Installation of the public artwork titled Flight by artist Dan Corson and commissioned by the City of Fort Worth through the Fort Worth Public Art program is underway in the new Hemphill Connector in downtown Fort Worth.
A news release said there would be lane closures from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. in the connector, located between West Lancaster Avenue at Lamar Street and West Vickery Boulevard at Hemphill Street, for a few weeks.
Corson’s design celebrates Fort Worth’s aviation history and links the pattern of migrating birds with those of jets in flight formation. Corson also translates the City’s “Molly” icon into a contemporary expression of pattern and movement to enhance the experience of traveling through the Hemphill Connector, the announcement said.
Dozens of abstract “longhorn/birds” will resemble a flock flying out from underneath the railroad and interstate bridges that span the connector. Each of these identical components is 12 feet long and made of robust, translucent polyethylene with a frosted white finish.
From dusk to dawn they will glow with internal LED lighting which Corson has programmed with 60 variations of colors and patterns that will slowly shift.
On the Downtown side, a free-standing sculpture will feature 28 “longhorn/birds” supported by five painted steel poles, with the tallest 35 feet in height. Another 35 “longhorn/birds” will be suspended from the I-30 bridge beams with some emerging out from under the connector toward the Near Southside.
KiboWorks Inc. – a longtime collaborator with Dan Corson – is implementing the project on his behalf and sought out local companies to fabricate and install all of the metal components (GST Manufacturing) and to assemble and install the longhorn/bird components (Displays Fine Art Services).
Corson is an internationally recognized artist whose large-scale immersive installations and public artworks often engage the viewer as co-creators.
Fort Worth Public Art is celebrating its 20th anniversary year and is a City of Fort Worth program created to enhance the visual environment, commemorate the city’s rich cultural and ethnic diversity, integrate artwork into the development of the City’s capital infrastructure improvements, and to promote tourism and economic vitality.
The program is managed by the Arts Council of Fort Worth with oversight of the Fort Worth Art Commission.