Strip Mines
Akiko Kotani, 1984
Strip Mines is a 41-foot triptych tapestry that is made of wool and linen created by Akiko Kotani. The piece originally hung in the 1952 airport and depicts the artist’s experience living in Western Pennsylvania.
This triptych features organic shapes, filled in with red, light orange, gray, black, and beige. They are each oriented in a landscape manner and have a gray border around them.
Public art, according to Kotani, should both harmonize with the viewer’s living environment and provide an enhanced awareness of its depth.
Materials: Wool, Linen
Location: Temporarily Off Exhibit
Type: Textiles
Photo courtesy of Akiko Kotani
About the Artist
Akiko Kotani, who was born in Hawaii, received her M.F.A. at the Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia, PA and studied Mayan weaving techniques in Guatemala for two years. She is Professor of Art at Slippery Rock University and has received numerous grants, including two Pennsylvania Council of the Arts awards, the most recent in 1993.
Photo courtesy of Akiko Kotani
