Terminal Velocity Illuminates

Chicago-based artist and author Lynn Basa admits she used to be terrified of flying, to the point that it held back her career opportunities. It’s ironic, given that she now designs artwork for airports, including the latest installation at CLT.

“Terminal Velocity” is now located on Concourse D near Gates D-7, D-8 and D-9. The pair of aluminum and acrylic panel sculptures is backlit with LED lights and each one spans about 30 feet. The pieces are similar, but not identical.

Concept Development

Basa explained that it normally takes about two months to develop a concept; however, “Terminal Velocity” came together much faster. “Drawing an idea that is buildable by a fabricator can be painstaking,” she admitted. “Even though I can see it in my head, I have to translate it into something that can be built...there’s lots of trial and error.”

Her aesthetic draws on fluid dynamics and her evolution as an artist. “I became interested in what kind of art I could make if I stopped trying to control the material so much.”

“It started with a collector who commissioned me to create six pieces for his home in Austin, Texas,” added Basa. “He was a theoretical physicist specializing in flow dynamics—which I had never heard of. Since I take inspiration from where my work will live, I researched the heck out of it, and it opened new ways of thinking about form and composition for me.”

Career Trajectory

Born in Pittsburgh to a Croatian immigrant family and raised in rural Indiana, Basa attended graduate school at the University of Washington in Seattle. In 2002, she moved to Chicago, where she taught sculpture at the prestigious School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) and wrote a book for artists on winning public art commissions (The Artists Guide to Public Art).

The concept for “Terminal Velocity” at CLT stems from Basa’s newfound love of flying. After working with a therapist, Basa says she no longer thinks twice about getting on a plane and, in fact, looks forward to it.

“My favorite part of flying is take-off,” said Basa. I like the feeling of being pushed back in my seat, and when else am I going to be able to go 160 MPH?”

Basa wants travelers to experience that same thrill when they see her installation on Concourse D.

“I made it big and bright enough to catch someone’s eye if they look up from their phone,” she joked. “When they do, I hope they’ll think it looks like a cloud at first, and then, if they look at it longer, they’ll realize it’s about jet propulsion.”