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LA/Ontario International Airport Exhibits New Artwork Featuring "Everyday" Collectables

Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), in partnership with the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, announces two new exhibits on display at LA/Ontario International Airport (ONT). The exhibits feature collections from various artists portraying how their passions for collectables influence or are incorporated into their artwork.

Each exhibit consists of 12 display cases and is located in Terminals 2 and 4. Both exhibits are on display through January 4, 2009, and can be viewed by passengers on the second floor of each terminal.

The exhibit, "Miniatures are BIG," is on display in Terminal 2. The exhibit was curated by Susan Subtle Dintenfass with the help of Oakland-based architects David Weingarten and Lucia Howard. Their firm, Ace Architects, designs whimsical and eclectic buildings that range from theme parks to private homes. For more than a quarter of a century, they have been collecting miniature buildings and monuments from all over the world. Their collection now numbers 5,000 miniatures and over 130 of them are on display at ONT.

Four of the display cases in this exhibit include models of structures that Ace Architects designed. When David Weingarten is asked if Ace's designs have been influenced by their collection, he says, "Model buildings are employed in ways similar to books, providing sources both of inspiration and instruction."

A second exhibit, also curated by Dintenfass, "Karyl Sisson: Everyday Objects d'Art," is on display in Terminal 4. This exhibit features the collection of artist Karyl Sisson, which focuses on what used to be called "notions." These are the fixings from women's clothing or are worn on a woman's actual body such as bobby pins and hairpins.

Sisson has transformed these feminine objects, all of which once had a particular purpose, into original, post-functional works of art. Her innovative and unique way of presentation is precise and geometric.

"My basic structures develop by interlocking the materials; no nails, no armatures and, when possible, no glue is used," said Sisson. Everything she has created is meticulously made with attention to color and texture. Sisson makes ordinary stuff, ordinarily thrown out or tossed into a sewing box and forgotten, into artistic treasures.

The purpose of the Art Exhibits Program at ONT is to educate and entertain the traveling public. Exhibits may be historic, popular, artistic, or graphic design in nature and come from museums, fine art, archives, environment, or other fields.

ONT's $1.6 million public art program consists of works created by a diverse group of world-class artists. These works celebrate the culture, history and beauty of Southern California and symbolize travel and aviation.

ONT is a medium-hub, full-service airport with commercial jet service to major U.S. cities and through service to many international destinations. ONT is located in the Inland Empire, approximately 35 miles east of downtown Los Angeles in the center of Southern California. The airport is the centerpiece of one of the fastest-growing transportation regions in the United States. ONT's service area includes a population of six million people living in San Bernardino and Riverside Counties and portions of north Orange County and east Los Angeles County.

ONT is one of four airports owned and operated by LAWA, a Los Angeles City department that oversees an airport system in the nation's second largest metropolitan area. The other airports owned and operated by LAWA are Los Angeles International Airports, LA/Palmdale Regional and Van Nuys General Aviation.