Public Art

Powder Coated Aluminum, Nylon Straps, UV Printed Acoustic Tiles.

Cloud Gazing is located in the New Terminal's concourse Connector, taking advantage of the long open perspective. The custom artwork includes 10 "clouds" with colorful backgrounds; frames with white nylon straps form a barrier-grid animation. This creates the appearance of movement as travelers walk or glide on the moving walkways below. The glass-sided connector offers views of the airfield and sky on both sides, complemented by the custom artwork overhead.

A series of ten cloud-like forms suspended along the concourse ceiling. Hanging nylon straps give each cloud a three dimensional and billowing quality while obscuring vibrant interlaced patterns printed on the ceiling tiles above each cloud. As visitors walk down the concourse or travel on the moving walkways, the straps and interlaced image produce unexpected animations through the pattern interference they create. 

Cloud Gazing is inspired by the dream-like quality of watching clouds over the expansive plains of the Midwest, as well as pareidolia, the tendency to see images in nebulous forms like clouds. The artwork consists of ten cloud-like forms suspended along the concourse ceiling. Hanging nylon straps of varying and precise length hang down to give each cloud a three-dimensional and billowing quality while obscuring vibrant images above each cloud. These images are made of four prismatic combinations of color that are interlaced together and archivally printed on the acoustic tiles within the frame of each cloud. Together the straps and images produce a three-dimensional barrier-grid animation. The image shifts as visitors walk down the concourse or move at a constant speed on the moving walkways. Depending on a visitor’s orientation, they will notice the animated shift between the interlaced images, or they will see a softer shift in colors through the pattern interference created between the hanging straps and the image above. This animated pattern interference is both unexpected and creates a sensation that the clouds are moving. These vibrant and animated forms take advantage of the space in the concourse as a place where people don’t often expect a magical daydream-like experience where they may or may not notice that they are seeing images in the clouds. 

Image credit:
Photo Credit: Alan Tansey, 2023.

Aluminum composite panels.

Inside a stairway, within a parking garage, surrounded by an airport, movement is everywhere. Zooming further out, the context expands and we see Kansas City, a cultural hotbed and fountain of musical innovation.   

Flights celebrates the improvisational character of Kansas City jazz and the aerodynamic forms that enable flight. Featuring a variety of widths and palettes, the project’s streamlined fins evoke the qualities of feathers and airfoils. Running parallel to the trajectory of the switchback stairways, the fins weave together into a syncopated rhythm, punctuated by unique apertures and moments of contrast that invite exploration and discovery. Beyond the nuanced moments and details that one encounters directly while passing through the stairway, the artwork’s broad and generous scale create a dramatic visual impact when observed from a distance, particularly when illuminated at night. 

Just as melodies are made of multiple notes, and communities are defined by people who live there, Flights is a collection of individual parts that gains meaning and strength when joined together to create a greater whole. 

Photos courtesy of Hou de Sousa, 2023.

Steel, LEDs, custom software and electrical hardware.

Leo Villareal’s Fountain (KCI) is a light sculpture that pays homage to Kansas City’s legacy as The City of Fountains. The artwork transforms this gateway into a welcoming and dynamic environment. 

Throughout history, fountains have played a key role in human settlements as well as in historical and mythological stories. Fountains act as beautiful sites of gathering, and as places to make wishes. They are public spaces that encourage socialization and connection. Fountain (KCI) integrates these age-old tenants of human civilization into a contemporary form that employs software and light to create an immersive experience. The artwork is composed of simple and repeating metallic forms embedded with thousands of monochromatic LEDs, through which Villareal evokes the movement of water. 

Villareal’s bespoke sequencing software allows him to arrange light patterns in random, non-repeating order creating a presentation that is constantly evolving. Fountain (KCI), is ever-changing, eliciting circulation and breath within the terminal. Like Villareal’s greater body of work, Fountain (KCI) explores not only sculptural physicality but adds the dimension of time, combining both spatial and temporal resolution. The resulting forms move, change, interact, and ultimately grow into complex compositions that are inspired by mathematician John Conway’s work with cellular automata and the Game of Life. 

