In the blistering Texas heat, on a Saturday afternoon, Asian American creatives strolled into the coffee shop Civil Pour in Dallas for a Dallas Asian American Art Club meeting.

“I’m just really excited to meet everyone else,” said Evangelina Hsu, who is Taiwanese American and has worked as a 3-D artist. She has an online shop where she sells food-themed stickers and merchandise she designs, which depict everything from the ramen in the Studio Ghibli movie “Ponyo“ to Japanese fruit sandwiches.

The Dallas Asian American Art Club, which was launched in February by Christina Hahn, started out with just a handful of people. Now, it’s a once or twice-a-month gathering of about 15 Gen-Z and Millenials. It’s a space where people can pursue their creative interests in their own way, whether they want to socialize, work on their latest project or just get feedback.

“It’s just anyone who is Asian American and wants to be creative. You don’t even have to do that as your full-time job,” Hahn said.

Emily Nava

/

KERA

Hahn, who is Korean American and the creative director of the Dallas Asian American Historical Society, said she created the club because she struggled to find people who shared the same cultural fluency to challenge her work in a nuanced way.

“How a lot of Americans view Asian art and being Asian is very flat and very stereotypical,” she said. “So how do we move beyond that and how do we create art that is uniquely Asian American? I need people who are uniquely Asian American to be able to give me that type of feedback.”

For Asian American creatives, embracing their distinctive voice can feel like an act of defiance. On one hand, there’s defying the cultural pressure from parents and relatives to pursue non-creative jobs.

“I grew up with that same narrative of, like, ‘Art is not a sustainable field.’ ‘There is no way that you’re going to be able to put food on the table,’ ” said Rachel Tse, a graphic designer for a Dallas-based agency. “So I feel like my entire life I have been rebelling against that narrative or that voice inside my head.”

On the other hand, Asian American creatives are defying stereotypes.

“You look at all of the major culture that is going on today in America that a lot of it has Asian roots,” Hahn said. “So why are you trying to say that we’re not creative just because y’all prefer us to be crunching numbers for you or being tidy for you?”

Tse, who is Chinese American, said the club is exactly the kind of space she needed starting out. She is currently working with a friend on an apparel line they hope to launch this year.

Emily Nava

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KERA

Krishna Narra, who is Indian American, works in Dallas as a digital marketing specialist and is also an actor, writer, filmmaker and poet.

He recently wrote a collection of acrostic poems called “Linguistic Therapy” based on 50 words from his native language of Telugu.

“So my sales pitch is even if the poems are bad, you learn 50 words of a different language,” he said with a chuckle.

For Narra, who recently relocated from Houston, the club and Dallas at large is where he’s coming into his own as an artist.

“In Dallas, it’s like where I’ve actually gotten to see, OK, what can I bring to another space or where am I? Like, me kind of discovering my actual voice.”

Emily Nava

/

KERA

The club also celebrates that Asian American creatives and their work don’t need to look one way. Judy Liu, who is Taiwanese Chinese, balances being a writer and a full-time job as a compliance program manager. Last year, she published an Asian Western young-adult sci-fi novel “The Vending Portal.”

“I wanted something that was unapologetically Asian Western, like no need to explain anything else,” she said. “I just wanted a story that we could all relate to a little more.” 

Hahn said in the future, she hopes to host an art market and create an exhibition featuring artists from the club.

“I want people to feel not alone,” Hahn said. “That’s my No. 1 priority, that you can be all of who you are and do all of what you want to do.”

Want to join the Dallas Asian American Art Club? Follow @daaartclub on Instagram.

Arts Access is an arts journalism collaboration powered by The Dallas Morning News and KERA.

This community-funded journalism initiative is funded by the Better Together Fund, Carol & Don Glendenning, City of Dallas OAC, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, Eugene McDermott Foundation, James & Gayle Halperin Foundation, Jennifer & Peter Altabef and The Meadows Foundation. The News and KERA retain full editorial control of Arts Access’ journalism.

The blank canvas is a daunting challenge for most artists: where to begin, and what to paint? For Anna Sidana, whose work is currently on display at the Pamela Walsh Gallery, the answer came by looking back at her childhood. Memories of time spent at her family’s farm in Rajasthan, India, inspired her large-scale botanical oil paintings that are lush evocations of what she calls “an oasis in the desert.” The exhibition, titled “Tall Cotton,” is on view through July 8.

This is Sidana’s first solo exhibition and reflects her circuitous route to becoming a full-time artist. Born and raised in New Delhi, she earned a bachelor’s degree from the British Computer Society and embarked upon a career in technology that would take her to Europe and eventually to California. The next 30 years would find her working for some of the biggest names in the tech world (including Netscape and Paypal) before pausing to take a step back when her two children left for college.

