Ready for Takeoff

Suspended over the transition area just beyond the security checkpoint is Donald Lipski“s Swarovski crystal-laden piece, “Rebilace.” The conical sculpture is lit from within and reflects a brilliant, natural light that cascades over the space.

Made of acrylic and liquid crystals, “airFIELD” by Uebersee is a suspended, interactive sculpture with two intersecting parts. From certain angles, the form resembles a bird taking flight. Electricity is synced with aircraft arrivals and departures, and pulses through the acrylic pixels, changing their transparency and creating the illusion of movement flowing through the piece.

“Veneers” by Amy Landesberg is a 640-foot-long art wall that uses glass, steel, color, pattern and light to engage passengers. Each panel of the piece depicts wood grains from extinct or endangered tree species. “Veneers” is also a functional work of art, as it divides areas within the pedestrian corridor between concourses E and F (the new international terminal).

“Light Waves” is an interactive light and sound installation that immerses the space in color and music as well as the “indigenous sounds” of Georgia. Passengers will affect the musical tones by simply walking past the wall sensors, or they can compose music by “playing” the sensors with their hands. The artist, Christopher Janney, has said that he doesn“t build sculpture so much as musical instruments.

Permanent art has been a staple at Atlanta’s main airport since 1979, when former Mayor Maynard Jackson commissioned 14 pieces for the then-new main terminal. Since then, the Airport Art Program collection has grown to include more than 250 works, in addition to ongoing rotating exhibits. For the new Concourse F, which also bears Jackson’s name, a number of large-scale, site-specific pieces were commissioned. Most of the works are on view to anyone traveling through Concourse F—also known as the new international terminal—while others can only be seen by select passengers. Travelers who arrive at certain gates, for instance, will be privy to one particular piece as they make their way through clearance at U.S. Customs and Border Protection, while others may miss the installation that connects Concourses E and F if they don’t have connecting flights. Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles photographed the new pieces before the terminal opened, so regardless of your final destination, you can see all of the artwork here—no passport or boarding pass required.