Delta Air Lines Takes Flight at Art Basel Miami Beach

 DALLAS — When AV geeks think of commercial aviation and the world of art, we usually picture colorful aircraft liveries and memorabilia such as old airline brochures or scale models. But Delta Air Lines (DL) took the idea of combining decommissioned plane parts with emerging artists and flew with it.

On Wednesday, December 6, the airline took off from John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) bound for Miami International Airport (MIA) on its invite-only, art-themed charter.

The flight carried members of DL's artist collective, along with creatives, journalists, curators, and more. Airways was at MIA to celebrate the occasion.

Delta and the Visual Arts

The Atlanta-based carrier is hosting events both in the air and on the ground for Miami Art Week, starting with Wednesday's "immersive" charter flight and concluding with a bespoke open-air gallery event to close out the week.

For the production of the open-air gallery event, six artists got the chance to visit an aircraft scrap yard in Arkansas and DL's own flight museum's surplus sales to find materials to create their artwork. The final pieces will be shown tomorrow, December 9, as part of the satellite events happening during the cultural phenomenon that is Art Basel Miami Beach.

Emmakate Young, Managing Director of Brand Marketing and Sponsorships at Delta Air Lines, told us more about the initiative. "We're a brand that wants to connect people to their potential. And this is one way that we're doing that—bringing people from New York and the art world down to Art Basel in a fun, premium experience while also creating exposure for these six emerging artists."

Aircraft Parts as Artistic Material

We spoke with three artists participating in the project about their creative use of salvaged airplane parts in their art practice.

Born in Miami and now based in New York, Derek Abella is an illustrator who mostly does commission work for newspapers like the New York Times. For this show, the artist created 12 drawings on trays that the flight attendants use. The drawings are based on imagery from Kendall, where the artist grew up.

As for his thoughts on flying, "I will say I get a lot of really good work done flying, so if anything, I kind of like the meditative aspect of it. A flight from New York to Miami isn't very long—the longer flights are really helpful."

Abella concludes succinctly by saying, "The idea of travel is always a really good source of inspiration. I think many artists feel that way."

23-year-old Miami native 3D artist, animator, and graphic designer Olivia Pedigo salvaged and repurposed, with the expertise of Miami Design Shop, seven aircraft engine blades that once were responsible for propelling airplanes through the sky. The seven blades now gracefully fan out as an art installation.

"For my work, I like to focus on objects and the relationships that people have with them. I like to focus on, like, if we give meaning to our possessions or if they give meaning to us. I feel like it's really interesting, especially in terms of the evolution of technology and how we relate it to our identity, especially now more than ever."

With the engine fan piece specifically, Pedigo focuses on how "the rapid trend cycles of consumption can affect our sense of self-worth because we attach our identity to outer things and objects so often now, more than ever. And what we like, what's cool, or what we relate to is always changing in a way that it's hard to know who you are at the core."

I can attest to the fact that for us AV geeks, our collectibles are more than just objects; they are portals to a world of passion, knowledge, and nostalgia. Aircraft models are not mere toys but miniature testaments to the ingenuity of aviation engineering. Timetables, once used to plan journeys and track flights, have become treasured artifacts, each page a snapshot of aviation history. But I digress.

Emmett Moore is a Miami-based artist and designer known for a technically rigorous interdisciplinary approach to making art that challenges notions of functionality. He told us he works mostly with found material, repurposed material, and recycled material, so the idea of using airplane parts was very much in line with what he already does in the studio.

"Delta and partners reached out to me very quickly and said, 'We just want to gauge your interest in a building with airplane parts,' and I said, 'My interest is very high, so yes, definitely tell me more'." A week later, the airline contacted him, and that was that.

"From the beginning, I was very excited because I'd never had the opportunity to work with scrap material at that scale before. And also, the airplane material is high-quality aluminum, so it was really interesting."

Emmet, the rest of the artists, and the airline team involved in the project would soon fly to the CAVU Aerospace aircraft scrap yard in search of the right aerostructures for their artwork.

The CAVU Aerospace Aircraft Boneyard

Founded in 2010, CAVU Aerospace is a strategic partner for major airline operations managers and asset leasing managers for their aircraft end-of-service needs.

CAVU, an active and certified board member of the Aircraft Fleet Recycling Center (AFRA), is a certified 145 Repair Station and one of the world’s leading providers of aircraft asset management, disassembly, and recycling services, which is where the artists in question come in.

The artists got the chance to go to CAVU's operations in Stuttgart, Arkansas, in October to harvest parts and materials from end-of-service aircraft to produce their artwork.

Needless to say, the visit to the boneyard was a one-of-a-kind experience; the place was a treasure trove of inspiration and raw materials waiting to be transformed.

Amidst the Remnants of Metal Giants

Enthralled by the towering skeletons of aircraft, Emmett carefully navigated the vast boneyard, remembering that he was there on a mission to find specific pieces among the awe-inspiring wreckage.

