Bruce McFarlane with Artist Jeff de Boer
Painter Sandy Kunze and sculptor Steward Steinhauer are among five artists who were selected to create major
“Themeworks” for the airport’s new International Terminal Building. They were in Calgary along with 1500 invitees to get a sneak peak at the new construction on October 1st and, more specifically, the 39 Themeworks by nine artists, based on the Rhythms of the Landscape of Southern Alberta. The terminal opens for use at the end of the month.
Rhythms of the Landscape is the theme of the terminal’s Themeworks program, which is designed to provide air travelers with a unique perspective of Alberta’s wildlife and geography.
As director of air terminal development, Bruce McFarlane oversaw the project design and construction until 2014, when he and his wife retired to an Erickson property they had purchased a few years earlier. McFarlane was retained on contract to see the Themeworks program through to completion.
Steinhauer carved two groupings of bears (the pair that now stand in front of Kunze’s Right Side of Moraine, and Family of Bears, a grouping of four) and a small herd of seven buffaloes that he simply calls Buffalo. Kunze painted panels that are pieced together to make 10- by 40-foot representation of the famous Moraine Lake. She used a plein air approach, painting the large panels on site on several trips to the Banff area in 2014.
“The airport purchased the works outright, including the intellectual property- it just can’t reproduce the works physically,” McFarlane said on Saturday. The practice is a departure from the traditional public art approach, in which artists typically retains owner- ship of the rights.
“I had done the airport’s Themeworks programs in earlier projects and when the International Terminal was planned I decided to do it again,” he said, adding that he is not an artist himself. “But we have a houseful of art, lots of artist friends and a great appreciation for art,” he smiled. McFarlane has a background in design and architecture, but joined Calgary International Airport as a project manager.
The airport has made a major commitment to art throughout its public areas, and the nearly $2 billion project included a healthy budget for art. McFarlane worked with architects and colleagues to identify areas suitable for art, then communicated with artists who had submitted expressions of interest, inviting them to make proposals for specific projects.
When he and his wife, Renata, began to make their retirement plans for the Creston Valley, Bruce immediately took an interest in the local art scene.
“I met Sandy through mutual friends,” he recalled. “Then we took one of her bus tours and some of our other airport people were on it. I had already seen some of Stewart’s bears at the Creston Visitor Centre and loved his work.”
He encouraged both artists to respond to a call for expressions of interest, convincing them “that they need to do something.”
“Stewart was a natural—his three dimensional sculptures are very tactile,” and he was contracted to produce a grouping of four bears and a small herd of seven buffalo. “I worked closely with Stewart and he created four different finishes for the granite. I would push him in a direction and he often responded with ‘I don’t think so,’ and then go off to think about it and consult with Cindy (his wife). Now he uses those finishes extensively.”
Steinhauer got his first contract in 2013—the large sculptures had to be completed in the early construction stage so they could be lowered through openings in the yet to be covered roof. A year’s delay in construction separated the artist from his creations for a lengthy period.
“Stewart didn’t see them for two years,” McFarlane chuckled. The granite works were protected in crates within the construction site in their final locations.
As planning and construction continued, a public area between the terminal building and Parkade P2 evolved into a new opportunity. The space was envisioned as a quiet corner for reflection. It represents major elements of the Banff region, he said.
“My idea was to turn it into a corner of Banff,” he said.
He made trips to the national park to research manmade elements like the stonework on a bridge and wooden benches that could fit in to the area.
“I worked with Stewart again, and Sandy. Sandy had never done a commission for a client, and neither had done a collaboration.”
Steinhauer completed Bear Prays for Earth Healing and Humble Bear for the space.
Paintings are more difficult to place in public spaces, McFarlane said, because they lack the dimensional aspect of sculptures, which are also designed to touch.
“But Sandy’s abstract style works in this location because it isn’t seen up close by viewers. When viewed from a distance of maybe 20 feet, they are beautiful.”
His instructions to Sandy were simple—“I need a background of mountains and I don’t want a mural.” The sections are mounted into steel frames, forming a backdrop for the Steinhauer bears, benches and other stone components.
McFarlane said he is especially pleased that the Creston Valley artists are included in a group “with some fairly big names”
Jeff de Boer, who works out of Edmonton, has numerous metal sculptures in the new terminal and he has an international reputation. Jason Carter, who is Cree, “is really well known.” His representational style, with simple lines and bold colours, is ideally suited to large public spaces. And Michel Maillot who creates therm-form glass sculptures at his ThinkGlass studio in Montreal “has works all over the world.” Maillot’s works include vertical and horizontal installations that feature glass up to four inches thick, within which are coloured elements. Their visible surfaces are highly textured using a technique in which the artist “carves” into powder, upon which the glass is laid and fired, which causes the material to slump into shape.
“This has given Sandy and Stewart an opportunity to be exposed to a much bigger market,” he said. “I loved being able to work closely with them and I am happy they are now my friends.”
