COMPLETION DATE
July 2022
LOCATION
William P. Hobby Airport, Near Gate 50
7800 Airport Blvd
Houston, TX 77061
District I
CLIENT
City of Houston
SPONSORING DEPARTMENT
Houston Airport System
PROJECT BUDGET
$144,000.00
Clouds
William Cannings
Image Credit: All images courtesy of the Houston Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs; Photographer: Slyworks Photography
Project Description
William Cannings had a romantic view of airplanes and racecars that had long influenced the forms he made. Utilizing manipulated steel and aluminum and employing many of the same tools and processes as aeronautical engineers constructing airplanes, he transformed cold, flat, raw steel into compound organic curves that were finished with slick, glossy surfaces.
His forms, though constructed from steel, evoked a sense of weightlessness and movement. The cloud forms he created established a delightful, comforting, and whimsical atmosphere for passengers and people traversing the area.
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HAA oversaw the artist selection, design, fabrication, and installation process for this artwork. Working diligently with sponsoring city departments, Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs, and the selected artists, HAA created and publicized the opportunity, coordinated the panel process, managed artist communications, and monitored on-site installation. Recommendation reports were submitted at the conclusion of Artist Selection and Design phases, and a robust closeout report was provided upon project completion detailing project summary and ongoing maintenance requirements.
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The Houston Airport System (HAS) is the City of Houston’s Department of Aviation, comprised of George Bush Intercontinental Airport, William P. Hobby Airport, and Ellington Airport/Houston Spaceport. The System served 54 million passengers in 2022 and nearly 60 million in 2019. HAS positions Houston as the international passenger and cargo gateway to the South-Central United States and as a primary gateway to Latin America. It contributed $36.4 billion to the local economy in 2019 and is responsible for creating 190,000 jobs.
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This project was funded through Houston’s Civic Art Ordinance, which requires 1.75% of the budget for eligible City-funded construction projects to be spent on integrating artwork and artists' ideas in public spaces and conserving the City of Houston’s Civic Art Collection. The Houston Arts Alliance administers the civic art program for the City of Houston Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs.
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ARTS REPRESENTATIVES
Bianca Alvarez, Public Art Project Manager, Department of Arts & Culture, City of San Antonio, San Antonio
Curt Gettman, Senior Project Manager, City of Austin’s Art in Public Places, Austin
Daisy Nam, Curator, Ballroom Marfa, Marfa
Florencia Bazzano, Curator of Exhibitions, Art Museum of South Texas, Austin
Jamie Robertson, Visual Artist and Educator, Houston
Janice Bond, Deputy Director, Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, Houston
Jennie Ash, Executive Director, Art League Houston, Houston
Michelle Barnes, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Community Artists’ Collective, Houston
Miriam Garcia, Public Art Program Supervisor, Museums and Cultural Affairs Department, San Antonio
Rabea Ballin, Artist, Houston
SPONSORING DEPARTMENT REPRESENTATIVES
Alton DuLaney, Curator and Director of the Public Art Program, Houston Airports
Guillermo Cabrera, Chief Architect, Houston Airports
Dawn Hoffman, Assistant Director For Terminal Management, Houston Airports
Foti Kallergis, Director of Communications & Public Relations, Houston Airports
Maricela Kruseman, Founder and Director, Harmony In The Air
Artist Bio
William Cannings was born in Manchester, England. He received his MFA from Syracuse University, and his BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University, both in Sculpture. He lives in Lubbock, Texas, and is an Associate Professor of Sculpture at Texas Tech University, where he has taught for 22 years. He is currently represented by Anya Tish Gallery in Houston, Texas, Cris Worley Fine Arts in Dallas, Texas, and PanAmerican Art Projects, in Miami, Florida.