No, it’s not an oxymoron. Next time you’re in an airport, look around…look up…..and look down, too.

This is a piece that always makes me smile.  I seek it out in the Calgary airport. It’s called West Ride Story by Alexandra Haeseker.  (It’s in the domestic Air Canada concourse, conveniently located opposite a Starbuck’s.)  Are we really surprised that Ms Haeseker is a printmaker, too?

It took me a while to track down the artist, as the name of the artwork and the artist are embedded in brass plaques in the floor.  (Thank you Calgary Airport Authority!)

It’s an interesting piece, as it grabs our attention with the neon colours, and large scale.  (Why use blatantly artificial colours….on figures we know are made of plastic?)

The subject matter is immediately appealing: drawing us back to childhood, play, and the good ol’ days.  (Hmmm….  Were they so good?  What about the past, and current state of relationships between Canadians and the First Nations people?)

Art that makes you smile, and think, and think think.  It helps to ease the contemporary air travel experience.  (Now if only they’d give us a little more leg room…..)