I’m flying to New York next week to give a talk so there are airports in my immediate future. An airport can be something of a welcome mat to a city, one that gives you a feel for what kind of distinctive cultural experience—if any—you’re going to get on your visit there. Some airports simply can’t do it. DFW for example has no character at all: Apart from the gift shops bursting with Dallas and Texas merchandise, upon arriving there one doesn’t find any cultural cues to let you know you’re in Texas, let alone in a particular major city.
Smaller airports I find often do this much better. I went to New Orleans a few years ago and when I got off the plane and entered the terminal, it took only a few moments before I knew I was in the birthplace of Louis Armstrong and American jazz. Coming through the sound system was not the bland pop music that one often hears at airports but Armstrong’s distinctive trumpet. I heard at least two full songs of his before I got to the baggage claim, and they were followed by more New Orleans jazz tunes. The airport certainly wasn’t flashy or impressive compared to newer ones, most of its facilities and architecture seemed quite dated, but the effect of the music was powerful: it rooted you instantly where you were. Moreover, photographs and displays throughout the airport depict not only world-famous people like Louis Armstrong but numerous lesser-known figures in the jazz world, like the “Original Dixieland Jazz Band,” which made the first recordings ever of jazz in 1917. Here in Texas the only airport that I know that comes close to this is the one in Austin, and it does it pretty well, to the point of having a live music stage that’s regularly occupied. And not just with a life-size cutout of Ray Benson.
Examples like these, speak to the power that some art has to identify a specific spot in a chaotic world. Places with such an art are fortunate. Cities often capitalize on these distinctive art styles for the sake of tourism and there’s nothing inherently wrong with that. It’s an acknowledgement of art’s power, in fact, whether cities really understand this or not. It could be Louis Armstrong in New Orleans, or Willie Nelson in Austin, the art of each has a special relationship with one particular place. And to that place it gives color and depth—and a character—unlike any other location.