Client: City of Austin, Art in Public Places Program

Overview

This work is inspired by Sunday afternoons at my grandparents' small farm in central Texas. It is painted with Acrylics on canvas measuring 9' x 90' and is installed over the west ticket counter at Austin Bergstrom International Airport.

Goals

The goals for the ABIA commissioned artwork was to convey the "nature and character" of Austin. The selected artists presented various interpretations ranging from traditional landscape to interactive conceptual art with references to central Texas. My autobiographical narrative reflected the site's history of Mexican American sharecroppers and farmers prior to its time as Bergstrom Air Force Base.

Process

The design by Page Sutherland Page with Lawrence Speck, principal Architect featured two prominent sites for murals at the Main terminal entrance. It reflected his familiarity with the mural tradition in Texas and Austin. It detailed the panoramic walls with specific sized panels that I used as templates for my conceptual design. For the fabrication I collaborated with a Master welder to build the support bars of Aluminum angle iron. I adjusted wood lattice on the bars' interiors to staple the canvas. The installation was conducted by me and the welder. The works fit perfectly into the build niches and were later lined with aluminum and wood panels.