For more than a year, Laura Berman has been putting her artistic skills to the test on a work of art that will be part of Kansas City history.
The contemporary artist known for her vibrant, abstract work was one of 28 artists commissioned to create wall-based artwork for the new Kansas City International Airport terminal, set to open early 2023. The public artworks form part of the city’s largest One Percent for Art project, which saw more than 1,900 total submissions.
"I've seen Kansas City grow during the 20 years that I've been in the city and to be part of that growth is just so meaningful,” said Berman.
After finding out about her selection, Berman admitted the hardest part was coming up with a concept. Drawing inspiration from the tallgrass prairie of the Flint Hills, her piece will reflect her take on Kansas’ landscapes and will be displayed on a series of three large-scale monoprints, titled Rays.
“I really wanted a special idea for this project, something that would uniquely fit the site,” said Berman, “I'm a nervous traveler, so I wanted to make something that was calming and could put travelers in a dreamy head space.”
Berman is a professor at the Kansas City Art Institute, where she has taught printmaking and book arts since 2002. Her work is world-renowned and has been displayed at galleries and museums across the globe. Her hope is that Rays will inspire new and coming artists within Kansas City and help maintain and secure its art scene.
“Kansas City is an excellent art city and I am proud of its long-standing 1% for the arts program, which is connected to all of the artwork at KCI,” said Berman, “advocating for the arts and supporting arts programs on a civic level helps our city maintain a vibrant and healthy arts community and this is something everyone can do.”
Before calling Kansas City home, the Spanish-born artist credits her birth city, Barcelona as the place where she first was inspired to create unique patterns and designs using bold color schemes.
According to Berman, Rays’ will be displayed near the international section of the airport.
“My hope is to inspire travelers. that come to the airport who might just be passing through to think about taking a deeper look at where they're already at, compared to the coast, everything's busy and in Kansas City, you don't have to subscribe to that and that’s really special,” said Berman.
Rays’ design was drawn by Berman and with help from St. Louis based, Pele Prints, each design was scanned, digitized, hand cut and turned into different scaled shapes, which were then hand rolled with an oil-based ink. In total, 20 colors will be visible throughout the Rays, with each color personally mixed by Berman.
“It's a very timeless landscape,” explained Berman, “the land has inspired so many travelers already, and so many cultures already and I really hope to share as an artist.”
Once the new airport opens its doors, Berman hopes her artwork will also make people proud to call the heart of America home.
"I want people to feel proud of where they live if they're from here, it's not just a flyover state, this landscape has its own depth and its own specialness, and unique qualities,” explained Berman.
As for what’s in store for 2023, Berman is in the process of wrapping up two large print projects. One is a series of large-scale monoprints with a similar motif to Rays that’s being published by Pele Prints.
“I really wanted a special idea for this project, something that would uniquely fit the site,” said Berman, “I'm a nervous traveler, so I wanted to make something that was calming and could put travelers in a dreamy head space.”