The Florida Times-Union
October 9, 2006

River of Stamps

By BOB SELF
The Times-Union
Visitors to the Jacksonville International Airport baggage claim area are seeing a new wall mosaic representing six rivers: the Ganges, Mississippi, Amazon, Nile, Yangtze and, of course, the St. Johns.

From a distance, The River looks like an aerial view of the watery paths. But closer examination reveals the collage of postage stamps Houston-based artist Peter Hite used to make the swirling patterns and colors. Hite said The River is a metaphor for the stream of world culture, connecting the stamps that depict significant people, places and events from different countries, and portraying the forces that have shaped the world over the last century.

Vital statistics and interesting details about The River:

The fun is in the details and the juxtapositions between the historic events, objects and people represented in stamps spanning over 100 years of world history.

• The project cost $240,000.
• There are approximately 300,000 stamps total.
• End to end, the rivers snake along 500 feet.
• The Ganges is the longest of the six rivers at more than 100 feet.
• Each river is a different color; the Ganges is blue because the most plentiful stamp color was blue.
• The stamps come from more than 40 countries, some no longer in existence.
• The oldest stamp comes from Australia and dates to the 1880s.
• Queen Elizabeth II shows up more frequently on the stamps than any other person.
• Hite bought the stamps in bulk online with a budget of a penny a stamp.
• Each stamp has the white borders trimmed off so that the colors blend.
• Hite paid $7 per ounce for the stamp-trimming.
• It took about an hour to trim an ounce.
• There were an estimated 1.2 million cuts.
• Two full-time workers glued down the stamps one at a time to their cut aluminum forms.

Sources: Artist Peter Hite, peterhite.com.

New gallery floats into JMOMA's future

It's appropriate that the city's museum of modern art will reap the benefits of the newest gallery concept to hit the art world.

SeaFare is planning a floating gallery that will follow the well-heeled as they follow the sun. The first SeaFare yacht is under construction and will bring fine art, antiques, furniture and/or jewelry dealers to 34 cities from Miami to Boston during the inaugural year.

The Grand Luxe is scheduled to launch its tour during Miami Beach's Art Basel Festival in December and will visit Jacksonville on March 21, 2007. The 228-foot luxury yacht will show works offered by a rotating mix of 26 dealers.

John Clark, executive director of JIA (from left); Jeanne Ward, chairperson of the Airports Arts Commission, sculptor Javier Marin and his translator, Eduardo, posed for countless photographs. Photos by JUDY WELLS/The Times-Union

It's the brainchild of David and Lee Ann Lester, who needed a new challenge after selling their successful art fair enterprises that included the Palm Beach International Art & Antiques Fair and Art Miami in 2001.

A gala vernissage designed to raise money for a local charity will be held during the weeklong stay at each port of call. In Naples, the charity will be the Philharmonic Center for the Arts; in Palm Beach, it will be the Norton Museum of Art and in Jacksonville, it will be JMOMA, according to project spokesperson Marnie Gloor.

After talking with George Kinghorn, JMOMA's executive director, and Sherry Hogan, director of development, Lee Ann Lester made a presentation to the JMOMA board and to the Modern Art Council, the museum's benefit planners.

"They thought it was going to be a fabulous, fabulous thing," Sherry said, adding that the museum will raise corporate sponsorship for food and valet services and sell tickets, and the Lesters will take care of everything else.

The Jacksonville stop will be a homecoming of sorts because the marine engineering design was done by DeJong and Lebet, a local firm headed by naval architects Norman DeJong and Andy Lebet.

Ginny and Dick Romano, collectors of Javier's work, were thrilled to see "Hoy es Hoy" in place.
Norman said the job offered no great challenges: "It was just different, and we're used to that. A boat is a boat."
When asked how the firm was chosen for the project, the no-nonsense, transplanted Dutchman said, "Because we're here, and we're famous."

Ready to dance through the ages were the event's chairpersons, Jim and Kitty Spilman (from left) and Anne and John McKenzie.

Return engagement

The Trey McIntyre Project, the innovative dance company that showed off its steps to a limited group during its residency at White Oak Plantation last year, will return in July. It also has scheduled a Saturday, July 15, performance at the University of North Florida.

