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.

detailed view of ‘untitled’ by nunca

alternate view of ‘untitled’ by nunca

‘warning shot’ by retna, 2011, ink and spray paint on dc3 aircraft

‘warning shot’ by retna

detailed view of ‘warning shot’ nose by retna

bast’s work in progress

‘naughty angels’ by faile, 2012 acrylic on c45 aircraft

additional view of ‘naughty angels’ by faile

‘flying tiger’ by andrew schoultz, 2012 acrylic on aircraft

andrew schoultz work in progress

‘flying tiger’ by andrew schoultz, 2012 acrylic on aircraft

‘time flies by’ by how and nosm, 2011 spray paint on dc3 aircraft

additional view of ‘time flies’ by how and nosm

via juxtapoz