Painter Sandy Kunze and sculptor Steward Steinhauer are among five artists who were selected to create major
“Themeworks” for the airport’s new International Terminal Building. They were in Calgary along with 1500 invitees to get a sneak peak at the new construction on October 1st and, more specifically, the 39 Themeworks by nine artists, based on the Rhythms of the Landscape of Southern Alberta. The terminal opens for use at the end of the month.
Rhythms of the Landscape is the theme of the terminal’s Themeworks program, which is designed to provide air travelers with a unique perspective of Alberta’s wildlife and geography.
As director of air terminal development, Bruce McFarlane oversaw the project design and construction until 2014, when he and his wife retired to an Erickson property they had purchased a few years earlier. McFarlane was retained on contract to see the Themeworks program through to completion.
Steinhauer carved two groupings of bears (the pair that now stand in front of Kunze’s Right Side of Moraine, and Family of Bears, a grouping of four) and a small herd of seven buffaloes that he simply calls Buffalo. Kunze painted panels that are pieced together to make 10- by 40-foot representation of the famous Moraine Lake. She used a plein air approach, painting the large panels on site on several trips to the Banff area in 2014.
“The airport purchased the works outright, including the intellectual property- it just can’t reproduce the works physically,” McFarlane said on Saturday. The practice is a departure from the traditional public art approach, in which artists typically retains owner- ship of the rights.
“I had done the airport’s Themeworks programs in earlier projects and when the International Terminal was planned I decided to do it again,” he said, adding that he is not an artist himself. “But we have a houseful of art, lots of artist friends and a great appreciation for art,” he smiled. McFarlane has a background in design and architecture, but joined Calgary International Airport as a project manager.
The airport has made a major commitment to art throughout its public areas, and the nearly $2 billion project included a healthy budget for art. McFarlane worked with architects and colleagues to identify areas suitable for art, then communicated with artists who had submitted expressions of interest, inviting them to make proposals for specific projects.
When he and his wife, Renata, began to make their retirement plans for the Creston Valley, Bruce immediately took an interest in the local art scene.
“I met Sandy through mutual friends,” he recalled. “Then we took one of her bus tours and some of our other airport people were on it. I had already seen some of Stewart’s bears at the Creston Visitor Centre and loved his work.”
He encouraged both artists to respond to a call for expressions of interest, convincing them “that they need to do something.”
“Stewart was a natural—his three dimensional sculptures are very tactile,” and he was contracted to produce a grouping of four bears and a small herd of seven buffalo. “I worked closely with Stewart and he created four different finishes for the granite. I would push him in a direction and he often responded with ‘I don’t think so,’ and then go off to think about it and consult with Cindy (his wife). Now he uses those finishes extensively.”
Steinhauer got his first contract in 2013—the large sculptures had to be completed in the early construction stage so they could be lowered through openings in the yet to be covered roof. A year’s delay in construction separated the artist from his creations for a lengthy period.
“Stewart didn’t see them for two years,” McFarlane chuckled. The granite works were protected in crates within the construction site in their final locations.
As planning and construction continued, a public area between the terminal building and Parkade P2 evolved into a new opportunity. The space was envisioned as a quiet corner for reflection. It represents major elements of the Banff region, he said.
“My idea was to turn it into a corner of Banff,” he said.
He made trips to the national park to research manmade elements like the stonework on a bridge and wooden benches that could fit in to the area.
“I worked with Stewart again, and Sandy. Sandy had never done a commission for a client, and neither had done a collaboration.”
Steinhauer completed Bear Prays for Earth Healing and Humble Bear for the space.
Paintings are more difficult to place in public spaces, McFarlane said, because they lack the dimensional aspect of sculptures, which are also designed to touch.
“But Sandy’s abstract style works in this location because it isn’t seen up close by viewers. When viewed from a distance of maybe 20 feet, they are beautiful.”
His instructions to Sandy were simple—“I need a background of mountains and I don’t want a mural.” The sections are mounted into steel frames, forming a backdrop for the Steinhauer bears, benches and other stone components.
McFarlane said he is especially pleased that the Creston Valley artists are included in a group “with some fairly big names”
Jeff de Boer, who works out of Edmonton, has numerous metal sculptures in the new terminal and he has an international reputation. Jason Carter, who is Cree, “is really well known.” His representational style, with simple lines and bold colours, is ideally suited to large public spaces. And Michel Maillot who creates therm-form glass sculptures at his ThinkGlass studio in Montreal “has works all over the world.” Maillot’s works include vertical and horizontal installations that feature glass up to four inches thick, within which are coloured elements. Their visible surfaces are highly textured using a technique in which the artist “carves” into powder, upon which the glass is laid and fired, which causes the material to slump into shape.
“This has given Sandy and Stewart an opportunity to be exposed to a much bigger market,” he said. “I loved being able to work closely with them and I am happy they are now my friends.”