The cyclic shape of the sculpture's body is informed by the toroid—a nested and balanced geometry—the repetition of which expresses a sense of harmony. Metallic extrusions containing the LEDs emerge from a mirrored sculptural pedestal, which creates a bowl of light akin to a reflecting pool. Reflective materials allow the sculpture’s structural components to recede into and embody their environment. The base reflects and amplifies the sequenced light, integrating the piece with its surroundings. 

Fountain (KCI) harnesses the power of light to elicit a universal human response as it bridges Kansas City’s past to its future.

Image by: Copyright 2023. Photo by James Ewing _JBSA.

Ceramic stoneware and glaze on wooden plinth. 2022.

Nine larger-than-life ceramic jazz musicians stand together at the new airport towards their next gig, with instrument cases in tow. Their clothing is decorated with glazed, molded ceramic patterns that subtly reference popular symbols of Kansas City culture and history. Together the group represents the diversity of Kansas City’s people, celebrates historic jazz culture and love of travel.

Photo courtesy of Kansas City, Missouri, One Percent for Art Program.

Stainless steel, dichroic acrylic

This composition honors Bennie Moten (1894-1935), whose innovative “Moten Swing” helped Kansas City become the only UNESCO City of Music in the United States. Jazz makes something new of ordinary musical materials. Molten Swing uses ordinary steel frames and acrylic tiles to sculpt a malleable visual structure that changes as travelers and light flow through the space. It is a center of energy that reshapes the space around it.

Photo courtesy of Kansas City, Missouri, One Percent for Art Program.

Assembled alto saxophones.

“Ornithology” is an installation by Willie Cole in the New Terminal at Kansas City International Airport. The work consists of twelve larger-than-life birds made entirely from alto saxophones. Suspended from the ceiling in City Market-themed Retail Atrium B, this suspended artwork is a tribute to Kansas City native son and jazz great, Charlie “Yardbird” Parker, and his 1946 tune titled "Ornithology". The birds were constructed in the historic 18th & Vine District in Kansas City and installed in the New Terminal on October 24, 2022, with support from project partners Lillian Cho, Lighting Director Hortense Duthilleux, and Mike “The Horn Doctor” Corrigan of BAC Music.

Photos by from the ground UP photography, 2022.

Steel, aluminum, programmed LEDs

Sky Prairie is an illuminated, kinetic artwork that takes inspiration from the topography, flowing grasses and warm golden hues of the rolling hills of Kansas City’s surrounding landscape. The artwork is activated by amber-hued lighting sequences, and from air currents resulting from vehicles moving through the arrivals roadway. 

Located at two crosswalks along the Arrivals Roadway,Sky Prairie creates an unexpected immersive experience for travelers as they take their first steps out of the Kansas City Airport Terminal, and into the western Missouri geography and culture. 

The work is comprised of two arrays of 1,714 painted aluminum tubes fastened to a horizontal frame that floats above pedestrians at each crosswalk location. The bottom edge of the tubes is carved into an undulating topography that rises and falls, lifts and descends throughout the ceiling like the rolling hills of the local Osage Plains. Each tube is suspended on a stainless steel aircraft cable which allows it to shift back and forth in sequence along with the other tubes that move in response to air currents flowing through the space.

The artwork is painted shades of golden orange and warm yellows, capturing the hues of the area’s natural grasses and their interaction with sunlight. Integrated LED lighting elements that complement these vibrant colors create subtle highlights that pulse throughout the piece, beckoning travelers on their journey outwards to explore the Kansas City area, and altering the artwork in appearance and sensation each time it is encountered.

Renderings courtesy Jill Anholt Studio
Photos by f-stop photography, 2023.