They had left in the morning around 4 a.m. and came back in the evening. "We were only there for a short amount of time; we flew to Atlanta and then landed in Memphis, and then from there we drove to Arkansas."

"We went inside the planes. They were all gutted on the inside. A plane had the whole front end chopped off on the lower half. The experience was insane and awesome, and finding the parts was more challenging than I thought it would be—you're like looking at a giant shell of an airplane, and you're like, 'What can I even take? How do you transport that? Do you have to dismantle it more?'"

"So I had to think about that a little bit, as well as about my scale. I make a lot of furniture, so I'm always thinking on this human scale."

A seven-foot-tall wing flap, already severed from its mother aircraft, ultimately caught Emmitt's eye. He also took a wheel and a front landing gear that was "probably 50 or 60 pounds."

Emmitt's piece is a sculpture-installation-furniture object, what he calls conceptual sculpture or functional sculpture. "So you can actually kind of sit on it," he tells me. "If people put their drinks on it, I won't be mad."

You can click on each artist's name to catch a glimpse of the artworks to be displayed at Delta's Open-Air Gallery event.

A One-of-a-kind Charter Flight

Wednesday’s journey from New York to Miami took place on a brand-new Airbus A321neo, just nine months old. But this was no ordinary aircraft. It had been transformed into an immersive art gallery, with the overhead bins serving as canvases for captivating projections of artwork by six talented artists, creating "a new canvas for their work to be seen—this time 30,000 feet in the air."

Seeking to understand the logistical differences involved in flying artists while hosting an in-flight art event, we spoke with a seasoned DL charter coordinator who told us his name was simply Jimbo. He provided insight into any unique considerations compared to typical charters, drawing from his extensive experience in the field.

"Yes, these people were extremely happy. Sports teams can be happy, but they can also be sad, and they're always tired," he said.

"It reminds me of the old days on flights of just people going to Las Vegas. Right. Everybody's so happy going out, and on the flights coming back from Las Vegas, nobody's saying a word. Yeah, of course. You know, but everybody here was happy and excited. They're going somewhere great to do something amazing. So, you know, it changes everybody's attitude."

Jimbo worked for Elton John for a while. He's a retiree who came back as a charter coordinator for DL.

He started his career in aviation in 1977 by sweeping the hangar floor for six or seven months before he was transferred to the ramp. "Then I worked at ticket counters and gates for years. And then I went to load planning, where I became a supervisor for weight and balance. In the meantime, I learned how to fly."

"I got a commercial instrument with a multi-engine rating. It was fun, back when it was cheap enough to go do that. And then I went to flight operations engineering. I retired from flight operations after about seven months."

Jimbo would eventually be called to come back as a contractor to do his old job. "I did that there and a couple more jobs, and then I got the job as a charter coordinator, and I just love it!"

"What do I do that requires what they're looking for? Public contact experience, because you need to know how to speak with people and not tell them to get lost. Something you don't want to tell them."

He also mentioned having operations experience: "How does the ramp work? How do they load the bags? What do they do with that information? You know, plus they teach us fueling. We know how to fuel every airplane that we've got. And the charter coordinator represents Delta when we go to smaller stations where there is no Delta."

"We're a go-between between passengers, teams or groups, and the pilots because if somebody's mad, you don't want to have them yelling at the captain. Yeah. And you don't want the captain yelling back. That doesn't work, so I have to go. Anyone can yell at me, and I'll solve the problem. All right. So it's just so much fun getting to be around people and airplanes."

Delta Air Lines and South Florida

As we let Jimbo go do his thing, we asked Young if the airline would repeat the experience at next year's 22nd edition of Art Basel Miami Beach. "Possibly. You know, we're an innovative company. Our motto is to keep climbing, and so we're constantly trying out new things. The art world is a space that's important to us, and so this is kind of our debut into the art space. We'll see what comes next year."

For the time being, the managing director celebrates the project's twofold impact: facilitating travel to Miami and offering an unforgettable experience while simultaneously championing emerging artists, connecting them with opportunities, and amplifying their voices.

For over 75 years, DL has proudly called Miami home. Beyond connecting people and places through air travel, the airline and its employees have woven themselves into the fabric of the South Florida community, making a lasting impact through their commitment to various organizations and initiatives such as these.

The Open-Air Gallery opens on Saturday, December 9, at 1111 Lincoln Road and will be available to the public from 4-6 p.m. Set in an open-air venue suspended above the city, the event will draw inspiration from a variety of related brand touchpoints, including DL's planes, the spirit of the open skies, and the carrier's 'Keep Climbing' ethos.

Delta provides over 80 daily flights from South Florida's three main airports (MIA, FLL, and PBI) to 15 cities. From MIA, DL offers over 30 daily flights to 11 destinations within the United States, as well as an additional 13 cities worldwide through partnerships with Aeromexico (AM), Air France/KLM (AF-KL), LATAM Airlines (LA), and Virgin Atlantic (VS)

Featured image and photos of the boneyard courtesy of Emmett Moore. MIA photos: Helwing Villamizar/Airways