“It was time to think about all that has happened and what I was doing,” Sidana said. After taking a painting class in San Francisco, and then another, she found herself asking, “What if this could be my next chapter?”

It would be a huge pivot for Sidana, as she moved from Palo Alto to San Francisco and enrolled at the San Francisco Art Institute. Although she loved her studies, she realized that, after years in marketing, “I didn’t even speak the same language — it was a huge learning curve.” She persevered because, “School was amazing; I just wanted to be the best artist I could be.”

She graduated with a master’s degree in Fine Arts in 2020, just in time for pandemic lockdowns. The bright side was that there was plenty of time to focus on her work. Realizing that she felt a sense of “disconnection” from her roots in India (most of her family lives here, and she has only returned to India for brief visits) she began to remember the happiest times of her childhood: playing freely with cousins among the mango and pomegranate trees and cotton plants on the family farm.

Sidana has depicted this tropical flora with bold, bright colors and sinewy lines that conjure energy and movement. They are not landscapes; Sidana said that she avoids a horizon line, but the works are too big and powerful to be considered still life. Lush, ripe pomegranates appear ready to burst open while fluffy, white cotton buds portend their future bounty. Standing before the canvases it is impossible not to feel a sense of immersion into this abundant environment. Everything is growing, heavily laden with fruit and deliciously fertile. But there is a backstory to all this beauty that Sidana also wants the viewer to know and understand.

Cotton has a checkered history here in the United States as the crop most closely associated with slavery and as one of the underlying economic factors of the Civil War. As the gallery press release notes, “Anna’s paintings depict cotton not only as a beautiful flower, but also as a crop with a deep history tainted by colonialism and human oppression.” The title of the show, “Tall Cotton,” refers to a phrase from the antebellum South that describes “bountiful crops, soaring prices and thriving prosperity,” according to the press release.

Sidana also was aware that in India, the cash crop had its own problematic history as a resource that was exploited by British colonialism over several centuries. So how does she bridge the dichotomy between the bleak history and the beauty she remembers from her childhood?

“I think that it is messy,” she stated, adding, “I want to create an enchanting world, a fantastical place. I want to draw people into the storyline and to be aware of the underbelly, the role cotton has played in the persecution of humanity.”

How important is it to her that people are aware of the underlying message? “It is quite important,” she stressed, “Art is one of the few bastions where you can speak the truth. I want them to understand the story — they don’t have to like it.”

“Great paintings reveal their secrets slowly. They do not need to hit you over the head with bold statements. They pull you in with sensual brushstrokes and sophisticated, jewel-toned palettes,” said Pamela Walsh. “It is so satisfying when an artist has depth to their work that goes beyond making a nice painting. These pictures are her heart songs and I am proud to share art in my gallery that has gravitas.”

Sidana’s oil-on-canvas paintings transport the viewer through the seasons and life cycles of the plants as though you are in their midst. Branches, leaves and blossoms create a dense jungle of forms that seem impassable and yet the valuable fruit is there for the taking. Some of the plants are rendered with great precision and accuracy, as in “Cotton for the Gods” but there is also a choice to allow free-flowing drips to remain on the canvas. In “Falling Apart, Silently,” for example, the blood-red tendrils of paint add to the feeling of the slow decline of the fully open flower and allude, perhaps, to the temporal nature of all living things. Sidana explained, “The drips are a final step; they are not mistakes, they are just part of the flow.”

After a career in technology where, as she said, “You are in your own lane running as fast as you can, all the time,” Sidana seems happy and energized about her new direction. She has had several pieces of her work accepted in prestigious competitions like the De Young Open and the London Art Biennale. In addition, she has been selected to attend numerous artist residency programs where, she said with a smile, “You don’t have to worry about a thing, all you have to do is your work.”

How would she like visitors to regard the paintings in this show? “I would like people to enjoy and engage with the art and ask, a step deeper, ‘Why would someone paint like this?’ Perhaps they might walk away with an ‘aha’ moment,” Sidana said.

“Tall Cotton” is on view through July 8 at Pamela Walsh Gallery, located at 540 Ramona St., Palo Alto. /pamelawalshgallery.com.

The blank canvas is a daunting challenge for most artists: where to begin, and what to paint? For Anna Sidana, whose work is currently on display at the Pamela Walsh Gallery, the answer came by looking back at her childhood. Memories of time spent at her family’s farm in Rajasthan, India, inspired her large-scale botanical oil paintings that are lush evocations of what she calls “an oasis in the desert.” The exhibition, titled “Tall Cotton,” is on view through July 8.

