HS82 for San José

In September 2021 Humans since 1982 launched A million Times (San José), a new site-specific commission for Mineta San José Airport in California, USA. Installed in the pre-security Arrivals Halls of Terminal B, the piece is a permanent public artwork as part of the Airport’s Art + Technology Public Art Program. 

Humans since 1982 were selected by a panel of  Bay Area artists, arts administrators, and airport stakeholders to bring a unique vision of time to the airport.  Bastian Bischoff - Co-founder of Humans since 1982 reflects, “The passage of time feels particularly relevant in the context of the airport. By placing this work in Mineta San José Airport, we intend to turn waiting into a reflective and meditative opportunity, creating a space where people choose and enjoy the experience of waiting.”  

A million Times (San José) is the newest addition to Humans since 1982’s ongoing series, A million Times. Composed of 160 clock faces with white hands set against a black stone-like surface, the clock hands are programmed to spin individually, but in formation to create choreographies – reporting time accurately while also playfully representing the concept of time passing. 

This artwork features three newly designed choreographies unique to this piece, each taking their initial inspiration from the location of the artwork, both within the airport and San José itself. These abstract patterns draw upon San José as an engine for technological development, the city’s close proximity to the ocean and the busy hub of the airport with its ever rotating arrivals and departures. These three reference points share a common, cyclical theme: everything is perpetually in motion, fluid and changing.

Similarly the clock hands are constantly turning, establishing transitory patterns yet always steering towards something new.