Oakland Museum at the Oakland International Airport

May 21 - September 8, 2004
Kite Lines
Oakland International Airport
located in the connecting walkway between the two terminals.

Airport Exhibition Archive

The history of kites follows lines of communication among people—threads that connect cultures, traditions and generations. Kites have provided a means for gathering and disseminating information, contacting spiritual realms, conveying technological ideas and creative expression. Kite Lines explores the significance of kite flying in various communities, the many forms of kites and their role in the evolution of powered flight.

Over the past 2,500 years, kites have spread from China and the Malay Archipelago throughout Asia, southeast Asia, the Pacific Islands and the rest of the world. They have been used for fishing, man-lifting, divination, religious and ceremonial purposes, signaling, aerial photography and meteorological research. In some cultures, the kite represents an external soul.

As the earliest kite-flyers raised their heavier-than-air crafts—essentially extensions of themselves—they may have been the first to grasp the notion that humans could achieve flight. Put into practice with the giant man-carrying kites of ancient China and Japan, this idea was later taken up by western experimenters. The kite systems designed by 19th and early 20th century inventors contributed directly to the development of the airplane.

Berkeley Kite Festival July 31 - August 1, 2004

Kites have also demonstrated strong ties to cultures where communities come together to create kites and celebrate with them. Kite festivals highlighting craft, flying skill and ritual traditions draw large and enthusiastic participation. The spiritual significance of kites in Polynesia, Indonesia and Guatemala is manifested in the raising of kites to make contact with deities, spirits and powers of nature.

As inspiring as the long-flying kite traditions that bring people together are the contributions of the kite as it has carried ideas through time. On a more intimate level, perhaps we connect with kite flying as a reflection of how we extend the reach of our imagination even as it remains tethered to our human condition.

Barbara Eaton, Curator