OC’s John Wayne Airport to open new terminal with art displays

When John Wayne Airport‘s new terminal opens in November, it will add two commuter terminals, six gates and four new art displays. The works, some of which come from national and local museums, join the 9-foot statue of the namesake actor and might warrant a visit to the Orange County airport -- whether or not you are flying somewhere.

“In Plane View” from the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., was on display there a few years back. The show features 56 large-format photographs by Carolyn Russo whose close-ups of aircraft become elegant abstracts. (Check out some of the images in our accompanying photo gallery.) The show will be on display between Gates 18-21 from mid-November through March 2012.

The Bowers Museum in Santa Ana plans a display in a walkway between the new Terminal C and Terminal B that will showcase the museum’s upcoming exhibition “Warriors, Tombs and Temples: China’s Enduring Legacy.” It also will run from mid-November through March 2012.

Other displays include a history of the Boeing Co. in California (across from Gates 2-5) and a sculpture of 21 birds in aluminum by artist Beth Nybeck to be installed in October (above the baggage area in Terminal C).