Indianapolis International Airport announces dynamic new electronic media art program

INDIANAPOLIS – November 29, 2011 – The Indianapolis Airport Authority (IAA) announced today that it will debut an innovative LED video wall at the Indianapolis International Airport in December 2011 that will feature video-based artworks and commercial advertising. Timed to launch during the busy holiday season and upcoming Super Bowl, the new On Screen program, curated by the Indianapolis Museum of Art, will present two new projects annually. In its first year, the On Screen art program will feature the video Perm Press: The American Cycle (2011) by Indianapolis-based artist Artur Silva, followed by a project by New York-based Nina Katchadourian called Seat Assignment (2011).

Multimedia artist Artur Silva will inaugurate On Screen with a new video work called Perm Press: The American Cycle that includes animation, video and photography. The title alludes to the artist’s fascination with American history and interest in the way history repeats itself in a continuous loop. The video jumps between past and present in a non- linear fashion, presenting a mix of familiar American icons, ranging from pictures of Abraham Lincoln to images of the Ferris wheel at the Indiana State Fair. Many of Silva’s images appear three times on screen in the style of a slot machine, conjuring the constant flux and turbulence of our present historical moment and the nation’s founding. Silva’s video is 62 seconds long, or roughly the amount of time it takes for a traveler to descend the escalator or stairs from the airport’s Civic Plaza to baggage claim.

The second On Screen project will debut in June 2012 and will feature a selection of photographs by Nina Katchadourian from her ongoing project, Seat Assignment. The piece consists of photographs that the artist – a frequent flyer – has taken on flights, using her mobile phone as a camera and the tray table as her improvised studio. In this expansive body of work, Katchadourian creates inventive landscapes, portraits, and still life tableaus using pages torn out from in-flight magazines, pretzel crumbs, straws, and other materials readily available between take-off and landing.

On Screen will provide the airport with the flexibility to allow a wide range of artists fresh opportunities to create temporary works that rotate over time. Working with local, national, and international artists, the program will commission timely projects that help provide diverse aesthetic perspectives on contemporary issues.

The IAA introduced its art program with the opening of the Midfield Terminal. In January 2011, the IAA hired the IMA to provide curatorial, conservation, and maintenance expertise to help ensure the art program continues to complement the airport amid the rapid changes that have affected the airline industry during the three years the terminal has operated.

“Since the 1960s, artists have been using the most advanced technological materials, such as hi-fi stereos, video cameras, remote controls, cable television satellite telecasts, computers, mobile phones and other consumer electronics to make new work that imaginatively comments on contemporary culture,” explained Lisa D. Freiman, senior curator and chair of the department of contemporary art at the IMA. “With the prevalence of video art among artists working today, this important new venue will present some of the most interesting works being created locally and worldwide.”

An optimal arrangement for displaying digital art, the high definition video wall measures 22 feet wide by 7 1⁄2 feet tall and utilizes LED technology with infinity edges. The video wall is made possible in part through the generous sponsorship of Sharp Electronics Corporation and Clear Channel Airports.

“We must continuously evaluate all factors within our control for opportunities to better support the best passenger experience while positioning ourselves to respond successfully to ever-changing challenges and opportunities,” said John D. Clark III, IAA’s executive director and CEO. “Whether leveraging new technology, adding new artwork to the airport experience, or harvesting new revenue streams during a persistent economic downturn, we make decisions to remain competitive and support our goal of being the airport system of choice.”

“We regret that this process affected Chrysalis, a much-admired piece that helped garner praise for our program,” he added. “However, art will continue to complement and strengthen the award-winning beauty of our terminal and concourses. We remain committed to a robust art program featuring local, national and international artists, we are confident this approach will evolve as a model for other airports, and we are grateful to Sharp Electronics Corporation and Clear Channel Airports for enabling this innovative partnership.”

The new video wall will be installed on the bulkhead above the main escalator in the terminal. This location previously featured Chrysalis, by James Wille Faust, which will remain a part of the IAA’s collection.

Another ongoing development in the airport’s art program is the repair of Greg Hull’s Breath, which was damaged when the parking garage canopy collapsed earlier this year. Repairs and improvements to the canopy will be completed in December, making way for restoration of the artwork.

