Low flier: 'Flight Through Time' will have multiple lowrider-inspired airplanes cruising through the air at Sunport
As with a mosaic, the pieces had to be in the right place.
Despite taking years, a new project at the sa国际传媒官网网页入口 International Sunport is about to take flight.
Low flier: 'Flight Through Time' will have multiple lowrider-inspired airplanes cruising through the air at Sunport
On Saturday, Mayor Tim Keller and city officials announced four public art instillations that will make up the Sunport Reimagined city project. City officials said works will start to be installed in the Sunport this summer.
鈥淔light Through Time鈥� is one of the projects selected by the sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Arts Board for the Sunport. The masterminds behind the project are Steve Mora, Joseph 鈥淏last鈥� Leyba, Rob Vanderslice, Dacia Vanderslice, Sandy Johnson, Max Baptiste and Vicente Griego. The group went through a more than a year process for the project.
When the call for 鈥淔light Through Time鈥� entries closed, there were 185 proposals. It got whittled down to 17 and then five, before one dropped out. The group was approved by the sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Arts Board on Jan. 15.
According to the conceptual design, 鈥淔light Through Time鈥� will have multiple lowrider-inspired airplanes cruising through the air. The suspended installation will capture the essence of movement, pride and cultural identity.
The group 鈥� each involved in New Mexico鈥檚 lowrider culture 鈥� said the project is heavily inspired by New Mexico鈥檚 rich artistic heritage and its decades-spanning lowrider culture.
鈥� Hearing that the city was doing this project and allotting space at the Sunport to do this was something I was very interested in doing,鈥� said Rob Vanderslice. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a blessing that we鈥檙e here. This time it was meant to happen.鈥�
Rob Vanderslice has worked on lowriders for nearly 40 years.
Baptiste said the original concept for the project was to represent flight. Then Leyba said something about building a lowrider airplane.
鈥淓ach one of us brought something to the project,鈥� Baptiste said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the truth when we say that it took all of the right pieces to come together. We鈥檙e going to be creating something that is full of New Mexico culture and we鈥檙e going to put it on display for the world to see.鈥�
There鈥檚 more to lowriders than just the beautifully painted vehicles.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a community,鈥� Rob Vanderslice said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a commitment 鈥� to roots, culture and family. It鈥檚 about heart and soul.鈥�
Though Rob Vanderslice has worked on many big projects during his career, 鈥淔light Through Time鈥� is different.
It鈥檚 been a journey for the entire lowrider community to be seen in the mainstream 鈥� as a viable art medium.
鈥淟ife in general has been a build up of hitting rock bottom and doing one thing at a time to get back up,鈥� Rob Vanderslice said. 鈥淭his will be a legacy. What we are doing isn鈥檛 a simple task.鈥�
The project proposal consists of many pieces 鈥� a full-scale airplane as the centerpiece with a handful of model airplanes to accompany it.
The team is grateful that the city picked the project.
Baptiste said Rob Vanderslice recently appeared on 鈥�60 Minutes,鈥� which did a piece on lowriding in New Mexico.
鈥淭he art form is moving beyond the stigma,鈥� Baptiste said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about artists and art.鈥�
Mora said it鈥檚 exciting for the state and Sunport to get behind the New Mexico he grew up in.
鈥淪eeing a lowrider airplane in the city that I was born and raised in is special,鈥� Mora said. 鈥淭o be able to be part of the process has left me speechless.鈥�
Dacia Vanderslice, who works alongside her father, said the most impactful thing for her to see is lowriding and its culture breaking so many boundaries.
鈥淚t鈥檚 something the community has been chipping away at,鈥� she said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 always been this art and culture in New Mexico鈥檚 backyard. I think this project is helping to revive life, all while highlighting New Mexico鈥檚 culture. Being able to stand behind that, that鈥檚 what New Mexico is about. This is who we are.鈥�
Leyba is an artist who works with graffiti and on vehicles.
In the last year, he was selected by the sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Isotopes to paint a mural inside the stadium.
While all his projects hold a special place to him, the Sunport project takes it up another level.
鈥淧eople are finally taking notice,鈥� Leyba said. 鈥淭his is how culture comes back to community.鈥�
The city set out to purchase and commission works created by New Mexican artists from across many communities, from the city of sa国际传媒官网网页入口 to the tribes and pueblos, and the various reaches of our state, according to Manny Manriquez, deputy director of Aviation for Innovation and Commercial Development at the city of sa国际传媒官网网页入口.
鈥淥ur request for (Sunport Reimagined) interest garnered 384 responses, which truly impressed us,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut ultimately what we were most impressed with was the remarkable quality of the proposals our semifinalists and finalists submitted.鈥�
The city selected the awardees for the $3.25 million Sunport Reimagined arts project, city officials will have the privilege of working closely with the artists and artist teams to bring their visions to life.
鈥淎bout 5 million visitors and residents each year will see these works as they come through the Sunport,鈥� Manriquez said. 鈥淲hat better way to celebrate our unique culture and the creative talents of our beloved artists than to showcase these works at a time when we鈥檙e actively reimagining the entire passenger experience at the Gateway of New Mexico.鈥�
