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Boston Logan Rocks Art with 19 New Chairs Painted by Local Artists
Phase Two of Customer Favorite Initiative Brings More Local Themes to BOS

BOSTON -- The Massachusetts Port Authority continued its efforts to support local artists by unveiling 19 brightly decorated wooden rocking chairs at Boston Logan International Airport at an artists’ reception Tuesday evening. The chairs, depicting a variety of themes, from local scenes and iconography to aviation and nature, are the latest addition to the Logan Art Program.

"Public art is an important element in humanizing the airport environment,’’ said Thomas J. Kinton Jr., CEO and Executive Director of the Massachusetts Port Authority. “Art helps travelers reduce their stress. When it entertains and inspires, or provides a sense of place for road warriors who visit dozens of airports a year, it cannot help but leave a lasting positive impression on those who walk through our terminals. It is our hope that this art may even tempt some of those people to sit a while.’’

Three years ago, Massport, working with UrbanArts Institute at Massachusetts College of Art and Design, received more than 70 artist submissions for the 50 some rocking chairs. The chairs have been a popular fixture at the airport since 2001. In 2008, 16 designs were selected and have been making Logan a more colorful place since then. The 19 chairs unveiled today were painted by artists who submitted designs during the original judging in 2007. The chairs were delivered to the artists in early May and the finished products were returned to the airport over the summer and were unveiled Tuesday evening.

The artists who painted the chairs come from eastern Massachusetts. Many of the chairs represent themes unique to the region with names such as "Boston Harbor" and “Plymouth Rocks!” Others are more aviation related with names like “Clouds” and “Clear Skies.”

Four of the chairs were painted by artists connected with Artists for Humanity, a nonprofit from South Boston. The artists included area high school art students. The themes include jellyfish as well as baseball and baked beans.

"Artists For Humanity was thrilled to be invited to create designs for rocking chairs that will be displayed as utilitarian art at Boston Logan Airport," said Susan Rodgerson, executive/artistic director of Artists For Humanity. "This project enables Artists For Humanity to share our vision of Boston with travelers from all over the globe."

The Art Rocks reception Sept. 7 was co-sponsored by the Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Boston Logan, 15 minutes from the intersection of Route 128 and I-90 and five minutes from downtown Boston, serves as the gateway to the New England region and offers nonstop service to 70 domestic and 31 international destinations and in 2009 handled 25.5 million passengers. Boston Logan is the Air Line Pilot Association’s Airport of the Year for 2008 because of its commitment to safety. Over the past decade, the airport spent $4.5 billion on a modernization program that includes new terminals, parking facilities, roadways and airport concessions, and has been transformed into a world-class 21st Century facility. The airport generates $7 billion in total economic impact each year.

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The Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) operates Boston Logan International Airport, the Port of Boston, Hanscom Field and Worcester Regional Airport. Massport is a financially self-sustaining public authority whose premier transportation facilities generate more than $8 billion annually, and enhance and enable economic growth and vitality in New England. No state tax dollars are used to fund operations or capital improvements at Massport facilities.

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