About Artur Silva

Born in 1976 in Brazil and now an American citizen, Artur Silva has lived and worked in Indianapolis since 2001. Silva works across media as a painter, sculptor, printmaker, video and performance artist. Since 2005, he has also worked extensively in the public realm. His many public projects include On Procession Parade (2008), a performance he created for the Indianapolis Museum of Art, Mass (2008), an outdoor light sculpture he designed for Massachusetts Avenue in downtown Indianapolis, the sculpture, Thank You, Enjoy (2008) for the White River State Park Sculpture Garden in Indianapolis, and the mural, The Death of Ambition (2011) for the 46 for XLVI Program, a public art program of the Arts Council of Indianapolis in partnership with the City of Indianapolis. Silva has been awarded numerous prestigious fellowships and grants for his work, including, most recently, a 2011 Pollock- Krasner Grant from the Pollock-Krasner Foundation in New York and a 2010/2011 Efroymson Contemporary Art Fellowship from the Efroymson Family Fund in Indianapolis. Silva has had solo exhibits at galleries from Chicago to Portland and been included in group exhibits at museums and institutions ranging from the Indianapolis Museum of Art to the Indiana State Museum, the Smart Museum of Art in Chicago, the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts in Omaha, Nebraska, and the Van Abbemuseum in the Netherlands, among others.

About Nina Katchadourian

Nina Katchadourian was born in Stanford, California, and now lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. Her work exists in a wide variety of media including photography, sculpture, video and sound. Her work has been exhibited domestically and internationally at institutions such as PS1/MoMA, the Serpentine Gallery, New Langton Arts, Artists Space, SculptureCenter, and the Palais de Tokyo. In January 2006, the Turku Art Museum in Turku, Finland, featured a solo show of her works made in Finland, and in June 2006 the Tang Museum at Skidmore College exhibited a 10-year survey of her work and published an accompanying monograph entitled "All Forms of Attraction." The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego presented a solo show of recent video installation works in July 2008. In February 2010, she was the artist in residence at the Dunedin Public Art Gallery in Dunedin, New Zealand, where she had a solo show entitled Seat Assignment. She is currently at work on a permanent public piece, commissioned by the General Services Administration, for a border crossing station between the U.S. and Canada.

About Sharp Electronics Corporation

Sharp Electronics Corporation is the U.S. subsidiary of Japan's Sharp Corporation, a worldwide developer of one-of-a-kind home entertainment products, appliances, networked multifunctional office solutions, solar energy solutions, LED lighting and mobile communication and information tools. Leading brands include AQUOS® QuattronTM LCD televisions and 3DTVs, SharpVision® projectors, Insight® Microwave Drawer® ovens, Notevision® multimedia projectors and Plasmacluster® air purifiers. For more information visit Sharp Electronics Corporation at www.sharpusa.com. Find us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and watch us on YouTube.

About Clear Channel Airports

Dedicated to airport advertising for more than 37 years, Clear Channel Airports is the premier innovator of contemporary display concepts. The Company, a division of Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCO), the world’s largest outdoor advertising company, currently operates more than 260 airport programs across the globe and has a presence in 32 of the top 50 U.S. markets with major airports. More information can be found on Clear Channel Airports and Clear Channel Outdoor by visiting www.clearchannelairports.com and www.clearchanneloutdoor.com.

About the IMA

By providing expertise in art curating, managing and maintaining public art projects, the IMA helps to facilitate public art projects that are enjoyed by the residents of and visitors to Indianapolis. Community leaders approached the IMA for consultation following the remarkable success of 100 Acres: The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park, which opened at the museum to critical acclaim in 2010.

Curatorial oversight is provided by Lisa D. Freiman, Chair of the IMA’s Department of Contemporary Art and Veronica Roberts, Adjunct Associate Curator of Contemporary Art at the IMA. In addition to overseeing the Contemporary Art department, Freiman is Director of 100 Acres: The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park. She is also the Commissioner of the 2011 United States Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, one of the oldest and most important international art exhibitions. Prior to joining the IMA, Veronica Roberts worked most recently in the Department of Painting and Sculpture at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York.

About the Authority

The Indianapolis Airport Authority (IAA) owns and operates Indiana’s largest airport system. In addition to Indianapolis International Airport (IND), its facilities include the Downtown Heliport, Eagle Creek Airpark, Hendricks County Airport, Indianapolis Regional Airport, and Metropolitan Airport. IND has received several prestigious awards recognizing it as a leader within its class. It was named the 2010 best North American airport by J.D. Power and Associates and best airport in North America by Airports Council International as part of its annual Airport Service Quality awards for performance excellence. IND is the first airport in the U.S. to win LEED® certification for an entire terminal campus, and the airport has won recognition for excellent customer service, concessions programs, and art and architecture.

IND’s economic impact in Central Indiana is more than $3.3 billion annually, and about 10,000 people work at the airport each day. With some of the lowest fares in the U.S., IND serves more than 7 million business and leisure travelers each year and averages 140 daily nonstop flights to 34 destinations. Home of the world's second-largest FedEx Express operation and the nation’s eighth-largest cargo facility, IND is committed to becoming the airport system of choice for both passenger and cargo service. For more information, visit IND’s Facebook page at Indianapolis International Airport and Twitter page at @INDairport.