The Namewall was an artwork conceived and designed to transform the depersonalized passenger tunnel of the International Terminal at the Los Angeles International Airport into an aesthetic and personal experience for the hundreds and thousands of international travelers—for many, a first introductory look at the United States. This was the first time an individual artist had been granted permission to exhibit a site-specific installation for the Los Angeles International Airport, years before public art programs were initiated in American cities. It was a temporary installation for one month and extended by popular interest and the request of the Board of Airport Commissioners. It was labeled “A Distribution Print”—the final public event on the last day was a distribution of Nametiles, each given on request to a person of that name, in exchange for his or her autograph.
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It was the gridded wall and the sterility of the space that inspired the concept. The Namewall was composed of approximately 12,500 laminated paper tiles affixed directly over the existing, vertically placed white ceramic wall tiles of the 263-foot long passenger tunnel wall, which was from eight to nine feet high. The paper tiles were imprinted with 2,000 repeated first names equally representing women and men and reflecting the diverse and international origins of our national population.
People in all cultures understand the practice of naming and the need to name. For The Namewall, the names were placed in random arrays, as unpredictable as groups of airline passengers. Because a first name is experienced as a person, as a sign imbued with meaning—rather than as a word or set of graphic symbols—there was immediate personal response to the wall as people looked for their own name and those of lovers, relatives, enemies, and friends. It had taken more than ten months to achieve the permissions for this artist-generated work, which was financed in part with individual and corporate contributions of materials and labor, including Japan Airlines, which underwrote the opening reception in their Sakura Lounge.
Bone Box (1987)
The Alphabet of Bones is an original calligraphy composed of anatomically accurate drawings of the hollow leg bones of the Columba Livia, or messenger pigeon. It is a unique, copyrighted font that has twenty-six double characters, conceived as a visual dance.
The Alphabet of Bones is an original calligraphy composed of anatomically accurate drawings of the hollow leg bones of the Columba Livia, or messenger pigeon. It is a unique, copyrighted font that has twenty-six double characters, conceived as a visual dance.