Light Wings
Collection: Houston Airport System (HAS)
2001
Dichroic glass, stainless steel, and computerized lighting
Location:
George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH)
2800 N Terminal Rd
Houston, TX 77032
About the Artwork:
Light Wings (2001)
by Ed Carpenter
Ed Carpenter, born in Los Angeles in 1946, has over 100 works of large-scale public installations, including architectural sculpture and infrastructure design, in cities throughout the US and the world, such as in Dallas, Taichung, Mesa, Charlotte, Seattle, Belfast, Tokyo, Salem, Sapporo, and more. This piece, measuring 78 feet high and 48 feet long, fills the inside of a large skylight within the Terminal A concourse of Bush Intercontinental Airport. The sculpture is a frame of stainless steel that holds large pieces of dichroic glass, a type of glass that can display multiple different colors depending on lighting conditions, that together resemble feathers and wings. During the day, the sculpture projects the sun’s rays onto the floor and reflects moving images over the ceiling and walls in colorful lines. At night, programmed lighting creates moving light paintings. Since it is an installation within an airport, the piece can seem like the wings of a large bird or exotic flying ship to travelers. Carpenter worked with different companies to create the lighting, glass, metal, and architectural design.
Alas de luz (2001)
por Ed Carpenter
Light Wings (2001)
by Ed Carpenter
Ed Carpenter, born in Los Angeles in 1946, has over 100 works of large-scale public installations, including architectural sculpture and infrastructure design, in cities throughout the US and the world, such as in Dallas, Taichung, Mesa, Charlotte, Seattle, Belfast, Tokyo, Salem, Sapporo, and more. This piece, measuring 78 feet high and 48 feet long, fills the inside of a large skylight within the Terminal A concourse of Bush Intercontinental Airport. The sculpture is a frame of stainless steel that holds large pieces of dichroic glass, a type of glass that can display multiple different colors depending on lighting conditions, that together resemble feathers and wings. During the day, the sculpture projects the sun’s rays onto the floor and reflects moving images over the ceiling and walls in colorful lines. At night, programmed lighting creates moving light paintings. Since it is an installation within an airport, the piece can seem like the wings of a large bird or exotic flying ship to travelers. Carpenter worked with different companies to create the lighting, glass, metal, and architectural design.
Alas de luz (2001)
por Ed Carpenter
Ed Carpenter, nacido en Los Ángeles en 1946, cuenta con más de 100 obras de instalaciones públicas a gran escala, incluyendo esculturas arquitectónicas y diseños de infraestructura, en ciudades de los Estados Unidos y de todo el mundo, como Dallas, Taichung, Mesa, Charlotte, Seattle, Belfast, Tokio, Salem, Sapporo, entre otras. Esta obra, de 24 metros de alto y 15 metros de largo, ocupa el espacio de un gran tragaluz en la terminal A del Aeropuerto Intercontinental Bush. La escultura consiste en una estructura de acero inoxidable que sostiene grandes piezas de vidrio dicroico, un tipo de vidrio que puede mostrar múltiples colores diferentes según las condiciones de iluminación, y que en conjunto se asemejan a plumas y alas. Durante el día, la escultura proyecta los rayos del sol sobre el suelo y refleja imágenes en movimiento sobre el techo y las paredes en forma de líneas coloridas. Por la noche, una iluminación programada crea pinturas de luz en movimiento. Al estar ubicada en un aeropuerto, la obra puede evocar las alas de un gran pájaro o una nave voladora exótica para los viajeros. Carpenter colaboró con diferentes empresas para el diseño de la iluminación, el vidrio, el metal, y la arquitectura.