AirCraft: the Jet as Art

As a child, I was drawn to aircraft. I built and flew model airplanes and earned my pilots license while still a teenager. A favorite pastime was hanging around the end of the runway at the Los Angeles International airport. I loved having the aircraft fly so low overhead that I could almost reach up and touch them. As an adult, I returned to the runway at LAX with a camera to recapture those moments. Over time the work evolved into a series of highly detailed, formal symmetrical portraits, exploring the typology of aircraft. As a typology I am exploring the uniqueness of each model as well as the similarities they share. Often shot when a plane is flying close to 200 mph directly overhead, the images freeze time and motion. If the images remind us of the magic inherent in flying, they also remind us of our vulnerability. Perfectly suspended, hovering in space stripped of context, the photographs reveal the complexity, beauty, and power of the aircraft.