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Art takeoff: Dennis Oppenheim's giant towers take shape at the airport
The assembly for one of three "Radiant Fountains" at IAH under the direction ofDennis Oppenheim Studio, Artist/Fabricators and METALAB, Architecture andConstruction Management.Photo by Steven Thomson
A rendering of what the 60-foot sculptures will look like at night
The stainless steel pipe assemblies are animated with LED light arrays thatsimulate the flow of water through the structures.
Monumental sculptures are making a splash at George Bush Intercontinental Airport. The first of three 60-foot-tall towers has risen along John F. Kennedy Boulevard, grabbing the attention of travelers as they enter Houston.
The stainless steel pipe assemblies are the work of acclaimed artist Dennis Oppenheim. Commissioned by the Houston Arts Alliance, the works will be animated with LED light arrays simulating the flow of water through the structures. Conspicuous white globes will adorn the droplets' crowns.
Innovative local architecture and construction firm, METALAB has been fabricating the pieces. "The first tower was erected this week in only a day. It's already going to be pretty iconic," says Andrew Vrana, an architect with METALAB.
The Houston works are the next step in a series of "Splash Buildings" that were installed in 2009 in Catanzaro, Italy and the MARTa Museum in Herford, Germany. In an interview on the works, Oppenheim said, "Let's explore phenomena. Let's see if there is a program out that could replicate in the virtual world the dynamics of phenomena like a water drop or an upheaval or an explosion and things like that."
America has observed Oppenheim's repertoire evolve since his career began as a conceptual artist in the 1960s, moving on to produce earthworks, body art and "machine pieces" in the 1960s and 1970s. Since the 1990s, he has concentrated on permanent public art, fusing an interest in architecture with sculpture. For the "splash" sculptures' inspiration, Oppenheim delves into memories from his salad days, when he lived in Berkeley and would drive to San Francisco.
"On the freeway in Emeryville, there was a Sherwin-Williams paint billboard that had paint going down a globe of neon," he says. "That was a treat as a young person. That's what I was thinking about. It's a roadside attraction. Instead of neon, I'm using LED lights." He calls them "event sculptures," as the pieces illustrate the result of an event: The downward motion of the drop with the upward action of color.
Prototypes of the sculptures caught the attention of HAA and won Oppenheim the commission at IAH.
"It will be a phenomenal treat as people exit the airport," he says. "Part of the splash arches over the expressway, and it's totally animated with LED lights 24 hours a day." It's a signature Oppenheim, and a dynamic communicative force to visitors on Houston's vested interest in progressive art in the urban realm.