Valdosta native John Michael Schert, dancer and spokes- person for the group, said the Vail International Dance Festival has commissioned a full-length version of Go Out, which started during last year's stay. Choreographer Trey McIntyre will use the time at White Oak to put the finishing touches on the piece, danced to the music of Ralph Stanley.

The preview performance at the UNF Fine Arts Center will be the first time the ballet is performed in its entirety.

Kellie and Terry Branden looked over the silent auction items.
After that, the company will go to Vail to premiere it with opera singer Jessye Norman, John Michael said.
Another one of White Oak's artistic acorns comes to fruition.

Hal and Jane Wahl were ready to do a bit of dancing.

History here

Each group of people who settled our Northeast Florida coast brought or developed their own specialized skills. Ameerican Indians knew how to utilize the abundant marine life. African-Americans wove pine needle baskets; Minorcans tied fish nets. The predominantly Scots-Irish pioneer men herded cattle and trapped gators for their hides; their women spun cotton, wove it into cloth and made quilts.
And all passed along a heritage of stories and music to their children.

The Beaches Museum & History Center is having a party to celebrate those skills, and its recent opening, by offering a free show, tell and play from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Pablo Historical Park in Jacksonville Beach is the place; call the museum, (904) 241-5657, for who does what and when.
No foolin'
"All Aboard the Boat," the St. Johns River photography cruise with photographer Rick Wagner and Riverkeeper Neil Armingeon, will leave the dock Saturday, April 1, not April 11. Call the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens, (904) 356-6857,ifyou are interested.
Pssst! Did you hear about . . .? You did? Call and tell me about it. Call, too, if you've seen, planned or are about to do something smashing, if you stuck around after your last meeting to hear all the good stuff that gets hashed over in the parking lot, or if you've encountered a hidden facet to one of our area's notables. The tip line is (904) 359-4155.
Sightseeing

Sharing a cocktail before dinner were Kirk and Bonnie Hansen (from left) and Sherry and Greg Hieb.
Inspiration
Members of the Airport Arts Commission, Port Authority and City Council, airport staff and art collectors gathered to meet Mexican sculptor Javier Marin and to see the unveiling of his work, Hoy es Hoy, at Jacksonville International Airport on March 10. The group of 70 to 90 stayed across the road until the covering was removed, then surged to get closer to the facility's newest art installation. No one was more thrilled with the setting and lighting than Javier, who said that what he liked most was that the piece was at the airport.
"It relates very well because the head represents the point where sky and earth get in touch," he said.
As if on cue, a jet took off, leaving behind an exclamation-pointlike contrail.
Curing Diabetes was the inspiration for "Dancing through the Decades," the annual Cure Ball March 11. at the Omni Jacksonville. Some of the 340 attendees dressed the part: Flappers with boas were the most popular, but we did spot a few '50s rock 'n' rollers.
A crowd estimated at 18,000 to 20,000 was inspired to view art with wheels at the Concours d'Elegance March 12 at Amelia Island. Glorious cars once owned by the late Steve McQueen, Ernest Hemingway and Judy Garland, not to mention those now owned by ordinary people of considerable wealth and taste, drew oohs and aahs from appreciative onlookers.
Making Plans

The Davis family of Jacksonville, Robert and Sheila (from Left) and son Bobby and his wife, Tammi, show off their 1935 Ford Drauz Cabbriolet.

Thursday
ART SALE: Bid on works by some of the area's finest artists as you sip, munch and mingle at ARTreach, a fundraiser hosted by brAIDS for HIV/AIDS education and support,6-10p.m., Schultz Center for Teaching and Leadership, 4019 Boulevard Center Drive, $30, (904) 389-7749.

Hilary and Mark Becker squeeze into one of their mini cars.
Friday
WORD ART: Jazz up your life during an evening with poet, activist and educator Nikki Giovanni, 7:30 p.m., Ritz Theatre & LaVilla Museum, 829 N. Davis St., $26 reserved seating, $50 VIP seating and post-performance reception, (904) 632-5555.
Saturday
MUSEUM SHOWER: Celebrate the recent opening of the Beaches Museum & History Center with live music, storytelling and folk art demonstrations of Northeast Florida coastal skills, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Pablo Historical Park, corner of Beach Boulevard and Fourth Street North, Jacksonville Beach, free; admission inside the museum $5 adults, $4 seniors, $3 children ages 6-17; (904) 241-5657.

