Rocky Is Not the Only Awesome Thing About Philadelphia

On my way to Ottawa this winter, I had a five hour layover in Philadelphia. Having watched movies for the past seven hours sitting on a plane, I spent most of my time walking around the airport. Some parts of the airport are quite old, with low ceilings and awful yellowish lighting, which combined with the tacky christmas decorations would make any Santa in the world shiver. The only thing that warmed up the environment seemed to be the rocking chairs that were scattered on the sides of the hallways. But I soon found out that there was something else.

First I ate the healthiest thing I could find, a blueberry yogurt, then I started exploring. Despite the tasteless decorations and the general lack of warmth, the five hours I spent in the Philadelphia's airport were surprisingly pleasant and entertaining. As I found out later, in 1998 Philadelphia's airport started an exhibitions program, which would bring art and culture in the airport with the aim to provide the travellers a unique cultural experience. The exhibitions rotate throughout the year to touch different themes. What links them is the fact that the artists are all from Philadelphia.

The first exhibition I ran into was a series of dolls made using unconventional objects. Pens, bottle caps, brushes, buttons and other random everyday objects are given a second life by Ellen Benson who uses them to create human-like figures. Her style is inspired by South American art, and she visits Mexico every year to see local craft and ceramics. Ellen has made 600 dolls so far and aims at making one thousand. While I do find the idea of using everyday objects to make dolls very amusing, I think the artist should focus more on the quality rather than the quantity. Some dolls are very creative and the objects are used in a clever way to achieve original Michel Gondry-like designs. Others are disappointing.

As I walked on I ran into a band that was playing Christmas songs, which I thought was really cool and made the atmosphere more pleasant and warm. It's a shame I didn't manage to get a picture of them. The second exhibition I ran into was a series of ceramic sculptures by Victoria Gold. The star of her art was again something rather unconventional and unpopular: pigeons. I myself see the presence of pigeons in cities as a forced and unpleasant acquaintance. Victoria Gold looks at them from a different point of view, she learns from and about them by observing. They are not intruders to her eyes, but finely feathered friends with individual characteristics and personalities.

The last exhibition I saw was the one I liked the most. Metalsmith Susan Mayers created a series of chandelier-like sculptures made out of aluminium stripes. Each sculpture is well studied and the loops are meticulously balanced. The metal gives up its ordinary attributes to Susan's taste; it becomes graceful and organic, almost soft.

Philadelphia's airport turned out to be one of the most fascinating I've ever been to. I always find the lack of entertainment and the abundance of ugliness in airports very unimpressive. With a simple idea, this airport made the experience of many travellers more interesting, as well as advertised the city of Philadelphia. My five hour lay over did not feel like a waste of time, and by at the end of it I felt enriched by the city's culture and innovation.