LYNN CRISWELL
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CONCEPTUAL DESIGN
ARTWORK DESCRIPTION
The artwork is located in the transfer level of the airport’s ticket hall. It is defined by a yellow-green terrazzo rectangle measuring 18’ x 30’ and directly over-head by 21 suspended emerald green birdcages. Twenty-one silhouettes of various indigenous Northern Californian birds will be water jet cut in 3/8” brushed aluminum rectangles, inset into the floor, and filled with black terrazzo. Each suspended cage is hung directly over a bird silhouette. Additionally, a metaphorical dialogue between a woman holding a birdcage and a magpie is embedded into the floor. The magpie image is taken from a painting by Johann Walther created in 1650. The birds are either perched or standing. None are in flight because they are located in the airport terminal “land side” as opposed to “air side”. The aluminum rectangles which surround each bird are meant to depict a still photograph—a moment captured, as birds are not very often sitting still. The artist hopes that travelers will identify the images of birds that are scattered throughout the artwork by their silhouettes. Together, the birdcages overhead and the birds on the floor define and redefine the space as travelers approach and pass through this area of the airport.
ARTWORK IN-PROGRESS
Artist Lynn Criswell’s As the Crow Flies is seen here in various stages of fabrication: The artist filling terrazzo into an aluminum stencil of a bird; a member of the artist’s crew polishing the terrazzo to expose the smooth, flush aluminum surfaces; the inlayed waterjet aluminum cage image prior to completion, and polishing and sealing the completed artwork area.
COMPLETED ARTWORK
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Lynn Criswell’s two- and three-dimensional work offers a visual language that gives form to memory. Criswell’s work is figurative, placing her within a long tradition of California painters and sculptors, yet her figures are several steps removed from anything like human persons. Her work has been incorporated into many private and public collections. Criswell’s public work is featured in Tamara Thomas Fine Arts Services Inc., Los Angeles; Downtown Municipal Building, Chico; and The Capitol East End Project, Sacramento. In 2005, Criswell was Artist-in-Residence in Weibelback, Germany.
ARTIST WEBSITE
