WORD VIRUS: graffiti painted world war II military planes

Thursday, May 10, 2012

graffiti painted world war II military planes

'untitled' by nunca, 2011,
spray paint on dc3 aircraft
all images © eric firesone

the boneyard project: return trip
pima air and space museum, tucson, arizona, USA
january 28th, 2012 until may 31st, 2012

the pima air + space museum (PIMA) is hosting 'art from the boneyard', a project curated by eric firestone, carlo mccormick, leslie oliver and med sobio featuring several non-functioning WWII american military airplanes covered in the painted work of contemporary artists. in 'art from the boneyard: return trip', how & nosm, retna, andrew shoultz, faile, and nunca, among other creatives, journeyed to a 'bone yard', a large resting space for planes in disuse, in order to complete the five massive mural paintings on the bodies of retired aircrafts.

the tradition of using the massive surface of a plane as a canvas has been a tradition in the united states air force for generations. 'nose art' became a popular form of graffiti painting in the WWII era as soldiers decorated the fronts of the planes which would carry them into battle. 'the boneyard project: return trip' is the second installation of the series in which the artists created a semi-sculptural, painted expression of his/her associations with the history of air travel and warfare.