Air Travel in Post-TSA Age: Banned Booty PS Checkpoint At The Palm Springs Air Museum

Artist Steve Maloney to exhibit a series of sculptural works utilizing a shipping container as canvas and caddy to inspire conversation on air travel
 
June 5, 2012 - PRLog -- (Palm Springs, CA) – The Palm Springs Air Museum has cleared the runway for the debut of Banned Booty – Palm Springs Checkpoint, a new mixed-media installation by California artist Steve Maloney inspired by the transformation of travel in the post-TSA age. The exhibition will run October 17, 2012 through May 31, 2013, with an artist reception scheduled at the museum on November 14, 2012 starting at 11:00am.

Banned Booty – Palm Springs Checkpoint is the latest – and grandest – phase of Maloney’s Banned Booty series of works created from items confiscated from carry-on bags at airports by the Transport Security Administration (TSA) during the days following 9/11. The artist, who happily admits to being “fascinated by what possessions reveal about people,” made more than 30 telephone calls in an effort to get a load of the government-sanctioned haul.

Maloney was eventually rewarded with a ton of confiscated contraband collected at eight California airports, which he purchased from a government re-use agency for $1 a pound. Delving imaginatively into the backgrounds of anonymous travelers, he transformed the booty into striking works of contemporary art that not only catch the eye but also inspire conversation on how we travel today.

Banned Booty – Palm Springs Checkpoint keeps that conversation going – strong. As reveled at the Palm Springs Air Museum, Maloney has utilized a shipping container to mobilize collected works from his Banned Booty series while doubling as an exquisite exterior canvas for a retro-style black & white illustration of air passengers standing on the tarmac ready to board. The absence of scanner-wielding TSA-style inspectors from the scene provides a distinctive visual contrast to the way air travel has changed, as well as to the contemporary feel of the modern works of art inside.

“By using an illustration with a vintage feel on the exterior of Banned Booty – Palm Springs Checkpoint, I am able to take viewers back to the ‘old days’ of flying,” says Maloney. “They are greeted by a flight attendant taking tickets before climbing the stairway to the ‘plane’. The overall imagery fits well in the space, mirroring many of the old black-and-white photographs displayed through the museum.”

Outside the container waits Houdini Booty Lock-Up (2002), Maloney’s take on a contemporary time capsule created from Plexiglas around a pile of confiscated odds-and-ends such as a common blender blade, barbells, a butane torch, corn-on-the-cob skewers, deer antlers and much, much more. What those items were doing in carry-on luggage is any museumgoer’s guess, yet there they are boxed in bullet proof Plexiglas and roped with a 60-foot rusted chain with antique padlocks.

Inside, are more works from Maloney’s original Banned Booty series, and one very special new piece :
•   Booty Runway Sculpture (2011) with 16-feet of confiscated miscellany encased in Plexiglas superimposed over a landing strip base
•   Seasoned Travelers (2003) with mixed media of confiscated scissors, tools, and video game gun with oil and resin on canvas
•   A Traveler’s Pile Up (2003) with mixed media including confiscated scissors, folding pocket knives, a wrench, a drafting compass and even a bicycle kick-stand with oil and resin on canvas
•   Big Banned Booty (2002) with everything from reflex hammers to cork screws with resin, acrylic and pastel on canvas
•   Swiss Travelers (2003) with – you guessed it – brightly colored confiscated Swiss Army Knives with oil and resin on canvas

Smartphone-totting museumgoers who scan a QR Code on the outside of the shipping container will be connected to Maloney's Banned Booty Facebook page where they can post thoughts and photos about the exhibit and take the conversation about contemporary travel even further.

Meanwhile, the Palm Springs Air Museum is creating an educational program for students.  They will be treated to presentations about Maloney, his Banned Booty series and the history of air travel in America from the good ol’ days to the TSA-monitored age of today.
 
The Palm Springs Air Museum is a non-profit educational institution dedicated to the preservation and exhibition of World War II aircraft while eternalizing the role American Citizens, both in the military and on the home front, had in achieving victory.  In addition to a collection of flyable aircraft, related artifacts, artwork, interactive exhibits and library sources are used to perpetuate American History.  Over 28 flyable vintage aircraft are housed in 65,000 square feet of hangar space. The Berger Foundation Youth Exploration Center and a 8,500-volume library with flight simulators round out activities for all ages.

With the addition of Banned Booty – Palm Springs Checkpoint by Steve Maloney, visitors should expect quite a flight.

Visit BannedBooty.com and Banned Booty on Facebook. For more information about Steve Maloney or his growing Banned Booty series, please call (858) 756-4088 or visit stevemaloney.com

The Palm Springs Air Museum is open daily except for Thanksgiving, Christmas and Feb. 8, 2013. Opening hours are 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM.  Admission ranges from $8 - $15.  For further info, visit Palm Springs Air Museum or call (760) 778-6262.

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