Closer: Specs

Process: These images were made at 35,000-40,000 feet, from commercial flights, over the course of 7 years. They were taken with Kodachrome 35mm transparency film, and will be printed in small editions at three sizes on special materials, maximum height 95 inches tall. I chose Kodachrome because of its special sensitivity to nuanced color. And because it preserved a sense of the atmosphere, rather than cutting through it. When enlarged to this scale, they behave like Impressionist paintings, requiring distance to apprehend their larger vision. But viewed up close, finely retraced details are visible. In this way, the map is divorced from its territory. And aspects typically dismissed as backdrop are instead seen first. These digital prints, made from an obsolete film, are like a contemporary voicing of ancient ideas—just as the imagery shows the poetry of landscapes formed over many, many years. At 35,000 feet one sees the geo-logic of entire ‘sentences,’ rather than highly-resolved, but more fragmentary, ‘letters and words’ seen from below. Most aerial photographers have worked at lower elevations. And satellite images render only cold information. Taken from commercial flights, these views are accessible to all who fly. But they are ignored by the majority, who prefer to stare at screens. Perhaps these will remind people, and refresh their direct relationship to the earth. (See link to project description below, for further discussion) The slides were scanned at very high resolution, in a color space specifically developed for this film, to minimize color compression. I am currently in my second round of fundraising, and proofing/printing is well underway. The project will be ready for exhibition in 2015. Go to:

-- Full project description...

-- Support (fully tax-deductible)...

-- Images...

-- Essential aspects...

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Specifics:

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