(Los Angeles) As the spring travel season begins at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), a new presentation of works by seven artists in Terminal 1 provides guests with the opportunity to enjoy inspiring culture as a part of their best-in-class travel experience.
Presented by Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), in partnership with the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA), Terminal 1’s art program showcases works from a diverse group of artists in a variety of mediums to demonstrate a broad range of artistic expression from Greater Los Angeles and beyond.
“LAX is thrilled to see a strong return to travel this year and the airport’s Art Program has a wonderful selection of exhibitions on view to welcome passengers and enhance their travel experience,” said LAX Art Program Director Sarah Cifarelli. “The six exhibitions and permanent sculpture on view in Terminal 1 feature a wide variety of media including printmaking, photography, painting, sculpture and video art, so guests can experience many different art forms and themes during their visit.”
Terminal 1, Connector Hallway, Departures
Wonderland II by Peter Wu+
Wonderland II by Peter Wu+ explores concepts of belonging and displacement through speculative fiction, a category that includes science fiction and fantasy genres. The exhibition features a series of digital prints depicting a virtual world created by Wu+, as well as an immersive arrangement of screens and projection allowing the viewer to experience this imaginative world in video format. Wonderland II is inspired by a dream the artist had in 1997, leading him to connect his visions of a mythical, deserted castle to a larger narrative reflecting the desires and doubts of many in the Asian diaspora.
In his videos and prints, Wu+’s abandoned castles feature a series of digitally realized sculptures and installations that consider identity, assimilation, and displacement. Through the use of avatars and symbols, Wu+ transports the viewer to a dreamlike world to encourage their own personal discovery, and, ultimately, to define what belonging means to them.
"Wonderland II" will be on view for ticketed passengers until winter of 2023.
Terminal 1, On View: Five Exhibitions and One Public Art Installation
Opening by Tofer Chin is a site-specific mural inspired by the abundant, transformative light that is cast throughout Los Angeles. With its placement in a light-filled lobby, viewers may observe how the mood of this mural changes throughout the day, creating a space to contemplate rigidity versus fluidity.
On view in Terminal 1 extension lobby, pre-security departures level until 2026.
Floating Lady IV by Tony DeLap is an abstract, illusionary sculpture that challenges the viewer’s perception of form. Created from a Corten steel column that is bisected by a spine of clear acrylic, the 11-foot-tall artwork highlights DeLap’s facility with geometric shapes and life-long interest in magic, as the upper portion of the column appears to mysteriously float atop the lower segment. The sculpture was originally installed outdoors, then moved inside to the original portion of Terminal 1 in 1984. Today, it welcomes passengers to Terminal 1’s extension, providing a connection between the airport’s past and present.
On view in Terminal 1 post-security departures level permanently.
Technicolor Pandemonium by Renée A. Fox is a site-specific mural that depicts the boisterous wild green parrots native to Mexico and Central and South America and seen locally in Los Angeles. Like many beloved icons of L.A.’s natural landscape, these birds originated from other places and adapted to L.A.’s urban landscape. Fox’s practice is informed by our relationship to nature and strives to inspire positive change.
On view in Terminal 1 post-security departures level permanently.
Your Body Is a Space That Sees by Lia Halloran pays homage to 19th and early 20th-century women astronomers and their discoveries through monumental cyanotypes, one of the oldest photographic printing processes. The exhibition also features historical photographs of the pioneering astronomers alongside Halloran’s work to provide further contextualization.
On view in Terminal 1, Gate 9, post-security departures level until fall 2023.
Window Seat by Susan Logoreci includes four original paintings depicting famous Los Angeles landmarks Dodger Stadium, the Hollywood Bowl, Griffith Observatory and Tower Records, as well as a vinyl mural of Santa Monica. The organic, handmade aesthetic of Logoreci’s work gives viewers a new perspective on their city and the chance to see it as an outgrowth of our human nature: a large, ongoing project, built by many, and shared by all.
On view in Terminal 1, Gate 9, post-security departures level until fall 2023.
LA Rhapsody – Super Moon / Opus No.1 by Karchi Perlmann is a monumental panoramic photographic installation depicting Los Angeles during a full moon. Inspired by the first known panorama – painted by Robert Baker who immortalized the landscape of Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1787 – the work includes a soundscape of ambient recordings from Los Angeles that creates a multi-sensory portrait of the city.
On view in Terminal 1 connector hallway, post-security departures level until summer of 2023.
Media Access
Members of the media who wish to visit art located beyond the airport's security screening area may contact LAX Public Relations by emailing laxpr@lawa.org.
Self(ie) Guided Tours
Airport guests are invited to visit artwork created by local students and alumni from Otis College of Art and Design and Woodbury University in collaboration with the LAX Guest Services Division. The work is located in the pre-security screening areas of Terminals 1, 2, 5, 6 and 7, and guests are encouraged to start their self-guided tour at the Theme Building and continue on the mile-long route to view all nine works of art. Displayed on large walls, the artwork creates opportunities for guests to take selfies to share on social media using #LAXSelfieGuidedTour. For more information on how to take a self-guided tour click here.
LAX, the fourth-busiest airport in the world and second busiest in the United States, was named a top-10 U.S. airport by SKYTRAX. LAX served more than 87.5 million passengers in 2018 and offers an average of 700 daily nonstop flights to 109 cities in the U.S. and 1,281 weekly nonstop flights to 93 markets in 47 countries on 69 commercial airlines. LAX ranks 10th in the world in air cargo tonnage processed, with more than 2.4 million tons of air cargo. LAX handled 707,883 operations (landings and takeoffs) in 2018.
LAX generated 620,600 jobs in Southern California, with labor income of $37.3 billion and economic output (business revenues) of more than $126.6 billion, according to an economic study based on 2014 operations. This activity added $6.2 billion to local and state revenues and $8.7 billion in federal tax revenues. The study also reported that LAX’s ongoing capital improvement program creates an additional 121,640 annual jobs with labor income of $7.6 billion and economic output of $20.3 billion; $966 million in state and local taxes; and $1.6 billion in federal tax revenues.
LAX was honored as having the “Best Overall Customer Service Program” by Airports Council International-North America; named the “Best Airport for Breastfeeding Moms” by Mamava; selected for the Top 10 “Best of the U.S.’s Big Airports” (Wall Street Journal) and “Most Pet-Friendly Airports in the U.S. (Mental Floss); named the second-most improved airport in the U.S. by JD Power; received an “Innovation Award” from the L.A. Better Business Challenge for its Central Utility Plant; and named a “Business Leader in Air Quality” by the South Coast Air Quality Management District.
LAX is also the second-most popular airport in the world to appear on Instagram, according to wego.com. LAX is part of a system of two Southern California airports – along with Van Nuys general aviation – that are owned and operated by Los Angeles World Airports, a proprietary department of the City of Los Angeles that receives no funding from the City’s general fund.
For more information about LAX, please visit www.flyLAX.com or follow on Twitter @flyLAXAirport, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/LAInternationalAirport, and on YouTube at www.YouTube.com/laxairport1
As a covered entity under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the City of Los Angeles does not discriminate on the basis of disability and, upon request, will provide reasonable accommodation to ensure equal access to its programs, services, and activities. Alternative formats in large print, braille, audio, and other forms (if possible) will be provided upon request.
