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Art in Public Places at the Miami International Airport. |
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Written by Abel S.
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Page 1 of 2 Art in Public Places is a program of the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs dedicated to promoting creative art projects with the purpose of improving the visual quality of Miami-Dade County public spaces. For the last 35 years, the outcomes of the program have succeeded in transforming ordinary civic areas into artistic sites that not only have enriched the artistic dimension of our public environment for residents and visitors, but also have contributed a big deal in consolidating the foundations of the county’s artistic heritage.
The program was started in 1973, as one of the nation’s first public art programs. It relies in an ordinance that allocates 1.5% of every construction cost destined to new county buildings, to purchasing, or commissioning monumental artworks to recognized national and international artists. Art in Public Places is overseen by a citizens’ Trust, appointed by the Board of County Commissioners. The Trust receives recommendations on acquisitions and commissions from a professional advisory committee, composed of independent professionals working in the fields of art, art history and architecture.
Today, with a collection of more than 700 works of art installed countywide, Art in Public Places marks can be found at major urban sites such the Miami International Airport, the Metrorail and Metromover stations, the Port of Miami, and the MetroZoo, as well as at fire stations, libraries, police stations, public housing developments, and community health centers. This program has literally become a public “art museum” by treasuring the work of more than fifty local, national and international artists.
“In 2004, the voters of our community approved the visionary Building Better Communities bond program, committing to the investment of $2.9 billion in more than 300 neighborhoods and regional capital projects over the next 15 years.” Said Michael Spring, Director of Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs. “As all of these projects continue to improve and transform our community, Miami-Dade Art in Public Places will build upon its 35 year history of excellence in commissioning world-class works of public art that enrich our built environment while educating and inspiring our residents and visitors.”
One of the county locations with the highest concentration of public art is the Miami International Airport. Encompassing a variety of artistic concepts and diverse medias, the monumental installations can be seen throughout the facilities’ public areas. Most of the works at MIA celebrate Miami’s unique natural environment, while few others represent the city’s cultural diversity and artistic heritage. One way or another, the art at the Miami International Airport have welcomed millions of visitors throughout the years to a city that it is now known as the art capital of the Americas.
Miami artist Barbara Neijna has created an environment that is unique to South Florida and, much like the Everglades, her 2007 installation in Concourse J, Foreverglades, “is like no other.” Text from Margory Stoneman Douglas’ River of Grass is embedded into 65,000 sq. ft. of terrazzo floor running throughout the concourse. Pre-cast stone bas-relief panels interspersed with ribbons of glass, which symbolize flowing water and swaying reeds of grass, are seamlessly integrated into the architecture. Expansive curtain wall windows shower the concourse with brilliant color and highlight the hundreds of small, abstracted photographic images of South Florida intermixed throughout the terminal. Working in South Florida since 1962, Niejna has produced a large body of sculpture ranging from small wall-mounted objects to monumental freestanding geometric forms.
Also from 2007 is Brad Goldberg’s Coral Eden. The work is composed of two massive stonewalls, each measuring approximately 30 feet wide by 90 feet high. The imagery, derived from a series of macro-photographs of brain coral, is carved in Travertine marble from Italy. The coral relief is quite shallow at the base of the wall and increases in depth as the stone rises, allowing the coral pattern to subtly emerge through light and shadow. As passengers gaze up at the expansive wall, the increasing depth of the forms will suggest a view upward from the bottom of the ocean toward the atmosphere and sun. Based in Dallas, Texas, Brad Goldberg is an artist who sees his work as a fusion between sculpture, the landscape and the built environment.
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