©2008 Mary M. Tinti ALL RIGHTS RESERVED THE CONTEMPORARY ART OF TRAVEL: SITING PUBLIC SCULPTURE WITHIN THE CULTURE OF FLIGHT by MARY M. TINTI A Dissertation submitted to the Graduate School-New Brunswick Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Program in Art History written under the direction of Dr. Joan Marter and approved by ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ New Brunswick, New Jersey May, 2008 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION The Contemporary Art of Travel: Siting Public Sculpture within the Culture of Flight By MARY M. TINTI Dissertation Director: Dr. Joan Marter The Contemporary Art of Travel: Siting Public Sculpture within the Culture of Flight, situates the notable yet little known airport installations of Vito Acconci, Diller + Scofidio, Alice Aycock, and Keith Sonnier in their appropriate artistic, theoretical and social contexts. Provocative and cutting edge, these recent commissions are exemplary for the ways in which they explore the collisions and cross influences of fine art, architecture, technology, flight and travel with particular sensitivity to the qualities that make the airport a singular contemporary space. More than mere decoration or distraction, these site-responsive artworks are visual representations of exactly how this unique place (or non-place) and this unique culture might coincide in sculptural form. Teeming with turbulent paradoxes, airports are uncanny, impersonal, in-between spaces; spaces in which travelers are forced to relinquish control of their autonomy, privacy, safety, sense of time, connections to the ground and links to the world outside. Unafraid of such air travel truths, the artists profiled in this dissertation use them as a ii source of inspiration. Acconci, Diller + Scofidio, Aycock and Sonnier blend these qualities with their own signature, career long conceptual preoccupations; deliberately, ingeniously enmeshing their installations within the physical and psychological schema of this extraordinary site. Their works are an unflinching, if not disquieting, testament to all that is possible in this bizarrely charged space and unfortunately, what is all too often untapped and/or underappreciated. As a result, their collective study allows for an up- dated examination of the power of (non-)place and the emblematic journeys which begin and end at the airport, but it is also a means through which to penetrate the polemics of contemporary public art, to begin to redefine expectations for the genre, and to focus critical consideration where it is long overdue. After all, contemporary public art plays a vital role in shaping, defining and/or revitalizing our urban spaces, and art for the airport is no different. Jointly a non-place and a simulacrum of the traditional urban gathering place, the airport represents a unique, timely, important and heretofore unexplored category of art commissions for the public sector. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS “A Ph.D. has everything to do with perseverance” (J. Marter) - well, that and the wisdom, advice and kindness of certain people you encounter along the way. Several of these people deserve special acknowledgement and I would like to take a moment to thank them for their efforts. This dissertation never would have been completed without the unwavering encouragement and en point advising of Dr. Joan Marter. It is with profound admiration and gratitude that I single her out here. Her honest, flawless guidance over the past seven years was steadfast, as was her confidence in the merits of my scholarship. Dr. Marter championed this project from day one - allowing me the time and freedom to find my voice, to shape my ideas, and to research and write a dissertation of which I am extremely proud. I also would like to thank Dr. Susan Sidlauskas and Dr. Andres Zervigon who each dedicated themselves to my dissertation and its timely defense. Going above and beyond their role as readers, both professors read my manuscript with careful, critical eyes and offered invaluable suggestions. Their astute comments not only helped me frame my dissertation, but also provided thoughtful, exciting considerations for future projects. Because of the contemporary nature of my project, I had the benefit of seeking my information from the source: Alice Aycock and Keith Sonnier graciously invited me to their studios to discuss their works in person; Vito Acconci gladly engaged in a fruitful and enthusiastic email correspondence; and through her studio assistants, Elizabeth Diller passed on key images and information. I am indebted to these artists for making my job iv as a young art historian so pleasant and so rewarding. Similar thanks go to public art consultants Wendy Feuer and Joyce Pomeroy Schwartz who generously shared with me their knowledge and expertise. Funding for this dissertation was made possible by fellowships from the Luce Foundation, the Graduate School of Rutgers University, and—perhaps most serendipitously—a Daniel and Florence Guggenheim Pre-doctoral