“In Plane View: Abstractions of Flight”

By Susan Davidson

National Air and Space Museum

6th Street, SW & Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20560
Phone: 202.633.1000

Nearby Metro Stops:

L'Enfant Plaza
Smithsonian

Wheelchair Accessible:

Yes

Kid Friendly:

Yes

Website:

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“In Plane View: Abstractions of Flight” takes photography to new heights. Carolyn Russo’s large images of parts of planes—accompanied by quotes from such pioneers of flight as Amelia Earhart—look like modern abstract art. At first glance, they prompt a viewer to ask, “What is it?” One image—the tail of an early plane with bits of fabric, wood, wire, and string attached—looks like a Rothko painting. Another—a picture of a helicopter’s rotor blades and the long, narrow, raised ridge used in emergency landings on the fuselage of an X-1—looks like a Cubist painting.