This is Sidana’s first solo exhibition and reflects her circuitous route to becoming a full-time artist. Born and raised in New Delhi, she earned a bachelor’s degree from the British Computer Society and embarked upon a career in technology that would take her to Europe and eventually to California. The next 30 years would find her working for some of the biggest names in the tech world (including Netscape and Paypal) before pausing to take a step back when her two children left for college.

“It was time to think about all that has happened and what I was doing,” Sidana said. After taking a painting class in San Francisco, and then another, she found herself asking, “What if this could be my next chapter?”

It would be a huge pivot for Sidana, as she moved from Palo Alto to San Francisco and enrolled at the San Francisco Art Institute. Although she loved her studies, she realized that, after years in marketing, “I didn’t even speak the same language — it was a huge learning curve.” She persevered because, “School was amazing; I just wanted to be the best artist I could be.”

She graduated with a master’s degree in Fine Arts in 2020, just in time for pandemic lockdowns. The bright side was that there was plenty of time to focus on her work. Realizing that she felt a sense of “disconnection” from her roots in India (most of her family lives here, and she has only returned to India for brief visits) she began to remember the happiest times of her childhood: playing freely with cousins among the mango and pomegranate trees and cotton plants on the family farm.

Sidana has depicted this tropical flora with bold, bright colors and sinewy lines that conjure energy and movement. They are not landscapes; Sidana said that she avoids a horizon line, but the works are too big and powerful to be considered still life. Lush, ripe pomegranates appear ready to burst open while fluffy, white cotton buds portend their future bounty. Standing before the canvases it is impossible not to feel a sense of immersion into this abundant environment. Everything is growing, heavily laden with fruit and deliciously fertile. But there is a backstory to all this beauty that Sidana also wants the viewer to know and understand.

Cotton has a checkered history here in the United States as the crop most closely associated with slavery and as one of the underlying economic factors of the Civil War. As the gallery press release notes, “Anna’s paintings depict cotton not only as a beautiful flower, but also as a crop with a deep history tainted by colonialism and human oppression.” The title of the show, “Tall Cotton,” refers to a phrase from the antebellum South that describes “bountiful crops, soaring prices and thriving prosperity,” according to the press release.

Sidana also was aware that in India, the cash crop had its own problematic history as a resource that was exploited by British colonialism over several centuries. So how does she bridge the dichotomy between the bleak history and the beauty she remembers from her childhood?

“I think that it is messy,” she stated, adding, “I want to create an enchanting world, a fantastical place. I want to draw people into the storyline and to be aware of the underbelly, the role cotton has played in the persecution of humanity.”

How important is it to her that people are aware of the underlying message? “It is quite important,” she stressed, “Art is one of the few bastions where you can speak the truth. I want them to understand the story — they don’t have to like it.”

“Great paintings reveal their secrets slowly. They do not need to hit you over the head with bold statements. They pull you in with sensual brushstrokes and sophisticated, jewel-toned palettes,” said Pamela Walsh. “It is so satisfying when an artist has depth to their work that goes beyond making a nice painting. These pictures are her heart songs and I am proud to share art in my gallery that has gravitas.”

Sidana’s oil-on-canvas paintings transport the viewer through the seasons and life cycles of the plants as though you are in their midst. Branches, leaves and blossoms create a dense jungle of forms that seem impassable and yet the valuable fruit is there for the taking. Some of the plants are rendered with great precision and accuracy, as in “Cotton for the Gods” but there is also a choice to allow free-flowing drips to remain on the canvas. In “Falling Apart, Silently,” for example, the blood-red tendrils of paint add to the feeling of the slow decline of the fully open flower and allude, perhaps, to the temporal nature of all living things. Sidana explained, “The drips are a final step; they are not mistakes, they are just part of the flow.”

After a career in technology where, as she said, “You are in your own lane running as fast as you can, all the time,” Sidana seems happy and energized about her new direction. She has had several pieces of her work accepted in prestigious competitions like the De Young Open and the London Art Biennale. In addition, she has been selected to attend numerous artist residency programs where, she said with a smile, “You don’t have to worry about a thing, all you have to do is your work.”

How would she like visitors to regard the paintings in this show? “I would like people to enjoy and engage with the art and ask, a step deeper, ‘Why would someone paint like this?’ Perhaps they might walk away with an ‘aha’ moment,” Sidana said.

“Tall Cotton” is on view through July 8 at Pamela Walsh Gallery, located at 540 Ramona St., Palo Alto. /pamelawalshgallery.com.

