A High Regard for the Earth

David Maisel's Aerial Photos Re-Survey the Boundaries Between Ugly and Beautiful

By Blake Gopnik
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, September 2, 2007; Page M08

Complete article

From the article:

The eco-themed images of David Maisel, a 46-year-old photographer based in Sausalito, Calif., carve space out for themselves by resisting that now standard way of making pictures talk. Sixteen of them, all four foot square, go on display September 4th in the Rotunda Gallery at the National Academy of Sciences.

Maisel's photos also start out with the most straightforward documentary viewpoint: They're shot looking down from a small plane or helicopter onto sites of man-made degradation, using standard equipment and film. They show dying lakes, clear-cut forests and the tailing ponds and leaching fields of mines, laid out flat and clear before our eyes. But the crucial thing is that the images Maisel ends up with also look like appealing, time-honored abstract art.

For more information:

• Washington Post gallery of Maisel's NAS exhibition.
• David Maisel's website.