If you fly out of Sacramento International Airport, you may have noticed one of the more unusual art forms I’ve seen in some time, an aerial view of the Sacramento River woven into a carpet for the floor of the pedestrian bridge connecting the terminal to the parking garage. The image represents approximately fifty miles of the Sacramento River starting just outside of Colusa, California and ending about six miles south of Chico.

Although I’d noticed the carpet on occasion while hurrying across the bridge to catch a flight, I’d never taken (nor had) the time to study it. I recently made it a point and was amazed at the detail and scale of the project.

The artist, Seyed Alavi, received a Bachelor of Science degree from San Jose State University and a Masters of Fine Art from the San Francisco Art Institute. His public art projects are often engaged with the poetics of language and space and their power to shape reality and include site-specific installations for The New Museum of Contemporary Art and Franklin Furnace in New York City; The University Art Museum- Cal State Long Beach; The Museum of Santa Cruz County; The deSaisset Museum; The University Art Museum, Sonoma State; The University Art Museum, Cal State San Bernardino and San Francisco’s Capp Street Project.

Next time you fly into or out of SMF, take a few minutes to check out the large-scale art work right under your feet. You’ll be impressed.