RARA AVIS

Program
Transportation
Media
Pewter
Year
2001
Location
Midway Airport, Chicago, IL

Gallery

Rara Avis

Rara Avis is an epic suspended sculpture poetically linking natural and manmade aviation.

Comprised of hundreds of precisely suspended pewter elements, the artwork employs a three-dimensional Pointillism wherein numerous small sculptures coalesce into a large evanescent composite form.

Travelers approaching the center of Midway Airport’s new passenger terminal will perceive a monumental image of a cardinal. Upon closer examination a perceptual shift occurs as the large avian form reveals itself to be composed of over 1800 small aircraft.

The history of aviation is represented in a broad spectrum of components, ranging from Leonardo-inspired designs to 19th century balloons to classic passenger airliners to 21st century spacecraft. Over fifty different aircraft are represented, all distinct, and all coming together to render a macrocosmic image of the Illinois state bird.

Rara Avis is a collaboration with Stu Schechter.