Page 2 - Florida Sentinel 10-15-19

Feature
Renowned Artist And Local Designer Display Works At Tampa International Airport
BY KENYA WOODARD Sentinel Feature Writer
The halls and walls at Tampa International Airport just got trendier, thanks to the recent additions of an exclusive clothing line and a public art display.
On Tuesday the airport un- veiled “Palimpsest,” a 45-foot- wide and 70-foot-long tapestry designed by artist, Nick Cave.
The work – one of seven public art installations – con- sists of a collection of several thousand beads that hangs in the new rental car center.
It took 10 months for Cave, his collaborator Bob Faust, and a team of assis- tants to complete “Palimpsest,” which is described as “a con- ceptual web of travels”...”that both welcomes one home and wishes one well on their next journey,” according to the artist’s statement.
It’s the second appearance of Cave’s work in Tampa. In 2015, the chair of the fashion
Bob Faust (left) and Nick Cave (right).
Elizabeth Carson Racker’s collection at The Shoppes on Bayshore at Tampa International Airport.
department at the Art Institute of Chicago brought his world- renowned colorful “sound- suits” to the city as part of the Lights on Tampa art program.
The suits are wearable art pieces constructed using a va- riety of materials – twigs,
beads, rods – that cover the wearer from head to toe, con- cealing any trace of race, gen- der, or class. Only the noise made by the materials can be detected, hence the moniker “soundsuit.”
In a one-on-one talk with Margaret Miller, director of the University of South Florida’s Graphicstudio and its Institute for Research in Art, Cave stated that he created his first soundsuit in response to the 1992 Rodney King beat- ing and subsequent Los Ange- les riots.
“I was really just distraught by the incident,” he said. “I was struggling with how I see my- self and how I didn’t see my- self.”
The soundsuits have since been displayed in major art galleries and museum exhibits all over the world including New York City, San Francisco, and Denmark.
Meanwhile, pieces from homegrown fashion designer, Elizabeth Carson Racker’s clothing line could turn up overseas before making a for- mal debut on runways during any of Europe’s fashion weeks thanks to a partnership be- tween the airport and the Gaither High School graduate.
To commemorate Tampa Bay Fashion Week, the Savan- nah College of Art and Design alum was commissioned to create a clothing line featuring
her signature winged fly jackets as well as tops, skirts, and dresses.
The collection is sold only at open-air market, The Shoppes at Bayshore, which sits in the airport’s main termi- nal.
“It’s very exclusive to (the market),” she said.
Racker said the collection is popular and returning in a few months with a spring line is a possibility.
“The clothes are moving,”
she said. “I’m excited about that.”
Racker’s line will be avail- able until the end of the month.
Learn More
Palimpsest is defined as something reused or altered but still bearing visible traces of its earlier form. For more in- formation about Nick Cave’s public art display at Tampa In- ternational Airport, visit http://www.tampaairport.com /latest-commissions.
PAGE 2 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2019