JEFFREY MILSTEIN | THE SMITHSONIAN NATIONAL AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM
Jeffrey Milstein, Swiss International Airbus 340-300, archival inkjet print on paper, available in multiple sizes
Seven of Jeffrey Milstein's large-scale aircraft photographs were recently selected for permanent display at the Thomas W. Haas We All Fly Gallery, opening next year at The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. The Museum also hosted a year-long solo exhibition of Milstein's photographs, Aircraft: The Jet As Art, from 2011 - 2012.
Says Milstein, "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. Often shot when a plane is flying close to 200 mph directly overhead, the images freeze time and motion. Perfectly suspended, hovering in space stripped of context, the photographs reveal the complexity, beauty, and power of the aircraft. As a typology I am exploring the uniqueness of each model as well as the similarities they share. If the images remind us of the magic inherent in flying, they also remind us of our vulnerability where technology can be used for good or evil."
