b'68 MCOARTSCAPESTime for a Touch UpThe Traveler has been amazing and amusing visitors at Orlando International Airport (MCO) ever since it was installed in 1985. The ultrarealistic life-sized sculpture often confounds passersby. Some watch intently for the weary-looking figure to move or blink, while others mutter Is he real? to no one in particular. The statue, created by Duane Hanson, recently inspired even more curiosity when a professional art conservator climbed into its display case to refresh the nearly 40-year-old piece. As Diana Galante carefully cleaned the entire surface and filled in areas where paint was missing, people hurrying through the terminal stopped infigures in exacting detail, amplifying the realism by including their tracks to watch the mesmerizing, meticulous process.natural imperfections such as blemishes, bulging veins, rumpled clothing and scuffed shoes. Its not often I get to be part of the installation, Galante remarked.My art is not about fooling people, Hanson once said. Its the human attitudes Im after-fatigue, a bit of frustration, rejection. To This was not the first time MCO has refurbished its belovedme, there is a kind of beauty in all this. bronze sculpture. Hanson and an assistant touched up his work several times before he died in 1996. Originally, The Traveler wasBut the uncanny accuracy of his work does fool viewers. When installed near a bar with no barrier around it. While this enhancedMCO unveiled The Traveler, the crowd gasped in surprise when the sculptures impact, viewers often poked the artwork to see ifthe model for it (one of Hansons neighbors) stood up and walked it was actually a live person, and some threw coins at it for goodaway after sitting motionless on the floor next to the artwork for luck. Eventually, the popular piece was placed in an acrylic boxseveral minutes. for protection and moved to its current location on Level 3.Nearly four decades later, the lifelike sculpture is still causing The Traveler is highly representative of Hansons work, whichdouble takes. typically features working-class subjects dressed in everydayTo see a time-lapsed video of the touch-up process, visit garb. His technique was to cast live models and then paint thefb.watch/pwYE5579IY/.July | August 2024AirportImprovement.com'