Nearly 3000 individual strands create an overhead spinner installation spanning almost 500 feet long. The custom wind spinners depict icons from the Kansas City region such as fountains, native animals, as well as symbols of equality and love, inspired by the magic of flight. (Removed for maintenance)

The Air Up There is an expansion of Cave’s installation at Mass MoCA which was envisioned as a way to put yourself in the belly of a soundsuit. All the color, memory and exuberance of the soundsuit, in this case, is exploded into a kinetic sculpture made from thousands of colorful wind spinners delivering positive tenets as

well as local icons. It is a way to convey the importance of every tiny thing to a greater whole and as a reminder of our own place in a world much larger than ourselves. By making use of a reflective ceiling surface the spinner field will reflect upon itself and create an expansive and unending, infinity-like feeling.

Additional credit: Bob Faust, designer
Commissioned in 2022. Installed 2023.
Photos by From the ground UP photography, 2023.

Ceramic stoneware with slips and glazes.

Wings consists of four large-scale ceramic sculptures which were built by hand by the artist using slab and coil techniques. They were dried for ten months, then painted with slips and glazes formulated by the artist. Each wing was fired separately in a large kiln which was fired for two hundred hours for each wing.

The two largest central wings, which are nearly ten feet tall, operate as a diptych which mirror each other and are connected by a patterned sphere that represents the human fingerprint. The smaller, eight-foot wings which flank the central wings on both sides have supportive imagery which connects all four elements visually.

The totemic orientation of the wing forms relates to totems that have been made by humans for thousands of years, except in this case they are clearly representations of modern airplane wings. The imagery is a codex of human and natural flight as well as iconography of the region.

The wavy blue line at the lower part of each wing represents how the Missouri river winds through Kansas City. The pattern below the river is that of a dragonfly, one of the earliest life forms to master flight. The light blue background color represents the sky of Kansas in the summer. The flowers floating on the light blue are from the Flowering Dogwood, the state tree of Missouri. The Honeybee on the left wing is the state insect of Kansas, the Eastern Bluebird on the far right wing is the state bird of Missouri. The airplane on the center wings is a Lockheed Vega, which is the plane that Amelia Earhart flew solo from the west coast to Hawaii. She was from the Kansas City area. The ailerons of the wings are painted in signal flag colors, spelling KCMO when read left to right. My hope is that over time travelers will unravel the meaning of the imagery and that all travelers who walk by the sculptures will have a positive experience enjoying the large wing forms and their colorful surfaces. The profile of the wings can be seen from a distance and are identifiable as wing forms as vehicles approach the terminal, especially at night.

Additional credits: A. Zahner Company for design and construction of the plinth, Belger Cartage Services for transport and installation of artwork, Shackbuilt for wood decking on the plinth.

Photo courtesy of Kansas City, Missouri, One Percent for Art Program.

Archival Pigment Print, 2021. Installed 2022.

Cone Worship captures a pyramid-shaped wind direction indicator placed near runways to guide aircraft takeoffs and landings. The artist states "Through my work I highlight the beauty and complexity of subtle, sometimes completely unnoticed surroundings. I'm always scanning for unique shapes, distinct patterns or superior light. I combine the uniquely complex aspects of everyday industrial or organic landscapes with artistic components like contrast or unpredictable compositions."

I began my career as a photographer using traditional techniques and building my skills in a wet side darkroom. As I have evolved as an artist, so have my photographic processes. By integrating digital technology into my artistic process I have found that subtle modifications to an original image can produce a very unique and visually striking final product. At a glance, my work can be described as landscape photography, although my images represent a diverse array of subject matter including manufactured and natural subjects. Through my work I attempt to highlight the beauty and complexity of subtle, sometimes completely unnoticed surroundings. I am constantly on point to find my next shot, always scanning my surroundings for unique shapes, distinct patterns or superior light. I find uniquely complex aspects of everyday landscapes, industrial or organic, and combine them with artistic components like contrast or unpredictable compositions to make an image my own.

Process photo courtesy of the artist.

Photo courtesy of Kansas City, Missouri, One Percent for Art Program

Mixed-media, found objects, giclée archival prints, light, sound and video on acrylic.