The blank canvas is a daunting challenge for most artists: where to begin, and what to paint? For Anna Sidana, whose work is currently on display at the Pamela Walsh Gallery, the answer came by looking back at her childhood. Memories of time spent at her family’s farm in Rajasthan, India, inspired her large-scale botanical oil paintings that are lush evocations of what she calls “an oasis in the desert.” The exhibition, titled “Tall Cotton,” is on view through July 8.

This is Sidana’s first solo exhibition and reflects her circuitous route to becoming a full-time artist. Born and raised in New Delhi, she earned a bachelor’s degree from the British Computer Society and embarked upon a career in technology that would take her to Europe and eventually to California. The next 30 years would find her working for some of the biggest names in the tech world (including Netscape and Paypal) before pausing to take a step back when her two children left for college.

“It was time to think about all that has happened and what I was doing,” Sidana said. After taking a painting class in San Francisco, and then another, she found herself asking, “What if this could be my next chapter?”

It would be a huge pivot for Sidana, as she moved from Palo Alto to San Francisco and enrolled at the San Francisco Art Institute. Although she loved her studies, she realized that, after years in marketing, “I didn’t even speak the same language — it was a huge learning curve.” She persevered because, “School was amazing; I just wanted to be the best artist I could be.”

She graduated with a master’s degree in Fine Arts in 2020, just in time for pandemic lockdowns. The bright side was that there was plenty of time to focus on her work. Realizing that she felt a sense of “disconnection” from her roots in India (most of her family lives here, and she has only returned to India for brief visits) she began to remember the happiest times of her childhood: playing freely with cousins among the mango and pomegranate trees and cotton plants on the family farm.

Sidana has depicted this tropical flora with bold, bright colors and sinewy lines that conjure energy and movement. They are not landscapes; Sidana said that she avoids a horizon line, but the works are too big and powerful to be considered still life. Lush, ripe pomegranates appear ready to burst open while fluffy, white cotton buds portend their future bounty. Standing before the canvases it is impossible not to feel a sense of immersion into this abundant environment. Everything is growing, heavily laden with fruit and deliciously fertile. But there is a backstory to all this beauty that Sidana also wants the viewer to know and understand.

Cotton has a checkered history here in the United States as the crop most closely associated with slavery and as one of the underlying economic factors of the Civil War. As the gallery press release notes, “Anna’s paintings depict cotton not only as a beautiful flower, but also as a crop with a deep history tainted by colonialism and human oppression.” The title of the show, “Tall Cotton,” refers to a phrase from the antebellum South that describes “bountiful crops, soaring prices and thriving prosperity,” according to the press release.

Sidana also was aware that in India, the cash crop had its own problematic history as a resource that was exploited by British colonialism over several centuries. So how does she bridge the dichotomy between the bleak history and the beauty she remembers from her childhood?

“I think that it is messy,” she stated, adding, “I want to create an enchanting world, a fantastical place. I want to draw people into the storyline and to be aware of the underbelly, the role cotton has played in the persecution of humanity.”

How important is it to her that people are aware of the underlying message? “It is quite important,” she stressed, “Art is one of the few bastions where you can speak the truth. I want them to understand the story — they don’t have to like it.”

“Great paintings reveal their secrets slowly. They do not need to hit you over the head with bold statements. They pull you in with sensual brushstrokes and sophisticated, jewel-toned palettes,” said Pamela Walsh. “It is so satisfying when an artist has depth to their work that goes beyond making a nice painting. These pictures are her heart songs and I am proud to share art in my gallery that has gravitas.”

Sidana’s oil-on-canvas paintings transport the viewer through the seasons and life cycles of the plants as though you are in their midst. Branches, leaves and blossoms create a dense jungle of forms that seem impassable and yet the valuable fruit is there for the taking. Some of the plants are rendered with great precision and accuracy, as in “Cotton for the Gods” but there is also a choice to allow free-flowing drips to remain on the canvas. In “Falling Apart, Silently,” for example, the blood-red tendrils of paint add to the feeling of the slow decline of the fully open flower and allude, perhaps, to the temporal nature of all living things. Sidana explained, “The drips are a final step; they are not mistakes, they are just part of the flow.”

After a career in technology where, as she said, “You are in your own lane running as fast as you can, all the time,” Sidana seems happy and energized about her new direction. She has had several pieces of her work accepted in prestigious competitions like the De Young Open and the London Art Biennale. In addition, she has been selected to attend numerous artist residency programs where, she said with a smile, “You don’t have to worry about a thing, all you have to do is your work.”

