LOS ANGELES CONVERGENCE: LAX EXHIBIT RE-ARRANGES VISUAL
AND SOCIAL ARCHITECTURE
(Los Angeles, California – September 11, 2009) Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), in partnership with the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs,announces the opening of two exhibits by Los Angeles-based artist teams at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in Terminal 3 on the Lower/Arrivals Level by Baggage Claim, featuring art installations by renowned artists that create a new visual architecture and engage viewers in a dialogue about Los Angeles and our diverse experiences. The exhibits are free and on display through February 14, 2010.
The exhibit “CrissCross” consists of an 80-foot long wall painting installation by Mara Lonner and Kim Schoenstadt. Based upon research into the history of the airport’s plant life and architecture, the artists collaborated on the creation of a wall mural incorporating elements found at LAX, such as the control towers, lights and a native plant called California Buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum). Inspired by the temporary human and spatial interactions continually taking place at LAX, the artists illustrate the airport as an environment of interconnected places and experiences.
Lonner currently teaches drawing, sculpture, and design fundamentals atUniversity of California, Irvine, and Schoenstadt’s recent artistic practice focuses on the exploration of drawing. While the two artists’ works are different in execution, they share a common interest in blurring the conventional distinction between the organic and geometric worlds.
Located in the display case, the complementary exhibit “OutCast II” features art by Los Angeles artist and former Watts Towers Center Director John Outterbridge working in collaboration with City of Los Angeles COLA Fellow 2009, Castillo. The exhibit employs an array of beautiful compositions of hand-tied, multi-colored rags collected from the local Garment District of Los Angeles, an area traditionally known for its sweatshops. The artists, inspired by their respective cultural heritages, interweave cultures and artistic practices to create a visual metaphor, and to celebrate the history and symbolism of rags, as a reflection of social dilemmas.
The purpose of the Art Exhibits Program at LAX and LA/Ontario International Airport (ONT), is to educate and entertain the traveling public, while emphasizing a cultural experience highlighting what makes Los Angeles unique and interesting. Exhibits may be historic, popular, artistic, or graphic design in nature and may arise from museums, fine art, archives, environment, or other fields. Exhibits are on display in Terminals 1, 2, 3 and Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX, and Terminals 2 and 4 at LA/Ontario.
