Detail of the sculpture "East Hampton Skyride" by Linda Stein at the East Hampton Town Airport. photo: Eric Gershon Photos

... According to East Hampton Town Board member Pete Hammerle, the idea for the Arts in Public Places Committee was first mentioned at a Town Board campaign debate in the fall of 1996, when members of the audience asked debaters if they would support a fund for public arts projects. "Three of the five candidates said they would appropriate funds," said Mr. Hammerle in a recent interview. "All three got elected."

The airport terminal, devoid of decoration since opening last July, provided ample space for the committee's first commissions. "Some of the town's older buildings were not conductive to display," said Mr. Hammerle,  "but this was perfect."

On Friday, June 19, the artists, their East Hampton Town Board patrons, and a small crowd of admirers gathered at the airport to celebrate the installation of the four winning entries in the airport art contest.

... affixed to a wall outside the terminal's entrance, is a fire engine red found art piece by part-time resident Linda Stein called "The East Hampton Sky Ride." Ms. Stein fashioned the sculpture from old airplane parts, including instrument panels, exhaust manifolds, a steering wheel and the nose of a plane, culled from New York airport scrap heaps.

"To me," said Ms Stein, who has had a residence in East Hampton for three years, "it could be as if someone were moving in the air." Ms. Stein also noted the juxtaposition of her sculpture with the real airplanes on the tarmac behind her sculpture.

.... The Town Board allocated $16,000 for the first Arts in Public Spaces contest. "We thought that would be a good start," said Mr. Hammerle. The Arts in Public Places Committee will commission a second round of works for another space later this year, he said.