This art installation explores the immigrant experience, forced and voluntary human migration, BIPOC histories, and systemic generational segregation. The artist contemplates how displaced communities unite—despite hostile environments—to sustain their cultural identities. White X’ed panels represent historically excluded narratives of color. The artist says, “We don’t have to whitewash or censor stories. With understanding and solidarity, we can tell a more complete, honest people’s history.”

My imagery focuses on the immigrant experience, BIPOC histories, and the systematic segregation of other communities across generations, to engender a broad and diverse understanding of what it means to be seen.

Diáspora No.1X shows how displaced communities have come together to secure and maintain their cultural identities in hostile environments—locally, nationally, and internationally. This work conjures the essence of human migration, both forced and voluntary, and celebrates its triumphs as well as learning from this country’s past inhumanities. In this installation of a people’s history, it is critical that I don’t depict a sanitized, white-washed version of history or of community. Therefore, I use X’ed white panels to represent stories or imagery that has historically been white-washed.

Diáspora No.1X reflects the continued dedication of my contemporary art practice to honestly share diverse and connected narratives while being sensitive and respectful in my research and representation of the challenging and complex subject matter I choose.

A diaspora is a scattered population whose origin lies in a separate geographic locale. Historically, the word diaspora was used to refer to the mass dispersion of a population from its indigenous territories. While the word was originally used to describe the forced displacement of certain peoples, “diaspora” is now generally used to describe those who identify with a “homeland,” but live outside of it. In all cases, the term diaspora carries a sense of displacement.

Photo Courtesy of Kansas City, Missouri, One Percent for Art Program, 2023.

Vinyl Printed Digital Images on Plexiglass.

This acrylic sculpture features digital images of "Dream Clouds" and flowers from the artist's ceramic artworks. As the daughter of a florist, Torres grew up surrounded by beautiful colors and amazing smells, forms and shapes. The artist says, "Flowers represent the fragility of the cycle of life. Their presence always brings me joy."

“Dreaming Of The Beautiful Places You Will Go allowed me to communicate my autobiographical narrative of being an artist/educator into this large plexiglass sculpture made of digitally printed images of my ceramic artworks. As a daughter of a florist, I have always been surrounded by beautiful colorful flowers, amazing smells, forms and shapes. Flowers are intrinsic to all of my sculptures. For me, flowers represent the fragility of the cycle of life. Their presence always brings me joy. The self-portrait in this artwork is in a state of wanderlust, eyes wide open, dreaming of what I lovingly refer to as “Dream Clouds” that attract enchanting butterflies, representing endless opportunities to come. The Java Sparrows in the art piece represent my cheerleaders, allowing me to manifest my intentions of making an artwork bigger, stronger and more beautiful than I have ever made. It has been an amazing journey watching my big dreams of building a permanent sculpture for many generations to enjoy. I hope by planting big, beautiful Dream Cloud-seeds of intentions into the universe they will grow into a positive, loving, beautiful world for us all.”

Kansas City, Missouri, One Percent for Art Program

Sewn, hand-dyed wool depicting flora and fauna of Kansas and Missouri region.

Sometimes referred to as “fly-over” country, the Midwest is home to a variety of ecosystems. This textile work offers a view of the wildlife in the Missouri / Kansas region far below the airplane cabin window. The colorful backdrop of hand-dyed wool comes from the artist’s family farm in rural Missouri.

Process photos courtesy of the artist, 2022.
Photo courtesy of Kansas City, Missouri, One Percent for Art Program, 2023.

Acrylic on birchwood panels, epoxy, and ceramic tiles.

Hello and Goodbye relates to Liao's immigrant background and captures a fluid state between experience, memory, and place. Through various versions of this work the artist revisited images, snapshots, and memories until they began to morph, overlap, and unravel. The artist says, "In the design, I think about the division of spaces and how that translates in my composition and color choices. Ceramic tiles that capture fragments of memory interrupt once-familiar patterns."

