Terminal 5 (exhibition)
Encyclopedia
Terminal 5 was an art exhibition that took place in October 2004 at the then disused Eero Saarinen
–designed TWA Flight Center
at New York's JFK Airport
.
The City of New York had designated both the interiors and the exteriors of the Saarinen terminal a historic landmark in 1994 (the building ultimately to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places
), but following TWA's continued financial deterioration during the 1990s and eventual purchase by American Airlines
, the Saarinen-designed terminal had ended operations in October 2001 and entered a period of disuse.
Curated by Rachel K. Ward,Terminal 5 showed the work of 19 artists from 10 countries including Jenny Holzer
, Dan Graham
, Vanessa Beecroft
, Tom Sachs
, Tobias Wong
, Douglas Coupland
, Mark Handforth, Anri Sala
, Sean Linezo, Jonas Mekas
, Aleksandra Mir
, Jonathan Monk, Toland Grinnell, Kendell Geers
, Ryoji Ikeda
, and Jennifer & Kevin McCoy
.
The exhibit included sculptures, audio installations, lectures and temporary installations drawing inspiration from the idea of travel as well as the terminal's architecture.
Planned to run from October 1 2004 to January 31, 2005, it closed abruptly after the opening event when a runway-side door was opened by a guest — thereby breaching airport security and creating a public risk.
Terminal 5 was selected for Artforum
's "Best of 2004".
Since the exhibition, portions of the original complex have been demolished, and the Saarinen terminal (or head house
) has been renovated, partially encircled by and serving as a ceremonial entrance to a new adjacent terminal completed in 2008. Together, the old and new buildings comprise JetBlue Airways
' JFK operations and are known collectively as Terminal 5 or simply T5 — from which the exhibit derived its name.
Eero Saarinen
Eero Saarinen was a Finnish American architect and industrial designer of the 20th century famous for varying his style according to the demands of the project: simple, sweeping, arching structural curves or machine-like rationalism.-Biography:Eero Saarinen shared the same birthday as his father,...
–designed TWA Flight Center
TWA Flight Center
The TWA Flight Center or Trans World Flight Center, opened in 1962 as a standalone terminal at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport .for Trans World Airlines...
at New York's JFK Airport
John F. Kennedy International Airport
John F. Kennedy International Airport is an international airport located in the borough of Queens in New York City, about southeast of Lower Manhattan. It is the busiest international air passenger gateway to the United States, handling more international traffic than any other airport in North...
.
The City of New York had designated both the interiors and the exteriors of the Saarinen terminal a historic landmark in 1994 (the building ultimately to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
), but following TWA's continued financial deterioration during the 1990s and eventual purchase by American Airlines
American Airlines
American Airlines, Inc. is the world's fourth-largest airline in passenger miles transported and operating revenues. American Airlines is a subsidiary of the AMR Corporation and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas adjacent to its largest hub at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport...
, the Saarinen-designed terminal had ended operations in October 2001 and entered a period of disuse.
Curated by Rachel K. Ward,Terminal 5 showed the work of 19 artists from 10 countries including Jenny Holzer
Jenny Holzer
Jenny Holzer is an American conceptual artist. Holzer lives and works in Hoosick Falls, New York.-Education:...
, Dan Graham
Dan Graham
Dan Graham , is a conceptual artist now working out of New York City. He is an influential figure in the field of contemporary art, both a practitioner of conceptual art and an art critic and theorist. His art career began in 1964 when he moved to New York and opened the John Daniels Gallery....
, Vanessa Beecroft
Vanessa Beecroft
Vanessa Beecroft is an Italian contemporary artist living in Los Angeles.-Artistic practice:Beecroft's work is a fusion of conceptual issues and aesthetic concerns, focusing on large-scale performance art, usually involving live female models...
, Tom Sachs
Tom Sachs (artist)
-Life and Early Career:Born in New York City on July 26, 1966, Sachs grew up in Westport, Connecticut and attended Greens Farms Academy for high school. He attended Bennington College in Vermont. Following graduation, he studied architecture at London's Architectural Association before deciding to...
, Tobias Wong
Tobi Wong
Donald Tobias Wong was a Canadian born designer and artist. His work had been heavily influenced by subversive art movements including Dada and Fluxus, and having received numerous cease and desist orders, Wong become known for appropriating work by others...
, Douglas Coupland
Douglas Coupland
Douglas Coupland is a Canadian novelist. His fiction is complemented by recognized works in design and visual art arising from his early formal training. His first novel, the 1991 international bestseller Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture, popularized terms such as McJob and...
, Mark Handforth, Anri Sala
Anri Sala
Anri Sala is a contemporary artist whose primary medium is video. He studied art at the Albanian Academy of Arts from 1992 to 1996. He also studied video at the Ecole Nationale des Arts Décoratifs, Paris and film direction in Le Fresnoy-Studio National des Arts Contemporains, Tourcoing...
, Sean Linezo, Jonas Mekas
Jonas Mekas
Jonas Mekas is a Lithuanian-born American filmmaker, writer, and curator who has often been called "the godfather of American avant-garde cinema." His work has been exhibited in museums and festivals across Europe and America.-Biography:...
, Aleksandra Mir
Aleksandra Mir
-Life and work:She studied Communications at Schillerska/Gothenburg University in Gothenburg , Media Arts at the School of Visual Arts in New York , and Cultural Anthropology at The Graduate Faculty, The New School for Social Research in New York...
, Jonathan Monk, Toland Grinnell, Kendell Geers
Kendell Geers
Kendell Geers is an artist, performance artist, musician and film-maker. Geers was born in Johannesburg in 1968.Geers' commonly given birthdate of May 1968 is fictional. Freire Barnes, "", Artist Pension Trust, 4 October 2007. Accessed 15 February 2011. In Venice in 1993, Geers rose to...
, Ryoji Ikeda
Ryoji Ikeda
Ryoji Ikeda is a Japanese sound artist who lives and works in Paris. Ikeda's music is concerned primarily with sound in a variety of "raw" states, such as sine tones and noise, often using frequencies at the edges of the range of human hearing...
, and Jennifer & Kevin McCoy
Jennifer & Kevin McCoy
Jennifer and Kevin McCoy are a Brooklyn, New York-based married couple who make art together. They work with interactive media, film, performance and installation to explore personal experience in relation with new technology, the mass media, and global commerce...
.
The exhibit included sculptures, audio installations, lectures and temporary installations drawing inspiration from the idea of travel as well as the terminal's architecture.
Planned to run from October 1 2004 to January 31, 2005, it closed abruptly after the opening event when a runway-side door was opened by a guest — thereby breaching airport security and creating a public risk.
Terminal 5 was selected for Artforum
Artforum
Artforum is an international monthly magazine specializing in contemporary art.-Publication:The magazine is published ten times a year, September through May, along with an annual summer issue...
's "Best of 2004".
Since the exhibition, portions of the original complex have been demolished, and the Saarinen terminal (or head house
Head house
A head house is a part of a train station.-Rail terminals:In the context of rail transport, head house refers to that portion of a passenger terminal not housing the tracks and platforms themselves. Typically, the head house contains ticket counters, toilets and baggage facilities, if there are...
) has been renovated, partially encircled by and serving as a ceremonial entrance to a new adjacent terminal completed in 2008. Together, the old and new buildings comprise JetBlue Airways
JetBlue Airways
JetBlue Airways Corporation is an American low-cost airline. The company is headquartered in the Forest Hills neighborhood of the New York City borough of Queens. Its main base is John F. Kennedy International Airport, also in Queens....
' JFK operations and are known collectively as Terminal 5 or simply T5 — from which the exhibit derived its name.