A California University of Pennsylvania art professor used his Arctic adventure for a new installation on display at Pittsburgh International Airport.
Jim Bové, who teaches jewelry-making, sculpture and 3D design, created “Glacial Front,” which is on display in Concourse C through June.
It’s drawn from his sabbatical project, “Shadows of the Midnight Sun: Traveling to the Arctic Circle in Search of Inspiration.”
In October 2019, he was one of 29 artists and scientists who sailed on a three-masted, 190-foot-tall ship from Longyearbyen, the world’s northernmost town, and through the islands of Svalbard, a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean.
“This amazing landmass stunned us every day with its beauty,” Bové said. “We traveled to within 10 degrees of the North Pole, a place few get to see. From glaciers to polar bears and the northern lights, the sights were beyond my expectations.”
Bové created body-hugging brooches from sea ice and glacial deposits, photographed his shipmates wearing them and then returned the natural materials to their place. He also used computer-aided drafting and a 3D printer to design and print pieces based on the rugged Arctic landscape.
For the airport installation, he added an 8-foot stretch of glazed porcelain shapes that resembles a line of distant glaciers.
“When Jim presented his project on the Arctic, it was an immediate fit for the airport’s art program,” said Rachel Rearick, who oversees the arts and culture program at the airport.
“The beauty of travel is that it presents endless opportunity, and this work captures the wonders that exist when we look outside of ourselves and our daily lives,” she said.
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