How would she like visitors to regard the paintings in this show? “I would like people to enjoy and engage with the art and ask, a step deeper, ‘Why would someone paint like this?’ Perhaps they might walk away with an ‘aha’ moment,” Sidana said.

“Tall Cotton” is on view through July 8 at Pamela Walsh Gallery, located at 540 Ramona St., Palo Alto. /pamelawalshgallery.com.

CASTINE, Maine (WABI) – It was a big day in a small way for the Guild school.

It’s an event that takes place at Maine Maritime Academy annually and hundreds of miniature artisans come together to do what they enjoy the most.

Students get the opportunity to take weeklong courses and seminars on miniature art.

Some artists get to display their skills whether it’s in the form of food, furniture or a place that looks like home.

Participants always look forward to this opportunity because it’s one of the most popular miniature artisan events in the world.

“I started doing miniatures during covid when we were at home and I needed some creative outlet,” said Becky Gannon, student at the guild school.

“Besides loving miniatures, I discovered this beautiful online community and I wanted to meet them, and I wanted to learn from some of these people who crafted their skills.”

Another participant sells miniature artisans all over the world.

“I have always loved miniatures ever since I was a tiny child,” said Darren Scala.

“I spent a career in a corporate marketing role and about eight years ago things changed, and I said I want to do something else. I love miniatures, so this is all about combining the interest in miniatures with a background in marketing and I’m doing everything I’ve always wanted to do, which is being involved in this tiny world.”

Although many participants look to build their crafting skills, they have other ways they express their miniature interests.

Gannon has her own podcast called Mad about Miniatures and if you’re interested in listening you can go to the link here.

Participants always appreciate enjoying their fine arts in Castine.

For more information on the Guild School, you can head to their website.

Copyright 2023 WABI. All rights reserved.

Photo: Vu Tran

Until last year, traveling through La Guardia Airport was a deeply undignified experience. The baggage areas suffered from low ceilings and creepy fluorescent lighting; the floors and surfaces were built from cheap industrial materials that recalled midtown cubicles; the cramped footprint and poor crowd control made you feel like a turkey marching to slaughter. Now, when you get out of the taxi and roll your luggage into Terminal B’s gloriously lit, high-ceilinged baggage area, your vision is flooded by artist Laura Owens’s 500-foot mosaic wall, I 🍕NY, a periwinkle sky dotted with cumulus clouds and pixelated emoji images of New York icons: a pizza slice, the Cyclone, the sign from the Stonewall Inn. It’s one of the many large-scale artworks commissioned for LGA’s two new terminals as part of its public art program, which is overseen by curators from the the Public Art Fund in Terminal B and the Queens Museum in Terminal C. Boasting a budget of over $22 million dedicated to art alone, the LGA renovation is one phase in a larger $30 billion revamp of New York’s three commercial airports, projected to finish in 2030.

Most airports don’t have anyone with an M.F.A. consulting on their art installations. This is perhaps why so many might recall the art in airports, if they can recall it all, as bland corporate décor or maddeningly literal, like the giant flamingo in the Tampa airport or the monumental blues guitars in Austin. There are a few exceptions, like Chicago’s O’Hare airport, home to Michael Hayden’s iconic neon installation, which turns a claustrophobic walkway into a giant kaleidoscope, and SFO, which has 34 employees to oversee its museum-quality collection. But mostly, we use “airport art” as a pejorative. The other city airport offers a perfect example: the New York–themed “Selfie Station” that JFK revealed last year in Terminal 4, a booth that invited visitors to take selfies with shopping carts full of “Thank You” grocery bags as if lugging around suburban-style carts were a quintessentially New York activity. The architects of LGA’s new public art program mostly sidestepped the twin traps of blandness and kitsch, demonstrating a seriousness that reflects the importance of art (and artists) to the city’s identity. But also, from the passenger’s perspective, it feels like somebody up there actually cares.

The art starts immediately as you walk from the parking garage into Terminal B’s pre-security atrium. On the way in, you move through a lofty corridor where sunlight illuminates Sabine Hornig’s translucent window installation, La Guardia Vistas. Photos of unmistakable New York buildings — the green-glass façade of the U.N. Headquarters, the red-and-white smokestacks of the Con Ed plant in Astoria — are collaged into one tightly packed skyline and tinted in stained-glass hues to create a cathedral-like ambience. In the baggage area, Laura Owens’s mosaic wall has a mood-boosting effect: Its pastel colors make the room feel animated, and its use of folksy mosaic tiles creates an air of whimsy that’s unusual for an airport. (I saw two children playing tag underneath a tile rendering of a halal food cart, which matched the vibe.) The centerpiece of the atrium is a monumental sculpture by artist Sarah Sze, who’s known for architectural assemblages made of countless tiny parts. This commission is among her most technical: a radiant sphere of metal rods that floats in a cutout between the arrivals and departures floors. The contrast between its complex schematics and its buoyancy (enhanced by hundreds of photos of the sun that form its inner lining) evokes the wonder one might feel watching a 450-ton 747 lift into the air like a paper lantern.

