RELEASE: Octavio Medellin Stained Glass Window to be Installed at Dallas Love Field

City of Dallas sent this bulletin at 03/30/2015 12:07 PM CDT

HISTORIC STAINED GLASS WINDOW BY

DALLAS ARTIST OCTAVIO MEDELLIN TO BE

INSTALLED AT DALLAS LOVE FIELD AIRPORT


DALLAS: Dallas Love Field Airport will be home to one of four art glass windows saved from the demolition of an east Dallas church. The Campanile Window is a historically-significant work by Dallas artist and teacher, Octavio Medellin. The window, originally installed in the bell tower, is one of four installed in the Trinity Lutheran Church on Gaston Avenue in 1960.The church was demolished to build the new YMCA at White Rock. The blue and turquoise stained glass panels were restored and reconstructed by Michael Van Enter of Van Enter Studio. The restored window will be suspended in four sections in front of the clerestory windows of the Ticketing Hall at Dallas Love Field. Work begins on Wednesday, April 1 and will continue throughout the next two weeks.

“It’s always truly wonderful when a group of dedicated community partners are able to come together for the common good of our City – and this has been a perfect example. We are thrilled that the YMCA made this generous donation to the City and that these artifacts of Dallas’ artistic history have been preserved, repurposed and revitalized,” says Office of Cultural Affairs Interim Director, David Fisher. “It’s fitting that this important work by Dallas artist and teacher Octavio Medellin be exhibited among the other high profile works that make up the Love Field Art Program.”

“The Medellin window is a great example of merging the old and new, one of the key missions of the Love Field Modernization Program,” says Director of Aviation at Dallas Love Field Airport, Mark Duebner. “It’s fitting that the window hangs directly across from David Newton’s ‘Cultural Dallas’ medallion, which includes a portrait of Octavio Medellin.”

Four stained glass windows created by Medellin for the Trinity Lutheran Church were scheduled for demolition in the spring of 2013 to make way for the new YMCA at White Rock. Octavio’s student, artist David Hickman alerted Craig Reynolds of BRW Architects and, through the efforts of the Office of Cultural Affairs and members of the Cultural Affairs Commission and the Dallas City Council, the YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas donated the windows to the City providing the opportunity to save this historically significant work. The three additional windows are being restored and will be installed at the Dallas City Performance Hall in the July 2015.

“These magnificent windows will be displayed in highly visible areas at Dallas Love Field and the City Performance Hall, offering Dallas citizens and visitors the opportunity to enjoy the work and learn about Octavio Medellin, one of the most important contributors to the cultural and artistic history of North Texas,” says Public Art Manager, Kay Kallos. “We would like to extend our gratitude to David Hickman, Craig Reynolds from BRW Architects, Cultural Affairs Commissioner, Paul Rich, the YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas and the Texas District Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod for their assistance in this process.”

To schedule interviews or request high resolution images of Campanile Window by Octavio Medellin, please contact Marketing Manager, Margaret Fullwood at Margaret.Fullwood@dallascityhall.com or by phone at  214-670-4428.

About the Artist 
An important artist and teacher of many North Texas artists, Octavio Medellin taught at North Texas State Teachers College (now the University of North Texas), Southern Methodist University, and the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts School. In 1966, he opened the Medellin School of Sculpture in Dallas and continued teaching through 1979. Medellin’s artwork is represented in exhibitions and museums including the Dallas Museum of (Fine) Art, the Meadows Museum at SMU, the Amon Carter Museum of American Art in Fort Worth, the Witte Museum in San Antonio, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. In 1996, the Dallas Visual Arts Center, now the Dallas Contemporary, honored Medellin with its prestigious Legends Award.

Octavio Medellin was born in San Luis Potosí, Mexico in 1907, at a time when his country stood on the brink of violent revolution. His family moved to San Antonio, Texas in 1920 and Octavio went on to study, first at the San Antonio Art Institute and then at the Chicago Art Institute in 1928. Medellin traveled extensively in Mexico throughout his career, finding inspiration that influenced his artistic work.

Love Field Art Program
Eleven new works of public art are now on view in the newly- renovated Love Field Terminal as part of the Love Field Art Program. The works feature themes that pay homage to the history and legacy of Dallas Love Field Airport and are part of the City of Dallas Public Art Collection. http://www.lovefieldartprogram.com

About The Public Art Program
The Public Art Program works to enrich the quality of life for the citizens of Dallas and enhance the cultural appeal of the City to visitors by overseeing the integration of high-quality visual art into public spaces. The Program provides opportunities for local and regional artists as well as visual artists from around the globe through commissions of works of public art. The program also supports donations of public art to the City of Dallas that are subject to a review process for acceptance that includes members of the Public Art Committee and the Cultural Affairs Commission. The Public Art Program is a division of the City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs. http://www.dallasculture.org/publicArt.asp

About the Office of Cultural Affairs
The Office of Cultural Affairs (OCA) provides opportunities for all Dallas citizens and visitors to have access to the arts and the means of cultural expression. The Office of Cultural Affairs works with its citizen advisory board, the Cultural Affairs Commission, to foster the development of the cultural system in Dallas. OCA provides a variety of programs and services, including the management and operations of seven cultural facilities, a public art program, cultural funding programs and WRR Radio. More information on the Office of Cultural Affairs’ programs can be found on its website at http://www.DallasCulture.org.