Client: Jacksonville International Airport Arts Commission

Location: Jacksonville, FL, United States

Completion date: 2008

Artwork budget: $220,000

Project Team

Artist

Gordon Huether

Gordon Huether Studio

Architect

RSH Architects

RSH Architects

Overview

In 2008 the Jacksonville International Airport constructed two new concourses. Gordon Huether was commissioned to create two murals, each 35′ H x 35′ W. The artist created an illusion of a male traveler on one end of the concourse and a female traveler on the other end, both walking across the tarmac. Gordon Huether used digital printing to apply the figures onto the glass, incorporating elements that feature dichroic glass. The figures are rendered in High Definition Thermal Encapsulated film, an eco-friendly alternative to traditional chemical printing.

Goals

The goal of this project was it to create site-specific art installations that are relevant to the site and connect the traveler passing through with the locale they are currently in. The travelers are monumental, vibrant and animated, standing over 35 feet tall.

Process

Collaborating closely with the architect allowed for a very flexible design development phase. Each larger than life traveler carries a travel bag that has a map of the immediate Jacksonville area on the bag. This area has an intense color zone of dichroic coating. The dichroic coating fluctuates in color from red to blue to yellow, depending on the time of day and angle of viewing, making the Jacksonville map passively kinetic.