Sarah Sze’s Shorter Than the Day.
Photo: LaGuardia Gateway Partners

But once you get past security, typical airport schlock starts to interrupt the air of refinement. When I ask my friends for their thoughts on the art in Terminal B, the first thing they usually mention is the ridiculous fountain in the food court that spits water in the shape of various New York icons in sync with a pop cover of Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York.” Granted, the people eating and milling about in the food court seemed quite captivated by it (it certainly evoked more of a response than the Sarah Sze sculpture), but it felt more like a Midwest megamall attraction than a New York City landmark. Meanwhile, on the wall next to Mariam Ghani’s rainbow-hued ceramic mural in the baggage-claim area, The Worlds We Speak, there’s a cheesy photo panorama of Manhattan with a big “I ❤️ New York” logo that interrupts passengers’ brief but welcome respite from the otherwise constant marketing.

Iconic NY, Terminal B’s water feature.
Photo: LaGuardia Gateway Partners

Terminal C next door has fewer quirks, but it’s also clearly built for a more moneyed clientele. Owned and operated exclusively by Delta, it boasts the largest and most luxurious Delta Sky Club ever built, a 38,000-square-foot lounge with an outdoor terrace under construction. And if Terminal B’s art program consists of family-friendly artworks with immediate appeal, the Queens Museum curators who oversaw Terminal C took risks on a headier selection. Entering the terminal from the departure area, the first thing you see is Rashid Johnson’s 45-foot-tall mosaic, The Travelers’ Broken Crowd, one of two large-scale works adorning the marble walls on either end of the magnificent pre-security atrium. Visible from all three floors of the gate area thanks to generous sight lines, it consists of rows of tiny abstract faces crafted from a riotous array of materials: jagged ceramic shards, chunks of charred wood, wax and soap wedges, even oyster shells and mirrors smashed into spiderwebs. The mosaic captures the dynamism and vitality of a thronging New York avenue, but, with sharp edges that add an anxious undertone, it avoids looking like a Disneyfied view of city life.

Bookending the other end of the atrium is a monumental wall installation by Bronx native Ronny Quevedo called Pacha Cosmopolitanism Overtime. Not quite a painting and not quite a sculpture, it’s a 45-foot-tall panel made from materials typically used in basketball courts: tan wooden planks and curving play lines in bold primary colors. It’s situated on a wall next to an escalator, and as you ascend or descend, the play of natural light across the latticework of intersecting lines creates a welcome feel of unencumbered flow. Quevedo, who grew up watching soccer games here in Queens with his dad, an ex–professional player from Ecuador, was inspired by the indoor courts where the city’s Latin communities meet for weekend matches. He knows that most people will think of basketball when they see it, but for him it refers to a very specific local phenomenon that constitutes a huge part of New York City’s DNA, even if many New Yorkers don’t know it. “These games are where I got to meet people from so many other diasporas: Colombians, Guatemalans, Venezuelans, Brazilians, Argentinians,” he says. “It made me understand that my upbringing was similar to others’, and that soccer is this unifying force.”

From left: Rashid Johnson’s The Travelers’ Broken Crowd. Photo: Vu TranRonny Quevedo’s Pacha Cosmopolitanism Overtime. Photo: Vu Tran

From left: Rashid Johnson’s The Travelers’ Broken Crowd. Photo: Vu TranRonny Quevedo’s Pacha Cosmopolitanism Overtime. Photo: Vu Tran

In Terminal C, it’s the specificity of the pieces that rises to the challenge of a public space like La Guardia. Both Johnson and Quevedo evoke, for instance, the social fabric of nearby immigrant neighborhoods like Jackson Heights, where you can pass Tibetan, Nepalese, Colombian, and Ecuadorian blocks in a 15-minute walk. But the artists achieve this through a subtle balance of abstraction, material references, and a bit of backstory, gesturing at the finer points of their lived experience rather than hammering us over the head with “we are the world” platitudes.

