Bayou Rocket Fish
Collection: Houston Airport System (HAS)
2012
Mixed media: wood and enamel print
Location:
George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH)
2800 N Terminal Rd
Houston, TX 77032
About the Artwork:
Bayou Rocket Fish (2012)
by Lee Littlefield
Lee Littlefield, born in Massachusetts in 1936 and died in 2013, settled in Houston in 1987 where he provided public art installations along Interstate 10 near downtown Houston in 1998, in collaboration with the Harris County Flood Control District and the Texas Department of Transportation. He taught art at Edison Middle School in Houston. His sculptures are characterized by their surreal, imaginative structures and bright, colorful exteriors. Littlefield said: “The look of both my indoor and outdoor sculptures lie between reality and 'Little Shop of Horrors…” Littlefield often made his sculptures using natural materials, such as vines, bald cypress wood, and bamboo, and was inspired by Houston’s bayous. He stated: “If you think about everything that grows in the bayou, it is reaching for light, and bends and twists in very unusual ways…" Here is one of his sculptures that measures 14 inches high, six inches wide, and three inches deep. It shows a being that seems to be based on a cephalopod mollusk, a group of swimming mollusks like a squid or octopus that live in shells for protection; the shell is painted in layers of bright green and yellow with tentacles that come out of its opening.
Pez Cohete del Bayou (2012)
Bayou Rocket Fish (2012)
by Lee Littlefield
Lee Littlefield, born in Massachusetts in 1936 and died in 2013, settled in Houston in 1987 where he provided public art installations along Interstate 10 near downtown Houston in 1998, in collaboration with the Harris County Flood Control District and the Texas Department of Transportation. He taught art at Edison Middle School in Houston. His sculptures are characterized by their surreal, imaginative structures and bright, colorful exteriors. Littlefield said: “The look of both my indoor and outdoor sculptures lie between reality and 'Little Shop of Horrors…” Littlefield often made his sculptures using natural materials, such as vines, bald cypress wood, and bamboo, and was inspired by Houston’s bayous. He stated: “If you think about everything that grows in the bayou, it is reaching for light, and bends and twists in very unusual ways…" Here is one of his sculptures that measures 14 inches high, six inches wide, and three inches deep. It shows a being that seems to be based on a cephalopod mollusk, a group of swimming mollusks like a squid or octopus that live in shells for protection; the shell is painted in layers of bright green and yellow with tentacles that come out of its opening.
Pez Cohete del Bayou (2012)
por Lee Littlefield
Lee Littlefield, nacido en Massachusetts en 1936 y fallecido en 2013, se estableció en Houston en 1987 donde en 1998 realizó instalaciones de arte público a lo largo de la Interestatal 10, cerca del centro de Houston, en colaboración con el Distrito de Control de Inundaciones del Condado de Harris y el Departamento de Transporte de Texas. Impartió clases de arte en la Escuela Secundaria Edison de Houston. Sus esculturas se caracterizan por sus estructuras surrealistas e imaginativas y sus exteriores brillantes y coloridos. Littlefield comentó: “La estética de mis esculturas, tanto de interior como de exterior, se sitúa entre la realidad y la 'Pequeña Tienda de los Horrores...'” Littlefield solía crear sus esculturas con materiales naturales, como enredaderas, madera de ciprés calvo, y bambú, y se inspiraba en los bayous de Houston. Declaró: “Si piensas en todo lo que crece en el bayou, busca la luz y se dobla y retuerce de formas muy inusuales…” Aquí está una de sus esculturas, que mide 35 cm de alto, 15 cm de ancho, y 7,5 cm de profundidad. Representa un ser que parece estar inspirado en un molusco cefalópodo, un grupo de moluscos nadadores como un calamar o un pulpo, que viven en conchas para protegerse; la concha está pintada con capas de verde y amarillo brillantes con tentáculos que sobresalen de su abertura.
Lee Littlefield, nacido en Massachusetts en 1936 y fallecido en 2013, se estableció en Houston en 1987 donde en 1998 realizó instalaciones de arte público a lo largo de la Interestatal 10, cerca del centro de Houston, en colaboración con el Distrito de Control de Inundaciones del Condado de Harris y el Departamento de Transporte de Texas. Impartió clases de arte en la Escuela Secundaria Edison de Houston. Sus esculturas se caracterizan por sus estructuras surrealistas e imaginativas y sus exteriores brillantes y coloridos. Littlefield comentó: “La estética de mis esculturas, tanto de interior como de exterior, se sitúa entre la realidad y la 'Pequeña Tienda de los Horrores...'” Littlefield solía crear sus esculturas con materiales naturales, como enredaderas, madera de ciprés calvo, y bambú, y se inspiraba en los bayous de Houston. Declaró: “Si piensas en todo lo que crece en el bayou, busca la luz y se dobla y retuerce de formas muy inusuales…” Aquí está una de sus esculturas, que mide 35 cm de alto, 15 cm de ancho, y 7,5 cm de profundidad. Representa un ser que parece estar inspirado en un molusco cefalópodo, un grupo de moluscos nadadores como un calamar o un pulpo, que viven en conchas para protegerse; la concha está pintada con capas de verde y amarillo brillantes con tentáculos que sobresalen de su abertura.