Data Stream
Input Output Creative Media Lab
(Billy Baccam & Alejandro Ramos)
COMPLETION DATE
April 2023
LOCATION
George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Terminal B Skyway
2800 N Terminal Rd
Houston, TX 77032
District B
CLIENT
City of Houston
SPONSORING DEPARTMENT
Houston Airport System
PROJECT BUDGET
$82,000.00
Image Credit: All images courtesy of the Houston Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs; Photographers: Billy Baccam, Charles Holt, Mizzael Avila, and Slyworks Photography; Videographer: Billy Baccam
Project Description
Data Stream, created by Input/Output, is a site-specific installation that draws inspiration from aerodynamics, computer technology, and our modern, data-driven society. Sixty-six LED strips were combined to create a light ribbon spanning the three Terminal Skyway B niches. This ribbon structure is designed to resemble a commonly found cable used to communicate data in everyday electronics.
Data Stream incorporates four different data sets sourced from National Weather Services, Houston Transtar, and the Bayou Preservation Association, providing Houston temperature measurements, Houston traffic speeds and congestion, and both natural bayous and man-made bodies of water and water systems in the Greater Houston area. These data sets have been recontextualized and interpreted into beautiful abstract patterns and colors to be displayed across the three physical waveform structures that are suspended from the ceiling.
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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
Input Output is a creative duo comprised of Billy Baccam and Alex Ramos. They bring inanimate structures and spaces to life by combining art, science, technology, and architecture with the creative implementation of light and sound. Each brings innovative approaches along with unique human experiences that shape their artistic process.
Billy Baccam, a native of Dallas, Texas, studied fashion design and electrical engineering in Texas before moving to New York to join an entrepreneurial program with a budding tech startup as chief technology officer. Once back in Houston, Billy was invigorated to merge his passion and skills of art and technology together through creative coding.
Alex Ramos, a Mexican-born artist, studied at The University of Houston and the Art institute of Houston and is a veteran of the Iraq and Afghan wars. He previously worked at Apple, taught computer science at the WIDE School, and is currently the Museum Public Programs & Education Curator at Seismique. Alex was seeking ways to integrate art with technology as well, learning various programs to be able to manipulate color and light in a style all his own.
Together, Billy and Alex formed Input Output to research, design, and develop interactive, digital-physical experiences utilizing new media art and technology.