The revived public art program is, in some ways, a return to La Guardia’s roots as a flagship airport in the New Deal era’s Federal Art Project. It reminds me, in its ambition, of one of the most spectacular murals of that era, James Brooks’s Flight, which lives a quiet existence in the rotunda of La Guardia’s Marine Air Terminal, its oldest and smallest wing. Then-Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, who militated for the construction of the airport — and famously refused to deplane at Newark because his ticket said New York, not New Jersey — commissioned Flight with those federal funds. Rendered in a high modernist style that complements the building’s Art Deco idiom, it includes cameos from the ancient Greek mathematician Archytas, said to have designed the first mechanical bird, along with Icarus, da Vinci, and the Wright brothers. Astrological motifs, cosmic abstractions, and portraits of the airport’s workers are interspersed among these vignettes. By today’s cynical standards, it presents a remarkably utopian vision for better living through technology, with the scale to match.

Aliza Nisenbaum’s The Ones Who Make It Run.
Photo: Vu Tran

For passengers who have yet to see Flight, there’s Aliza Nisenbaum’s mural The Ones Who Make It Run in the Delta post-security checkpoint area. It also features airline workers — in this case, 16 real-life Delta employees, from taxi dispatchers to firefighters and pilots — arranged against the windows that look out across the Flushing Bay. It is the only commissioned artwork that lives on this side of security (an odd choice, since passengers usually only have time to kill once they’re past TSA), and it’s displayed a little unceremoniously, so you could be forgiven for hurrying past it. Though it seems at first like a work of social realism, Nisenbaum emphasizes the endearing quirks of her subjects’ facial expressions through her use of blue and green highlights, presenting her subjects as individuals, not archetypes. She spent hours with each worker as part of her process, interviewing them about their lives and observing their demeanor, and these details come across in the work. Depending on your personal philosophy, you might feel disconcerted by the Delta logo conspicuously displayed on the bottom left, as if the diversity of its staff were a selling point. But if every corporation and city or state government took public art this seriously, this concession would be a small price to pay.

A new composite released by the Bruce Murray Laboratory for Planetary Visualization details 99.5 percent of Mars’ surface in unprecedented detail. Using images captured by Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, the lab stitched together a 5.7 terapixel mosaic of the Martian planet, approximately rendering each pixel the size of a parking space. See some of the cratered topography here, and get the full experience by navigating Mars’ surface using the lab’s 3D explorer, which includes quick links to interesting destinations similar to Google Earth. (via Kottke)

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article Explore Mars’ Craggy Topography in an Enormous 5.7 Terapixel Mosaic of the Red Planet’s Surface appeared first on Colossal.

Collaboration blends legendary Chicago-based innovation with authentic Los Angeles art and car culture

ADDISON, Ill., June 14, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Renowned car care brand Turtle Wax has joined forces with internationally acclaimed artist and avid car enthusiast, Mister Cartoon, to combine their mutual love for cars, culture and design in a new collection of premium products: The Art of Car Care™ line. Specially formulated for automotive enthusiasts of all kinds, The Art of Car Care™ line is the culmination of a meticulous collaborative process between Turtle Wax engineers and Mister Cartoon. Together they created a range of interior and exterior solutions tailored to Mister Cartoon’s specifications for any and all drivers.

The Art of Car Care™ line is a fresh take on what car care traditionally looks like, balancing premium products that can enhance any vehicle with upscale artistic inspiration from the automotive and lowrider communities of Los Angeles, the epicenter of car culture and a place where Mister Cartoon is a long-time participant and key figure.

“Growing up in Los Angeles, I saw firsthand how cars truly become an extension of who you are, and presentation is everything when you pull up to a spot,” shares Mister Cartoon. “Keeping your car fresh and clean gives you confidence, and I saw an opportunity to team with Turtle Wax to emphasize how car care is an art that connects people on all levels.”

Each The Art of Car Care™ product features exclusive, eye-catching labels that were completely hand-drawn by Mister Cartoon in his trademark style. The collection as a whole underscores the idea that car care is a form of art, both inside and out, no matter the car or surface and allows any car enthusiast to view their car in the lens of a canvas.

“My passion for cars is what drives my art. When I was young, I started airbrushing street fantasy murals featuring cars as a way to get involved in the scene. Now I‘m able to build and paint my own custom cars, and my mural collection has been featured in art shows internationally. Each The Art of Car Care™ bottle should be thought of as a work of art in itself, and it‘s cool that these products will be in the hands of car heads across the country,” shares Mister Cartoon.

“Our new product line, made in partnership with Mister Cartoon, seamlessly blends cars, lifestyle and art in a way that’s unique, yet authentic, speaking to both Turtle Wax and Mister Cartoon’s roots in the automotive community,” said Daren Herbert, Chief Marketing Officer at Turtle Wax. “This is a true collaboration, and we couldn’t have thought of a better partner to share the rich history of the Los Angeles car scene, and Chicano culture, than Mister Cartoon.”

