04/04/2024
Big thanks to the Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks Conservancy for trusting me to create the 50th anniversary poster for Gateway National Recreation Area’s Floyd Bennett Field, the site of New York City’s first commercial airport. I will be in New York on April 20 to sign prints as part of the Floyd Bennett Field Public Arts Festival.
This is my fourth commissioned piece for the JBRPC. When we met in December, the list of items to feature in the poster included open space (FBF is larger than Central Park and Prospect Park combined!), the historic tower, hangar and runways, hiking trails, camping sites, canoeing and kayaking, bicycling, the East Coast’s largest community garden, JBRPC’s dune grass restoration program, the Historic Aircraft Restoration Project at Hangar B, Wiley Post’s “Winnie Mae” (the pilot and aircraft that made the first solo flight around the world), Jamaica Bay and the Manhattan skyline.
The composition takes a bird’s-eye view to include all the desired elements. The color palette and the “winged shield” logo are replicated from the Art Deco lobby of the Ryan Visitor Center located in the base of the tower, and the typography is based on the signage atop the historic hangars.
It was a fun and challenging project that went through multiple revisions to nail down all the details. I’m so grateful for the opportunity, as well as the patience and guidance of the JBRPC staff in seeing this project through. All four of my commissioned posters for the JBRPC are available at http://www.jbrpc.org