Home: North, East, South, West V1.0 still from four channel HD Video, 6.5 minutes

The Observations are recordings of aerial traversals of specific geographic locations. These traversals can be a structured series of prescribed formal paths from a common point or points of origin or a single route from one place to another. They consist of aerial still or video images, almost always taken from the topographic perspective, that is, straight down, with the viewing angle normal to the ground. The artist designed a special purpose camera port for his light aircraft which he uses to record the video and stills for these works. The aircraft altitude and route of flight is recorded using a GPS flight data recorder. Images developed from this data as well as conventional maps are produced as supporting documentary works.

The works have an obvious connection to the work of Richard Long and Hamish Fulton in terms of documenting or merely conducting a journey through the landscape. These works share a common idea of recording the trip, documenting the path, seeing what is there, and minimally, if at all, modifying the landscape itself. However, instead of a journey on foot, these works record the flight of an aircraft, imparting an essential third dimension to the route of travel. When possible, the route of flight is recorded by flight data recorder and displayed in 3D. In this sense these works are resolutely technical and even inherently American in sensibility, even beyond their involvement with the landscape of the American Southwest. Aircraft are, in fact, a common, everyday mode of transportation for farmers and ranchers in the remote regions of the area. It is not uncommon for helicopters to be used instead of horses for herding cattle. One might make the case that the direct American experience of space is inherently more three dimensional than in much of the world. General aviation (privately owned aircraft as opposed to scheduled air carriers) is far more commonplace in the US that anywhere save Australia, and a significantly higher percentage of the population of the US have experienced air travel than in other parts of the world.

Home: North, East, South, West V1.0 Route of Flight and Image Swaths Map

Despite the extensive use of technology to make and record the journey a significant amount of "hand" enters into the images. The typical commercial aircraft camera mount is gyroscopically stabilized and removes any evidence of mechanical vibration or the effects of turbulence on the aircraft, providing a serene, godlike, perfectly smooth gliding camera platform. In stark contrast, for the Observations the camera is mounted directly to the airframe. One sees all the little perturbations in the aircraft's flight path from turbulence and convection currents and the resultant footage seems more like a shot which is hand-held while walking, almost as if the motions of the aircraft were some sort of strange gait. In addition, the camera is pointed directly by the pilot controlling the aircraft, who is the artist. Every motion of the pilot's hands or feet is directly translated to a camera motion. It gives the resultant video an almost performative quality.

The Observations pieces have an additional subtext resulting from the nearly exclusive use of the topographic perspective. This is the perspective of the weather satellite and the reconnaissance aircraft, the U2, the SR-71 Blackbird, and the military spy satellite. The total surface if the earth is under constant observation as never before whether by one military or another or the friendly weatherman. Google Maps has recently added free satellite imagery to their online mapping service. In this atmosphere of pervasive surveillance, these works are an attempt to both "observe" the ubiquity of observation, while at the same time advance a method of observation by the artist which is unique and perhaps better conveys a sense of specific place than the dispassionate gaze of the satellite.

The typical software version and revision nomenclature (as in "V1.0") is appended to the titles of the pieces in this series as it is anticipated that multiple versions will be produced at differing times of day, under different lighting conditions, and at different times of year.


Home: North, East, South, West

Home: North, East, South, West V1.0 Fligth Data Recorder Route of Flight Map, West Leg

An aircraft flying at 10,500 feet at an airspeed of 150 knots flies over the same geographic point four different times, each time heading in each of the four cardinal compass directions and proceeding for a distance of 15 miles. The aircraft is equipped with a high definition video camera mounted in the topographic orientation, pointing straight down, the aspect of remote sensing satellites and military surveillance aircraft. The geographic point was chosen for its significance to the artist/pilot; his home. The first version of the piece was shot on June 15, 2005 and conditions were somewhat unusual for the southwest, being overcast, with a pronounced lack of shadows. The four paths were recorded over the course of a 1 hour 45 minute flight.

In each of the four flight paths the camera is oriented with respect to the aircraft so that the image reads North up. The four recordings are intended to be presented as a four channel video with the monitors arrayed in the same four cardinal compass directions. The four images begin at the same point, and flow towards the center of the monitor array as the aircraft proceeds away from the common point. The images become increasingly disparate as the distance from the central point increases. Once the images simultaneously reach a distance of 15 nautical miles from the origin the direction of travel reverses and the images flow away from the central point as the aircraft direction of travel is reversed and the images eventually again coincide. The video is recorded in 1080i high definition format and is intended to be displayed on four 45" 1920x1080 resolution monitors. The duration of the video is the actual duration of the flight in each direction. The work is also realized in multiple single channel resolutions where the four channels are composited into a single image. This single channel version is available as 720 and 1080 high definition video as well as standard definition. Individual frames are also displayed as 20" x 30" digital prints.

Maps are prepared showing the aircraft route of flight and video image swaths. The maps are based on Bureau of Land Management Surface Management Status maps at a 1:100,000 scale. These maps are scanned, modified, and then presented in a variety of formats of high resolution digital prints. Flight Data Recorder visualization software was also used to display the flight recorder data. Digital images of the route of flight were prepared using the visualization software.

View Video Clips or Digital Images from the video, "Home: North, East, South, West V1.0".

Echo 92 Direct India 58 V1.0 still from HD Video, 26.5 minutes

Echo 92 Direct India 58 (Estancia to Santa Rosa) V1.0

This single channel high definition video documents the flight of an aircraft from Estancia Municipal Airport to Santa Rosa Municipal Airport, both in central New Mexico. The title is a reference to the international airport identifiers for the two airfields. The flight covers a distance of 79 nautical miles and the aircraft travels at a groundspeed of about 150 knots. The duration of the flight is 26.5 minutes. The aircraft flies at a constant altitude of 10,500 feet above sea level and terrain altitude varies from a height of 6,200 feet at Estancia to 4790 feet at Santa Rosa. The duration of the flight was approximately 27 minutes and occurred late in the day on June 30th 2005.

The ground beneath the route of flight was recorded as a high definition video. The duration of the video is the same as the duration of the flight. The course of the flight was approximately 73 degrees magnetic and the video is presented North up, which results in the display area being tilted by about 15 degrees. For web display the video is zoomed out and tilted within the frame. For installation the monitor itself would be tilted and the video displayed full frame. The original video was shot in 1080i HDV and is available in 1080, 720, and SD.