The Art of Car Care™ collection includes wash, wax and air care products. Seven wash and wax products will be available online starting June 14 at TurtleWax.com, MisterCartoon.com and OReillyAuto.com. The products will hit shelves at O’Reilly Auto Parts stores first, starting June 28.

• All Tire Clean & Prep: Deep-cleaning foam and optical brighteners leave tires looking like new and prepped for dressings. Dissolves brake dust, grease, grime, road film and soils.
• All Wheel Cleaner: Acid-free, color-changing formula quickly and safely dissolves brake dust, contaminants and iron particles. Safe for all painted, clear coat finishes, polished metal, chrome wheels and more.
• Tire Shine: Provides a deep black, wet-look shine that lasts for weeks with water-resistant polymers and protection against drying, fading and cracking.
• Slick Wash & Wax: Slick, swirl-resistant wash with thick foam that adds protection and high-shine to car exteriors.
• Quick Detailer: Swirl-resistant, streak-free carnauba and ceramic blend delivers incredible depth-of-shine and durable protection. Can use without water in between car washes to safely remove light dust, dirt and road grime.
• LVP (Leather Vinyl Plastic): Non-greasy ceramic formula safely cleans, conditions and protects interior surfaces against drying, fading and UV damage.
• Interior & Exterior Protectant: Non-greasy, long-lasting deep, rich shine, infused with ceramic polymers to repel, protect and add clarity to plastic, rubber and vinyl surfaces – inside and outside the car.

Turtle Wax and Mister Cartoon are also taking automotive odor elimination to new grounds with a line of auto foggers that will be available at TurtleWax.com, MisterCartoon.com and OReillyAuto.com starting June 14, with in-store availability at O’Reilly Auto Parts starting June 28. The collection also includes a hanging air freshener, which is available now exclusively at AutoZone stores.

• So Fresh Auto Foggers: An odor eliminator and fabric refresher with exclusive technology that removes the toughest odors caused by smoke, mildew, pets, food, spills and more. Available in four unique scents that were developed hand-in-hand with Turtle Wax and Mister Cartoon: New Ride, Clean Blast, Sunset Peach and Midnight. Plus, you can get an exclusive Stay Lucky fogger only at O’Reilly Auto Parts.
• Hanging Air Freshener: A long-lasting odor eliminator with an original Mister Cartoon lifestyle design featuring Our Lady of Guadalupe. This AutoZone-exclusive is designed to last longer than other paper air fresheners and is available in a 3-pack, with more scents and designs to come.

For more information about Turtle Wax, visit www.TurtleWax.com and follow on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to stay up to date with the latest and greatest from the brand. And, visit www.MisterCartoon.com and follow him on Instagram at @MisterCToons. 

*Source: NPD RTS 12 months ending Dec. 2022.  

About Turtle Wax  
The Turtle Wax story started with the launch of the first-ever bottled car wax in 1944. More than 75 years later, the ‘Most Innovative Brand in Car Care’ is still capturing the attention of the auto appearance industry with a cross-category assortment of No. 1 selling products. With product distribution in more than 120 countries, the Turtle Wax brand resonates around the globe, but the brand’s heart remains in its hometown of Chicago, where award-winning innovation is developed to this day. Turtle Wax also believes in supporting the future generation of car detailers and provides training and educational opportunities through the established Healy Family Scholarship Program. For an inside look at the brand’s breakthrough product development process or how Turtle Wax supports car culture worldwide, visit TurtleWax.com.  

About Mister Cartoon 
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Mister CARTOON was immersed in art from an early age. He began his career as a graffiti artist before branching into murals, album covers, logos, and now most famously known for his tattoos. His richly detailed, hand-rendered designs pull much of their inspiration from the Los Angeles of CARTOON’s youth. CARTOON’s work has helped bridge the gap between those hardscrabble beginnings and the style’s current popularity. CARTOON has gained a worldwide following from his tattooing, with a clientele that includes the likes of Eminem, Travis Barker, Christina Aguilera, Dr. Dre, 50 Cent, Lewis Hamilton and Snoop Dogg. He’s attracted a diverse and devoted fan base for his work in other media as well. The result has been highly acclaimed gallery appearances and art shows in London, Paris, Tokyo, and beyond, as well as activations alongside global brands like Nike, Netflix, Apple, Louis Vuitton and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Service to the community has been an essential part of CARTOON’s career, where he is active in outreach programs, sharing his knowledge with young people and devoting time to many community-based initiatives.

Media Contact: Tim Klein, Zeno Group, [email protected]

SOURCE Turtle Wax