are constructed of aluminum punched metal screen and aluminum channel and square pipe.

"SOLAR WINDS"

In August we began constructing the frameworks for “Sky Bridges” for the Jacksonville International Airport. The long arched triangular trusses were assembled at our home studio outdoor workspace and quickly took over our small yard while we looked for a larger studio to work in. After a couple months of looking all over Boulder and surrounding communities we finally found an ample and well lit auto showroom that was perfect for our needs.

With a great crew of studio assistants we are now in the final stages of fabrication covering the trusses with mirrored and light reactive materials that will transform the connector bridge of the airport for travelers heading to the concourses from the main ticketing area. We’re excited about the project and trying to imagine the total light effect of the work in the space.

"SKY BRIDGES"

proposal model

a half of the frames finished and stored in our yard

Melanie calling for more materials

The tool table in the outdoor space.

then we moved the operation into a larger space

the units needed to go overhead for storage while working below

the work crew adding the shiny bits in the new studio

We'll be doing some periodic updates on the airport project as it continues..

CERVIA INTERNATIONAL KITE FESTIVAL

The kite festivals that we attend around the world each have their own particular celebratory nature. Some are huge events attracting thousands of spectators and hundreds of kite flyers around the world. They are like a circus aerial act, with performers launching their creations into the overhead arena, white lines stretching upward to the giant sky blue top tent overhead.

We flew to Cervia, Italy recently to attend the 30^th annual Cervia International Kite Festival. That number, by all standards for kite festivals, is a long time running. There are only a handful of festivals that have that sort of history and still have the same organizers at the helm. This festival was started by Claudio Capeli, an artist and painter turned kite maker and then kite festival organizer. His daughter, Caterina always at his side in the early days eventually came on board as a co-organizer for the festival. His wife Giovana, helps and manages the kite store tent on the field.

From Germany, Anke Saur's Dot kite ..150 bridle lines!

Cervia is on the upper calf of the boot of Italy, about an hour from Bologna near Ravena on the seaside. As many times as I’ve been there as a participant, I’ve experienced the best winds along with some of the best kite flyers and makers in the world. This particular festival is a favorite among the art kite makers. It is a sky gallery of the most unusual and unique flying creations anywhere. People gather to share ideas and relax in this paradise of sun, sand, wind and clear blue skies.

Although the event spans two weekends, the days pass gently with no particular schedule except adding as much color and movement to the sky overhead as possible. It is rare that Melanie and I experience a kite festival with such perfect gentle and even winds letting us send almost every single kite in our tightly packed bags overhead all at once. When that happens, we hold our breath a bit hoping that it all stays aloft with no wayward kite bringing the whole show swirling to the ground. And, yes, that happened a few times as well. Tangles are a great way of meeting new kite friends.

a flying paper wonder by Austrian kite maker, Anna Rubin

The festival used to be held in the city of Cervia proper on a large beach near the city center. A few years ago, it was moved south to the nearby beach community of Pinarella. The beaches are lined with the familiar beach club bagnos that are normally full at peak summer season. The festival held at the end of April and beginning of May is a welcome early season opener for the town and businesses as kite flyers flock to this place each year.

A parkland strip of pine trees separates the beaches from the town creating a pleasant buffer between the cars, restaurants and bars and the beach scene. Walking there from the town each morning was like entering another world. A row of tents were set up along the beach selling all sorts of goods including kite sellers, curious curios and clothing waving on hangers in the sea breeze. A short distance from the kite fields a large tent housed the children’s kite workshop. Each day streams of kids would enter the tent and make kites guided by some of the international kite flyers. At the end of each session they would hurry to the beach to try out their creations. The sky would bloom into a garden of dancing kites held by excited children.

Melanie relaxing under my Metro Man kite

The kite field was split into several venues. One demonstration area reserved for the aerial acts of supreme sport kite teams and the king of multiple stunt kite flying, Ray Bethel from Vancouver, BC Canada. Further up the field were single line kite flyers with some astounding ground displays of banners, tents, sand ants, beach art, spinning, floating and flying aerial art of all forms. Further up the beach, the larger kites floated overhead dwarfing the handlers camped out at the enormous sand bag and stake anchor points. The scene through the week passed with these giant floating creatures buffeting in the winds while some slept under the kite shadows or passed the time chatting with old kite friends.

The kid's kite workshop tent was busy

Volker Hoberg's No Limit giant inflatable kites from Germany

A fine Swiss Tetra kite and my Wrap Man and Dot Man kites behind

Our kite array and banners

A portfolio of fine paper kites

A very relaxed kite flyer

Banners by the seaside

Ready for launch

The public area beach side

It’s a scene that I’m familiar with but somehow, each time creates a memory like a dream that drifts by like a colorful cloud and then, while on the plane flying home, exhausted with warm and happy tan faces reminds us why we do this. It’s just so much fun! And Italy?...I have a hard time thinking of a finer place to pass the time under the Italian sun, on a beach with a few hundred kites overhead dancing in the perfect winds. Grazia Mille, Cervia! Until next time, Ciao!

For more photos of the Cervia International Kite Festival go to the Flickr slide show