Client: Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority

Overview

Jacob Hashimoto, The Unscalable Rampart of Time, 2022 Resin, bamboo, UV prints, screenprints, fiberglass rod, and stainless steel 81’ x 60’ x 54’. Produced and installed by Superabundant Atmospheres Composed of 9,000 washi paper and bamboo kites, The Unscalable Rampart of Time is Jacob Hashimoto’s largest and most ambitious permanent sculpture to date. The form undulates around the oculus and lunges down into the atrium below, cascading past the escalator and mezzanine. As a whole, the composition evokes the regional landscape’s hills and waterways below and Nashville’s open skies above. The kites contain references to local iconography, architecture, and natural elements, including The Ryman Theater, The Korean Veterans Memorial Bridge, Cumberland Park, dogwoods, milkweed, and irises. With such visible placement in the terminal, passengers can experience the piece at a variety of speeds and scales: driving up to drop a loved one off at Departures, or waiting with a coffee beneath the gently swaying kites. Photography: Jordan Powers

Goals

Our process always begins with dialogue. How does the client want to represent themselves and their region? How does the presence of the art affect the use of the space?

In the case of this project at Nashville International Airport (BNA), we decided with the client to incorporate a broad catalog of imagery that rooted the piece in the region: architectural iconography, cultural institutions, as well as grasses, flowers, and trees native to the area. At the same time, we worked with them to achieve a form that occupies the generous verticality of the space, adding an aspirational quality to the entrance and exit sequence for travelers.

Process

This project was commissioned by the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority, with Arts at the Airport serving as the interface between us and the client for the duration of the project. Arts at the Airport, and primarily Mary Grissam at Arts, supported us by serving as our advocate during the construction process. The overall contractor for the renovation, Hensel Phelps, had their own team on the ground who we worked with day-to-day during install. The airport was under active construction while we installed the artwork, so it required constant communication and collaboration between all parties to ensure a successful install. For the year leading up to installation, we also coordinated with structural engineers from Magnusson Klemencic Associates in the design of the assembly and ceiling details.