Houston art giant to install massive, 5-ton JFK bust sculpture near Bush Intercontinental Airport

BySteven Devadanam CultureMap logo
Wednesday, January 18, 2023
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Where to start with all the David Adickes sculptures dotting Houston landscape? Perhaps his 44 gigantic heads paying homage to our U.S. presidents (still no Trump)? His giant cello downtown, a local landmark? His oft-photographed/Instagram favorite "We Love Houston" sign? His 36-foot Beatles statues at 8th Wonder Brewery? Or the apropos "Mount Rush Hour" located at a notorious Houston bottleneck?

Indeed, the 95-year-old (yes, really) creator of iconic, white artworks (take his 67-foot, cement-and-steel statue of Sam Houston, which serves as a welcome off I-45 to his hometown of Huntsville) has become Houston's resident artist of giant works. His latest work pays tribute to a worldwide giant.

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Adickes will soon install a giant, 5-ton bust of the late President John F. Kennedy, the nation's 35th president, on JFK Boulevard. Aside from a fitting nod and locale for the global figure who spent his final full day of life in Houston, the statue will also serve as a "welcome mat" to those visiting Houston and nearby George Bush Intercontinental Airport, the artist notes.

The JFK bust, which is hollow on the inside, is composed of two pieces; the head and shoulders are separate and will be welded together and then covered in plaster, according to Carlos Silva, chairman of the East Aldine Management District and its East Aldine Arts Coalition.

Carlos Silva and David Adickes pose with America's 35th president.
East Aldine Management District

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SEE ALSO: The day before: President John F. Kennedy on the last full day of his life

On Nov. 21, 1963, the president and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy arrived in Houston on the second of their multi-city tour of Texas. It was the last full day he was alive.