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| Wrinkled Blue by Jacintha Clark at the Philadelphia Airport |
One of the things I most enjoy about travel
is the discovery of the unexpected—a personal encounter, an
unusual shop window, a sighting of a rare animal, or spotting an intriguing piece
of art. Recently I was making my way through the Philadelphia airport
when my eye caught a display cabinet filled with what looked like nautical
memorabilia. I had some extra time before my next plane so I stopped to take a closer
look. It turned out to be a carefully constructed collection of nautical items—maps,
ropes, sextants, a spyglass, photos, papers, etc.—all in white porcelain. It
was part of #PHLAirportArt, a program begun in 1998 to “humanize the airport
environment, provide visibility for Philadelphia’s unique cultural life, and to
enrich the experience of the traveling public.” This exhibit, called Wrinkled
Blue, was created by artist Jacintha Clark, influenced by her career in
architectural conservation.
She was inspired by the USS Olympia, the oldest steel warship afloat in
the world and the only surviving naval ship of the Spanish-American War.
Olympia was decommissioned in 1922 and has been part of Independence
Seaport Museum, Philadelphia, since 1996. Clark describes Wrinkled Blue,
"it is about the history of a ship, a structure of naval architecture, and
its turbulent and poetic relationship with the sea." As described in the text accompanying the exhibit, "by using white porcelain, Clark has created a moment that
seems frozen in time like stone replicas forever preserved."
I
found the exhibit intriguing and was fascinated by the way the artist had
translated the objects from one medium to another and the detail that she was
able to include. Who would have thought you could make porcelain look like paper! Or scrimshaw! Or knotted ropes! I was glad that I had taken the time to examine the art,
rather than just rushing by to catch my next plane.
You
can find out more about the artist at jacinthaclark.com.
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