Weaving together our world

On the heels of the  Ambassablog’s Where in the World is the Farthest Visitor? contest, San Diego Internaitonal Airport now has a new piece of art, Time Interwoven, that captures the essence of spatial distance and travel — and San Diego aviation’s role within that realm.

If you’ve been to the Commuter Terminal at SDIA lately, you may have noticed a panel of brightly arrayed lights inside the ground-floor elevator vestibule, situated between the restrooms and the TSA security checkpoint.  But what is that on the wall?

It’s actually a clock – but a very special kind of clock, one that celebrates the “tapestry of travel” by weaving together time and space in a pattern that mimics the woven work of a loom.  Taking cues from the historic crafts of Native American weavers, the grid has 24 columns which correspond to the 24 time zones of the Earth.  And, across the bottom, there is a representative locale named for each zone. 

"Time Interwoven" by Christie Beniston at San Diego International Airport

Some Native Americans traditionally left a deliberate flaw within their woven creations, to release the work’s spirit.  In Time Interwoven, a specific cell stands out in San Diego’s zone column (you can see it in the picture above) … perhaps allowing it to release the aviation ingenuity of such pioneers as Charles Lindbergh?

The clock expresses time by sequentially illuminating the zone columns, much like an intrepid passenger might cover distances through networks of flight patterns.  The zone column for San Diego lights at the start of the work day (8:00 a.m.).  Throughout the day, each panel in turn lights up as the work day starts at each location around the world.  This mimics the weaver’s loom, reinforcing the concept of knitting our world together through our travel connections.

Isn’t that cool?!

The Airport Authority celebrated this new work and the ceramic artist who created it, Christie Beniston, with a reception on August 13.  You’re invited to check out the piece any time and ponder how something like the age-old craft of weaving baskets and blankets can inspire us to expand our horizons, travel … and integrate our world.