“I immigrated to the US from Taiwan as a teenager. Growing up in the suburbs of Southern California, I remembered my father visiting every three months, traveling between my Taiwan home and my America home. My family became intimately familiar with the airport – we had our established routine of finding the same spot in the parking garage, which line was the fastest to check-in, followed by the exact same food court menu as our final parting meal, before we sent my father off to the long-winding security line. 

These routines were etched in my memory like a well-worn track through repetition; these are familiar rituals performed by many immigrant families, navigating the distance and the liminal space in-between. 

During the pandemic in 2020, as travel came to a stop, my family felt out of reach and the distance felt further than ever. Our screens became a portal bridging long distances, but also ironically a dividing wall. From this side of the screen, I watch as my grandmother’s memory deteriorates through dementia. We wave hello and goodbye, and watch our loved ones mirror us back - how casual and instantly gratifying a swipe or tap is, versus the physical impression and gravity of a squeeze of the hand, or an embrace. 

“Hello and Goodbye” documents a fluid state between experience, memory, and place. In the design, I think about the division of spaces and how it translates in my composition and color choices.  Ceramic tiles that capture fragments of memory interrupted once-familiar patterns. I revisit images, snapshots, and memories through iterations, until they begin to morph, overlap, and unravel.” - Kathy Liao, artist.

Artist photo by Jim Barcus, 2022.
Kansas City, Missouri, One Percent for Art Program

Archival prints of digitally composed photographs.

These compositions invite the traveler to seek and discover familiar items found in carry-on luggage that flows through x-ray machines. The project and its title were inspired by the popular I Spy books which present thematic visual riddles.

For my photography, I embraced a shadow-show approach, a playful technique children often use to invent and perform stories. To photograph the individual articles, I placed them on a light table covered by a sheet of vellum paper. Then I digitally combined the pictures to construct each collage. I also created visual connections between the three compositions to further emphasize the continuous nature of an x-ray belt. My method slightly obscures the items, to convey mystery and intrigue. The dream-like imagery provides a calming moment for the travelers, and children will delight in recognizing familiar toys like dinosaurs and dolls. The viewer might even spot a pair of ruby-red slippers, a playful nod to our local cultural history.

What images can you find?

Process photos courtesy of the artist.
Kansas City, Missouri, One Percent for Art Program

“I combine my drawings of long black hair with images of tall native grasses and wheat to depict the beauty of Kansas, as well as my identity of being a Chinese immigrant in the American Midwest. Each drawing is presented with scrolls on the ends like a traditional Chinese painting to accentuate the length and the flow of long hair.”

Process photos courtesy of the artist.
Kansas City, Missouri, One Percent for Art Program

Stoneware and glaze.

In this work, Rachel Hubbard Kline celebrates Kansas City's history by combining patterns from her collection of ancestral quilts with news stories and quilt patterns published in the Kansas City Star 1928-1961. Laser engravings of historical events documented in the Kansas City Star and Kansas City Times appear on clay tiles that make up quilt-like geometric patterns.

In Kansas City: A Quilted History, Rachel Hubbard Kline pieces together Kansas City’s rich history through archived newspaper stories and traditional quilt patterns. The colorful ceramic tile installation sources quilt patterns published in the Kansas City Star between 1928 to 1961 and from her collection of ancestral quilts. Hubbard Kline researched historical events through archives of the Kansas City Star and the Kansas City Times, featuring topics such as mayoral elections, sporting victories, river floods, and cultural stories. Through a process of transferring  laser engraving onto clay slabs, the stories of our great city are emblazoned in heirloom patterns and colors. The resulting relief texture, though subtle, preserves Kansas City’s history for generations. Hubbard Kline blends the artful quilt patterns with the historic events, strengthening and preserving the bond between the cultures of home and of the city. “Rain Drop” represents river floods, “Four-Leaf Clover” references riverboat gambling and The Woodlands racetrack, “Many Roads to the White House” symbolizes Harry Truman’s presidential election, “Economy” speaks to the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, and “Tumbling Blocks” laments the 1981 Hyatt Regency skywalk collapse.

Process photos courtesy of the artist.