Phoenix, AZ -- The new Rental Car Center at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport features an impressive array of public art. Spanning the center's vast interior is a major light-activated artwork by artist Ed Carpenter. Another is a sculptural fence that, when completed in late January, will mark the northern edge of the site, on Buckeye Road.
Carpenter, who also designed the popular Grasshopper Bridge at 7th Avenue and Coral Gables in Phoenix, was selected for the project in late 2000. By joining the facility design team at an early stage, he was able to collaborate with project architects TranSystems, Inc. to influence the architecture in ways that enhance both the artwork and the space itself. The finished work is an extensive arrangement of reflective dichroic glass and stainless steel cables that have been composed in an enormous curving lattice-work under each of six large skylight areas. Carpenter describes the work, titled Crosstitch, as “slender streaks of glass and cable that appear to fly through the space, reflecting light downward, painting the walls and ceilings with slowly moving glints of color and connecting the interior space with the sky itself.” Because the effect of the work changes constantly with the position and movement of the sun, Carpenter notes that, “each visit will reveal new patterns of light, shadow and color.”
Outside the Rental Car Center, Phoenix sculptor Al Price is completing fabrication of his elegant steel view fence, stretching a quarter mile along Buckeye Road, from Sky Harbor Circle South to 16th Street. The fence comprises standard steel pickets that Price rolled, bent, and welded into an undulating pattern based on sine waves. The arcs of the 8-foot-tall fence create a dynamic moiré effect as it moves through the landscape. The fence also serves the purpose of protecting a nearby retention basin. Price worked with the Phoenix Aviation Department and contractors Austin-Layton to develop his design.
Both projects were funded by City of Phoenix Aviation Department Percent for Art funds and coordinated by the Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture Public Art Program. A Phoenix ordinance authorizes up to one percent of construction monies to be used for art commissions and purchases. The new public artwork will become part of the Phoenix Airport Museum’s collection. Museum staff is responsible for managing, maintaining and exhibiting Aviation’s collection. In addition to the works of Ed Carpenter and Al Price, the Sky Harbor Rental Car Center will also be enhanced by 85 new works by 20 contemporary regional artists. The works reflect Arizona’s diverse landscapes. A complete list of artists is available.
The Phoenix Airport Museum will also feature changing exhibits at the Rental Car Center. The first, entitled Going Places, features one-of-a kind or limited-edition works which reflect the landscape, highway culture and our relationship with the open road that can only be experienced in Arizona.
To arrange interviews on any of the artwork in the Sky Harbor Rental Car Center, please contact the Sky Harbor public information office at 602-683-3654. Images are also available upon request.
