Here There and Everywhere

Expat wanderer

Airport Art – SeaTac Airport

Way way down at the end of B concourse, someone has painted the windows. It looks Christmas-y to me, or at the very least, wintery, but I can’t imagine they painted this beautiful painting just for a temporary display, so it must be permanent, or semi-permanent. Having pieces like this on display for people – public art – thrills my heart. It caught the eye, even of people rushing from the plane to their next gate. Even if it were only a second or two, it’s worth it, isn’t it, to have art in unexpected places?

I don’t understand exactly how this all fits together. There are three pieces, the forest and eagle, the night sky with constellations, and the people dreaming in their cottage bed. I tried to get an overview, and then broke it down into sections so you could see it better.

00airportpaintingoverview

00airportpaintingeagledetail

00airportconstellationssunmoon

00airportmuralpeoplesleeping

Even posting the photos, I see new details. It is as if the artist is playing a game with us, challenging us to spot the countless little details s/he included to catch our eye and delight us unexpectedly. Look at the little owls in the trees to the right of the cabin! Look at the way the artist disguised/included the doors on the left as part of the mural! Look at the stars, drifting down toward earth – or are they becoming snowflakes? Look at the comfortable couple, wrapped up warmly on a cold winter’s night. Look at the sun and the moon in their carriage, the moon pouring out the milky way stars . . . so many details! Draco the dragon! Ursa Major! I love the scope of this mural!

December 18, 2008 - Posted by | Arts & Handicrafts, Beauty, Communication, ExPat Life, Interconnected, Public Art, Seattle, Travel

3 Comments »

  1. Beautiful – just beautiful. I generally find Sea-Tac’s art a bit mystifying: what IS the stained glass on the window as you go from security to the trains and on to the N gates? But I also love how much visual interest the various artworks add to the airport.

    Here’s the official link to the airport’s art: http://www.portseattle.org/seatac/art/ongoing.shtml

    And here is the artist, Cappy Thompson, on the mural:
    http://www.cappythompson.com/picture_pages/spiritfull.html

    Can’t wait for my next trip to Seattle 🙂

    adiamondinsunlight's avatar Comment by adiamondinsunlight | December 18, 2008 | Reply

  2. I’ll have to look for this on my next time thru. It almost looks like it has a Russian influence. I’m with you–I love public art and many of the airports in the US that I have been in lately have featured different kinds of art. Portland frequently has performance art.

    momcat's avatar Comment by momcat | December 18, 2008 | Reply

  3. Little Diamond, I am blown away. I learned so much from the cappythompson website, including the fact that it is at the end of A concourse (the Anthony’s where the sea-like floor is in B concourse – please make a point to go see it) You amaze me with your ability to find information!

    Momcat – I just love it that it transports something so mundane as travel has become into an uplifting experience, even if just for moments. I saw a fabulous exhibit, too, in the Atlanta airport.

    intlxpatr's avatar Comment by intlxpatr | December 18, 2008 | Reply


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