North Terminal Curbside

These two pieces can be found in the median of the Terminal North curb. “Rolling Suitcase” is an oversized piece of luggage playfully composed of street signs, while “Samsonite” is made of license plates from each of the 50 states. Having grown up near a dump, Sewell is a self-proclaimed “junk sculptor.” His work redefines found objects to create interesting and fun new interpretations. These companion pieces are no exception. Both were installed in 1999.

Located on the façade of the Terminal North parking deck, Delgado’s large-scale mural celebrates history of travel as well as the traveling experience and all of the excitement held within — going from an old to a new city, from old friends to new friends, from the known to the unknown. He wanted to show mystery, movement and rhythm by forming a vibrant composition filled with people, faces, color, modes of transportation and old pictures from the City of Atlanta archives. The piece is created out of ceramic tiles treated with a mix of printing, painting and glazing. It was installed at the Airport in 1998.

South Terminal Curbside

Patiently waiting, suitcase in hand, on the lower level curb of Terminal South is an unlikely traveler. Sewell’s oversized “Penguin” is composed of found aluminum objects meticulously welded and bolted into place. Installed in 1999, he has been stoically standing alongside his human companions at Hartsfield-Jackson looking for a ride home, too.

Encompassing the entire front side of the Terminal South parking deck, Patterson’s “Ancestral Notions” explores totemic figures and ceremonial language from a collective past. Large animal heads that are pared down to the simplest form majestically overlook the Airport. Symbols and archetypes are carefully carved into the gridded metal well. Installed in 1998, it is one of the largest single pieces ever commissioned for Hartsfield-Jackson. It was crafted out of cast and manipulated bronze.

The idea for Peragine’s installation came from under a rock in his garden. While searching for bugs with his young son, Peragine was enthralled with the child’s endless wonderment for the uncovered societies, even after a fire ant colony sent them running for the water hose. The title comes from a chapter in “Walden” by Henry Thoreau, where the author described the habits of some of the not-so-humane creatures that live in the forest surrounding his cabin. Among the descriptions is an account of an altercation between colonies of red and black ants. Thoreau draws parallels between the ants' behavior and that of humans, an apt metaphor for human nature according to the artist. Ants are ubiquitous, organized, competitive and socially complex. Their existence relies on successful delegation of responsibility, and their actions seem to be choreographed chaos, much like the human activity coursing through an Airport. But the ants Peragine created are not purely a reflection of nature. They are hybrids; anatomically correct ants meet hopped up, customized cars built for speed. Each ant was individually crafted from cast urethane plastic and copper tubing with a high gloss automotive lacquer finish. “Brute Neighbors” was installed above the North and South baggage claim areas in 2001.

This large scale bronze sculpture is located in between the west crossover restrooms. The abstraction references motion and mechanics, with a large wheel as the dominate form. Installed in 1980, "Bright Moments, Bright Moments" was one of the first pieces commissioned for the Main Terminal when it opened under Maynard Jackson’s mayoral directive.

William’s bright multi-media painting is filled with elements that tell a story. Some of the images are literal; some are more implied as abstract or conceptual secrets, but Williams’ tale celebrates the human spirit and how harmony can make the world a Utopia. For a major part of the imagery Williams translated music into a universal visual language. Rhythms and harmonies converge into a symphony of color that works in unison. It’s his hope that the design insights meditation and entrances a viewer as music does its listeners. This piece was installed in 1999 on the north wall of the escalators that lead from the APM into the greeter’s space of the Terminal.

Located on the lower level exit leading out of the North Terminal "Slip Stream" is a playful series of painted metal forms. The linear and geometric elements suggest a light composition inspired by architecture and technology. Within these forms abstracted shapes fold and unfold as if paper airplanes were being created and re-created. This piece was one of the first commissions made for the Airport under Maynard Jackson’s Percent for Art Ordinance in 1980.

In 1979, Mayor Maynard Jackson created the first City of Atlanta Percent for Art Ordinance. The ordinance sets aside a budgetary percent for art each time a Capital Improvement Project is undertaken. That ordinance extended to the then new Airport terminal. “Four Walls for Atlanta” was one of the original pieces commissioned in 1980 under Jackson’s directive. “Four Walls” was designed to give a moment of reflection to its viewers who are to contemplate the three walls of colored neon and then see an optical illusion of caused by the light on the fourth mat yellow wall. It was only the third public art work done by Stephen Antonakos and since then he has completed more then 40 others around the world. Antonakos is now a major international public art artist especially known for his neon pieces. This piece is located just past the main security checkpoint in the escalator well that leads to the Automated People Mover (APM).

This bright photo collage greets passengers as they take the escalator from the secure area of the concourse and APM station and go into the main terminal. For the piece Whitehouse photographed children as they played in the Centennial Olympic fountain in downtown Atlanta. She composed selected elements together to create a joyous celebration of the youth in our city and the vibrancy of the city’s spirit as defined by play. It was commissioned and installed in 1999.

For her installation Yamaguchi decided to focus on Georgia’s agricultural products. The organic forms she created beautifully convey in symbolic terms the economics and history of the state. There are seven horizontal rows of cast bronze sculptures, each inspired by Georgia’s agriculture and history: cotton, corn, okra, peanut, peach and bean. Yamaguchi often works in sequences; as she creates the forms a natural sequence evolves. The vertical rows here work as metaphors for the transformation and rejuvenation of the state and of the outside world in general. The imaginary organic form, in particular, symbolizes the history of mankind’s struggle. Yamaguchi’s installation is the first in a series of three on the north side of the T Gates that were commissioned in 1998.

The rituals, traditions, religious symbols, stories and iconography of world cultures, mainly the African, Asian and European Diaspora, inspired Riley’s delicate work. The patterns are meant to refer to common prehistoric ancestors in Africa. She filtered totemic images from that source through her Western upbringing and the result is her interpretation of layered textile patterns. The layers are both horizontal and three-dimensional, a stacked design achieved by carving into the front and back of the glass and applying a variety of tissue-thin metal leaf sheets to the back. Her piece is in the center of the north side of the T Gates

Sterling’s “Flight of the Spirit” is located at the end of the north with of the T Gates. Her goal was to imply that humanity’s quest for flight, the desire to be lifted upward, is somehow tied to our soul’s longing to eventually return to stardust. The background imagery is a lift into the clouds, up and over the earth, and out into the cosmos. The images on the acrylic panels begin with launching an idea to a conception of a flying apparatus based on Nature to mastery of mechanical and technical means for travel further still. Then the spiritual element enters with the image of the winged woman and on the last panel we are left with the body absent because the soul can fly on its own.