While many U.S. and Canadian airports prepare special displays for Black History Month each February, Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW) has a long-standing, year-round tribute at the south end of its Ticketing Hall. The architectural glass mural by Karl Wirsum honors the Tuskegee Airmen, America’s first Black military aviators, whose contributions during World War II were not broadly acknowledged until long after the war.
The luminous large-scale artwork features stylized aircraft and insignia of the Tuskegee squadrons, which distinguished themselves for tactical air support and aerial combat. The Chicago Public Art Guide compares the way the images are organized to aircraft flying in formation, as though the elements are passing each other in aerial high-fives.
Interestingly, the Tuskegee Airmen Commemorative on display at MDW is not typical of Wirsum’s work. The Chicago artist, who died in 2021 at age 81, was much better known for portraying people than planes. One gallery owner from New York characterized his exploration of the human figure as extraordinarily inventive, and described his paintings as extremely vibrant and joyous, but also sometimes dark and complex.
The bold colors and graphic style of the Tuskegee Airmen Commemorative are reminiscent of Wirsum’s earlier work from the 1960s, when he and five other young Chicago artists collaborated as the Hairy Who. After graduating from the formal school associated with the Art Institute of Chicago, Wirsum and his cohorts created uninhibited, irreverent and witty exhibits that reflected the social and political upheaval of the times.
