Wind Dance by Joan Irving

Artist: Joan Irving - San Diego, California
Location: SDIA Terminal 2 West

The pedestrian bridge leads you to the upper level of the Entrance Rotunda. Here, near the top of the building's glass facade is the first of three works by artist Joan Irving eloquently addressing the natural element of light, wind and water.

Wind Dance (below right) is comprised of 52 etched and painted panels, each 10 feet across by 30 inches high. They span 520 feet across the face of the building. The piece evokes a sense of the changes that can take place in a typical day in San Diego. The elements of wind and sky are transformed into elongated triangle bowing in the wind. The colorful ribbons threading through the mural-like scene end in a Gordian knot, symbolic of the complex knot tied by Gordius, the king from Greek mythology. Wind Dance is lit by the sun during the day and backlit by large fluorescent ceiling lights at night, guiding the eye out toward the city and bay and providing many travelers their first unforgettable view of San Diego.

On the west wall of the Entrance Rotunda is another work by Irving, titled Sunlight Juxtaposed. Some 25 feet high by 50 feet long, it's comprised of 35 glass panels set at five different angles to fit the contour of the rotunda's curved wall. The translucent colors and subtle nuances reflect the light of the sun as it moves throughout the day. Violet and aqua colors portray the sun and water, while the golden color is for beach sand, complimenting the imported limestone used throughout the terminal.

Another colorful example (left) of Joan Irvings work at the main entrance lobby of the nearby Port of San Diego administration building at 3165 Pacific Highway

Visit this artist's website at: www.irvingglass.com