Public Art Monday: AirFIELD

On Mondays, we share our favorite public art installations from Houston and around the globe with you. We believe passionately in the transformative power of public art for both the individual and in communities. Check out previous Public Art Monday posts here.

WAG has been on the road quite a bit lately, traveling from coast to coast, fair to fair, spying treasures from galleries near and far. And in this spirit of travel, we bring you AirFIELD, an ambitious work installed in one of the world’s busiest airports, the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Created by Daniel Massey, Dan Goods, Jamie Barlow and Gustavo Huber, AirFIELD is a serene and contemplative spectacle in an otherwise hurried environment.

AirFIELD is described as “a dynamic sculpture synched to real-time flight data reflecting the heartbeat of the world’s busiest air travel hub.” 1,500 circular tiles are suspended from the air in two sweeping, intersecting forms evoking the spirit of flight. The tiles are suspended by tiny wires, connected to circuit boards, which all link to a single server. The system animates arrival and departure data using a fluid-dynamics physics engine to generate dynamic visual behavior.

Want to see AirFIELD in action, without the airfare to Atlanta? View a short video of the project here.