Steve Ciccalone (left), who brought a 1934 Harley-Davidson VLD with sidecar from Fitzwilliam, N. J., gets his driving orders from John Duss who, from the very first Concours in 1995, has been the "motorcycle man."
Tuesday, March 28
AFRICAN HERO: Hear Paul Rusesabagina , hero of Hotel Rwanda and author, speak on Hotel Rwanda: A Lesson Yet to be Learned, 7 p.m., Swisher Gymnasium, Jacksonville University, 2800 University Blvd. N., $5, (904) 256-7520.

This story can be found on Jacksonville.com at http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/031906/enw_2289168.shtml.

GUEST COLUMN: Art soars at Jacksonville airport

On Friday, the Jacksonville International Airport Arts Commission and the Jacksonville Aviation Authority will unveil to the public a stunning sculpture called Hoy es Hoy (Today is Today) by Mexican sculptor Javier Marin.

Installed in a newly constructed pavilion along the roadway entrance to the airport, the 13-foot bronze head of a woman will make a profound statement: Jacksonville is serious about art in public places.

The sculpture was selected after much deliberation by the JIA Arts Commission, which is comprised of 12 Jacksonville art experts and civic leaders. The commission members worked hard to find a good balance between traditional and contemporary art, as well as find a piece of sculpture that fills our large, new airport entrance. Marin's sculpture captures many ethnic characteristics to create the face of an "international" woman. That face brings together the world's many cultures, making it a fitting piece of artwork for our international airport.
As the owner and operator of the JIA, the authority is committed to continuously enhancing the experience of all those who travel through or visit the airport. Art in public places helps define the identity of the airport and the city.

There are a number of community benefits. Public art can greatly improve the visual quality of public spaces. Art in public places also is a good barometer of a city's character.

From Atlanta to San Francisco, American cities have long embraced the concept of art in public places, especially in some of the largest public spaces of all: its airports.

Jacksonville's airport is often the first and last impression visitors have of the region. What better place to showcase various types of art. In 1995, the JAA created the Jacksonville International Airport Arts Commission, a separate, 501(c) not-for-profit organization, to select and purchase stimulating public art for the airport. The JAA initially earmarked $400,000 within their capital improvement program for public art. With JIA's total terminal improvements anticipated to be over $300 million, this appropriation was only the beginning.
The JIA Arts Commission paid $150,000 for Hoy es Hoy. The aviation authority is spending up to $450,000 for the creation and installation of a new entrance pavilion where the sculpture will sit. This new entrance pavilion has been planned for some time as a part of our overall terminal enhancement. The sculpture will now make that entrance a highly visible cultural cornerstone for our city.
While Hoy es Hoy is perhaps the most dramatic acquisition of the airport's art in public places program to date, it is but one of several major artworks purchased since the creation of the JIA Arts Commission.

Last year, the JAA approved the acquisition of a commissioned piece called The River by Houston artist Peter Hite. The 500-foot bas-relief depiction of world cultures seen through six rivers, including the St. Johns River, is expected to be completed and installed on the back walls in the baggage claim area by April.

A sculpture called Migration of Paper Airplanes by Jacksonville artist David Engdahl is located on the third floor of the parking garage, above the moving sidewalk.

Another Jacksonville artist, Jim Draper, designed the glass panels in front of the Departures security screening area based on his Healing Palms painting series. The terrazzo floor design in JIA's main courtyard, called City by the Sea, was created by three seniors at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts.

Meanwhile, the Haskell Gallery in the airport's main terminal showcases the region's top artists. It also gives travelers and those waiting to pick up passengers a moment of respite.

Art at the airport reinforces the city of Jacksonville's Art in Public Places Program, which seeks to integrate art into large capital projects such as the Better Jacksonville Plan. Art acquired and displayed at JIA does not rely on city tax dollars. Instead it is paid for by airport capital improvement funds.

The authority believes public art belongs at Jacksonville International Airport, which serves nearly 6 million passengers each year. Public art entertains and adds to the aesthetics of the airport by transforming ordinary public areas into places that can lift the spirit and give pride to the community. What a wonderful thing!
Michael Stewart is the Jacksonville Aviation Authority's Director of External Affairs.

This story can be found on Jacksonville.com at http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/030806/opl_21290210.shtml.