Fellowship from the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. While I am grateful for each of these grants, I am especially thankful for the mentorship and camaraderie that resulted from my tenure at NASM. My fellowship advisor, Dr. Dominick Pisano, welcomed me with open arms and readily saw the project through to its completion. His unique perspective informed and strengthened my study and his insight consistently proved both inspiring and assuring. I am truly indebted to Dr. Pisano for sharing with me his experience, his museum, and his wonderful network of colleagues and friends. Anne Goodyear and Martin Collins both went out of their way to familiarize themselves with my project and include me in the larger intellectual community at the Smithsonian. I am sincerely appreciative for the stimulating conversations and thoughtful observations that continue to galvanize my growth as a scholar. Jeremy Kinney, Roger Connor, and Chris Moore kept it real and kept me laughing, which in turn made me look forward to heading to the museum each day and made the hard work of writing a dissertation a great deal more lively, social and fun. Aaron Alcorn and Alan Meyer were quite possibly the best graduate student peers for which a person could hope. Brilliant, hilarious, and incredibly down to earth, Aaron and Alan eagerly read drafts, helped me keep my eye on the prize, and created a supportive, laid back, well-caffeinated environment in which to work. I am v so fortunate to have made this journey with them and look forward to the possibility of future DCDC collaborations. While the bulk of my dissertation was completed at NASM, I am so pleased that the process ended where it began, in the Art History Department of Rutgers University. Few people are lucky enough to celebrate graduate school milestones along side a great friend and colleague, and I am thrilled to have had Sascha Scott there with me every step of the way. I also would like to thank Cathy Pizzi and Geralyn Colvil whose willingness to go the extra mile to help a graduate student navigate the requirements necessary to complete this degree were a tremendous resource. And finally, no acknowledgement page would be complete without recognizing the overwhelming love and support of my parents, Mary and Aldo, and my brother, Peter. Believers that a person should follow her heart, be true to herself, find something about which she is passionate and go for it, my family has been my reality check, my source of side-splitting entertainment and my biggest fans. This dissertation is as much their accomplishment as it is mine and like them, I can’t wait to see what the future holds. Fired Up! Ready to Go! vi TABLE OF CONTENTS TITLE PAGE Abstract ii Acknowledgments iv List of Illustrations viii Introduction 1 Chapter One Flying Floors and Public Art Mores: The Acconci Studio Commission at Philadelphia International Airport 14 Chapter Two What’s in Your Suitcase? The Travelogues of Diller + Scofidio 57 Chapter Three Alice Aycock’s Star Sifter: Putting a Little Air in Space 96 Chapter Four Keith Sonnier: Creating a World-Class City 149 Conclusion 205 Illustrations 211 Bibliography 265 Curriculum Vita 279 vii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Fig. Intro.1 Eero Saarinen, TWA Terminal, Idlewild Airport (now John F. Kennedy International Airport), 1962. Photograph by Ezra Stoller. Reproduced from http://www.aia.org/aiarchitect/thisweek04/tw1112/stoller_1_b.jpg Fig. Intro.2 Eero Saarinen, TWA Terminal, 1962. Photograph by Ezra Stoller. Reproduced from Antonio Roman, Eero Saarinen: An Architecture of Multiplicity (New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2003), 42. Fig. Intro.3 1936 Photograph of Arshile Gorky painting Activities on the Field, Newark Airport. Reproduced from Ruth Bowman, Murals Without Walls: Arshile Gorky’s Aviation Murals Rediscovered (Newark, New Jersey: The Newark Museum, 1978), 7. Fig. Intro.4 Arshile Gorky, Study for Aviation, Newark Airport, 1935-36. Reproduced from Ruth Bowman, Murals Without Walls: Arshile Gorky’s Aviation Murals Rediscovered (Newark, New Jersey: The Newark Museum, 1978), 73. Fig. Intro.5 James Brooks, Flight, detail of Marine Terminal mural at La Guardia, 1940. Reproduced from “Mural at La Guardia airport commemorates man’s conquest of air,” Art Digest 17 (October 1, 1942), 11. Fig. Intro.6 Alexander Calder, .I25, 1957. Photographed in the International Arrivals Hall of Idlewild Airport, New York. Reproduced from Joan M. Marter, Alexander Calder (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991), 227. Fig. Intro.7 Alexander Calder, .I25 (now located in the Terminal 4 Departures Hall of John F. Kennedy International Airport. Author’s photo. Fig. 1.1 Promotional drawing of Philadelphia International Airport, Terminal A- West. Reproduced from City of Philadelphia Percent for Art Program Files pamphlet. Figs. 1.2-1.3 Ralph Helmick and Stuart Schechter, Impulse, 2003. Philadelphia International Airport Terminal A-West. Reproduced from the artists’ website: http://www.handsart.net/impulse.html.