The Building as a Pretext [Sound Graph} by Sarah Morris
Exhibit location: Terminal One, Exit of C Concourse at TSA checkpoint
The Building as a Pretext [Sound Graph] is a site-specific artwork in which the motion of the lines, shapes, and colors are based on a visualization of the sound created when the title of the piece is spoken. The title refers to the fundamental idea that architecture determines and influences social behavior but emphasizes that a building is only as important as the people and activity which occurs in and around it. The artwork visually connects the visitors, passengers, and employees in this space with the iconic architecture of the historic Minoru Yamasaki-designed terminal at St. Louis Lambert International Airport — elevating both together.
About the Artist: Morris often sites her work in spaces of transition and travel, such as airports and train stations. She is interested in the patterns of people’s movement in these public in-between spaces. The geometry and motion in Morris’ work is designed to feel familiar to viewers and reference an abstract, self-generating code often used in the iconography of maps, especially maps of urban transit systems. Morris uses these visual references to create a virtual map which relies on the interpretation and recognition of the viewer for meaning.
Since the 1990s, Morris has produced a large body of work using paintings, films, site-specific wall paintings and sculptures which reflect her interest in networks, typologies, architecture and the city. Through her use both of reality and vivid, complex abstractions, Morris creates a new language of place and politics. She sees her paintings as self-generating, open to interpretation, motion and change, giving the viewer a heightened sense that they are part of a larger system. Morris currently lives and works in New York.
Dream Beyond the Clouds by Martin Donlin
Exhibit location: Terminal One, Upper Level, Across from Entry Door 4
Dream Beyond the Clouds was commissioned by the Lambert Art and Culture Program to celebrate the life and legacy of airport founder Major Albert Bond Lambert on the 100th anniversary of STL.
The images in Dream Beyond the Clouds follow Lambert from his early passion for aeronautics to becoming an aircraft pilot, and founding Kinloch Field, later Lambert-St. Louis Flying Field, then Lambert-St. Louis International Airport before changing its name in 2017 to St. Louis Lambert International Airport. The images also represent Lambert’s pioneering vision of continued exploration of the sky and his tireless work to make St. Louis a leader in aviation.
Artist Martin Donlin created this artwork to respond to the expanse of space and light in Terminal 1, designed by groundbreaking architect Minoru Yamasaki. Donlin used a layered collage technique for the artwork inspired by a legendary sculptural screen designed by Harry Bertoia which was located in the terminal when it opened in 1956.
About the Artist: Artist Martin Donlin studied Architectural Stained Glass in Swansea, South Wales. He creates glass artworks on both large and small scale, sacred and secular, for busy public buildings and for small spaces of quiet reflection. Donlin is often inspired by the architecture of his project sites so that every piece is a direct response to its surroundings. He also strives to make artwork that is warm, welcoming and accessible, sensitive to telling the stories of people and spaces through glass. Donlin lives and works in Brighton, East Sussex on the south coast of England.
Black Americans in Flight by Spencer Taylor & Solomon Thurman
Exhibit location: Pre-Security, Terminal 1, Exit 11
Dedicated to honor African-American achievements in aviation, Black Americans in Flight has been on display since 1990. The five panel mural is eight feet in height and runs 51 feet in length. The art work pays tribute to African-American Achievements in Aviation from 1917 onward. The historic mural includes 75 portraits, 18 aircrafts, five unit patches and one spacecraft.
About the Artists: In 1986, the Committee for the Aviation Mural Project Success commissioned St. Louis artist Spencer Taylor. He was tasked with creating a mural to initially honor St. Louis African-American pilots that flew in World War II, also known as Tuskegee Airmen. Enlisted to help Taylor with the mural was Solomon Thurman, who at the time was also a local-based artist. Today, he is the co-owner of St. Louis’ 10th Street Gallery.
The Village by Alicia LaChance
Exhibit location: Post-Security, Terminal 1, C Concourse
Shared modernity and new velocities influenced LaChance’s The Village. Completed in 2012, this terrazzo piece greets passengers both arriving and departing from STL at the confluence of the C Concourse exit and the C concourse security checkpoint.
About the Artist:
Sensación de Vuelo by Leonardo Nierman
Exhibit location: Terminal 2 lawn, between domestic and international arrivals
The 10-foot tall sculpture, (which translated from Spanish means "Flying Sensation"), is constructed of intertwined steel ribbons that point to the sky and reflect the air and land above and below where visitors stand. The reflective steel may remind visitors of one of St. Louis’ most iconic images, the St. Louis Arch. Sensación de Vuelo was a gift by the artist to St. Louis on behalf of the people of Mexico.
NUCLEIC LIFE FORMATIONS by Amy Cheng
Exhibit location: Terminal 1, MetroLink Station
Two water jet-cut ceramic tile murals suggestive of striated nightscapes crossed by a constellation of “stars” that loosely mimics a DNA double helix. The work evokes the universal connection between all living things micro and macro, the cells and the cosmos.