in plane view

I was on a two week string of travel when I found myself once again walking the ramp into the C terminal at Washington's Dulles Airport.  I assume in the past I was either too busy, too late or too occupied to really take in the art in the Gateway Gallery.  Exhibited by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, works of art are rotated to provide passengers visual enjoyment while they commute.  The current exhibit, In Plane View: Abstractions of Flight, is a series of large format photographs by Carolyn Russo.  The images showcase iconic aircraft, focusing on the details and close-up facets of technology, that which otherwise would often be overlooked.  The bold colors, texture, shapes, lines and light grabbed my attention quickly.  I later learned that Russo divided her work into five categories: speed, bursts, and movement; flora, fauna and anthropomorphism; graphics; textures and skin; and propellers. If you don't get a chance to see the exhibit first hand at Dulles, her work is also published in a companion book by powerHouse Books.  As said by Patty Wagstaff (who wrote the book's forward), "it's an abstract approach that gives new life even to the most familiar icon."

images Carolyn Russo