Airport Art Soothes Your Six-Hour Layover

It’s that time of the year, when the world is assembling at the airport security line to board flights home, from transatlantic and inter-Euro to southern hemisphere and back north. With overbooked flights and cancelations due to weather, there is a lot of time to hang within the airport terminal while waiting patiently to board your plane. These idle times usually call for a beer but we’ve been pleasantly surprised by the art installations we’ve been catching on our travels and through the Instagram hashtag #airportart. From tinted glass to massive sculptures and fine art, here are some awe-inspiring and titillating airport art works to design selfies around.

The Weary Traveler #MCO #AirportArt

A photo posted by Eve Vanderpool (@evevanderpool) on Sep 21, 2015 at 7:41am PDT

The Orlando International  Airport has a bonafide art program and gives art tours of terminals A and B. We are especially into the life-like The Traveler by Duane Hanson at Terminal A between gates 100-129. Hanson is an American sculptor from Minnesota who worked in South Florida. He is best known for realistic fiberglass works of people under the veil of hyperrealism.

#AirportArt #SFO

A photo posted by Lynae Cook (@lynaecook) on Oct 2, 2015 at 3:50pm PDT

Established in 1980, the SFO Museum was first cultural institution of its kind located in an international airport. It is dedicated to provide an educational and cultural experience for airport visitors. SFOM features more than 20 galleries throughout the airport terminals displaying art, history, science, and cultural exhibitions, as well as the San Francisco Airport Commission Aviation Library and Louis A. Turpen Aviation Museum. We especially like their public art collection with fine art and sculptural moments on par with any big museum like the corner that features Marc Katano canvases paired with Seiji Kunishima’s Stacking Stones weighing14 tons.

 One of our favorites is located in terminal two. Past security look up to witness Janet Echelman’s Every Beating Second made of braided fibers and knotted twine into a sculptural netting suspended from steel armatures. “Aesthetically, the sculpture looks both backwards and forwards, drawing its color from the heyday of psychedelic music, the Summer of Love, and San Francisco’s prominence in the Beat poetry movement, while also referencing the contemporary Bay Area as a hub of innovation and interconnectivity for the world of technology.”

Surprisingly interesting art in SFO airport #latergram #sf #sfo #airportart #wegramthistown #fotodc #igdc #igersdc #acreativedc #igsf #igerssf

A photo posted by @lismallen on Dec 2, 2015 at 5:41pm PST

Tuna Can Tian Tan Buddha | HK layover

A photo posted by Annie Kee (@annie.kee) on Nov 7, 2015 at 7:42pm PST

Earlier this year, the Airport Authority staff at HKIA recreated the Tian Tan Buddha with more than 10,000 canned food, titled Above The Clouds. The sculpture was meant to promote food donation to tackle world hunger and raise public awareness.

#Unmet 6 by #ChristinaWest #pigmented #hydrocal @cwestsculpture #ceramix #airportart #hartsfieldjackson #contemporaryart #figurativesculpture #ATLairport @atlairport

A photo posted by Vincent Daudin (@soune21) on Nov 21, 2015 at 3:49pm PST

From youth art galleries to a permanent art collection of more than 250 pieces, this Atlanta art program takes great care to reflect it’s local artists. We are especially into these busts of Christina West titled Unmet.

A photo posted by Craig Foo (@craigfoo) on Oct 11, 2015 at 11:48am PDT

This 72-foot-long rainbow window wall with diamond-shaped panes of glass in 150 transparent colors is one of the best public art installations in the airport realm. Designed by architect Christopher Janney, the window is a popular Instagram airport celebrity and located at an airport entrance by a people-mover walkway.

http://thecreatorsproject.vice.com/blog/zaha-hadid-designed-largest-airport-ever

Rippin' a dip at San-Diego airport! #SAN #AirportArt #Swimmers

A video posted by @zohargewing on Dec 7, 2015 at 4:42pm PST

This digital art display of a swimmer by Jim Campbell is the Airport Authority’s largest commission and largest scale artwork. The Journey is comprised of 38,000 suspended LED pendants spanning six feet wide by 700 feet long.

A photo posted by Bergström Johan (@johanbergstroem) on Dec 14, 2015 at 1:14am PST

In this New Zealand airport, a giant Gollum structure hangs from the roof. Designed by Richard Taylor and Weta workshop to create an unforgettable experience of “The Middle of Middle-earth”, this 3D modeled Gollum was made by a team of 18 sculptors, model makers, painters and other specialists.

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