Vertiginous Vistas

The beguiling sky-high photographs of David Maisel offer an array of dizzying impressions. Some appear to be dappled, abstract oil paintings; others resemble animal pelt viewed through a microscope; a few suggest geometric collages cut from forest-green pieces of card. In fact, Maisel’s aerial images of terrain adulterated by humans––open pit mines, clear-cut forests, zones of water reclamation––employ to great effect the philosophy that distance can make the eye grow fonder. Working from a four-seater plane made by the renowned Cessna at an altitude range of 500 to 12,000 feet, Maisel spends four hours at a time in the air to find the perfect shot, sometimes removing an entire window as the pilot banks the plane to gain the optimum position. The selection here is of never-seen images by Maisel taken above the Great Salt Lake in Utah, the searing colors a product of the water’s high mineral content. Alongside, we present a hypnotic electric piano composition created as an audio response to the photographs by DJ and super-producer Howie B, who has enabled artists such as Björk, U2 and Tricky to realize their sonic vision.