The Elevated Eye: Aerial Photography Past and Present

October 10, 2019 – March 8, 2020

The exhibition examines the history of aerial photography, from its origins in the nineteenth century to the boundary-pushing technologies of the twenty-first century. It assembles nearly 150 images and 14 minutes of video, as well as satellite models and drones. The exhibition includes photographs from Forest Lawn Museum’s permanent collection that have never been displayed as well as works from the Getty Research Institute; Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens; and the Special Collections of Los Angeles Public Library. The Elevated Eye: Aerial Photography Past and Present also features the work of David Maisel, a 2018 Guggenheim Fellow in the Creative Arts; Jenny Odell, a multi-disciplinary artist and writer; and photographer Lane Barden, whose work traces major corridors of Los Angeles from above. The exhibition includes more than twenty images and mesmerizing video footage by the drone pilot and photographer Chen Ming. Moving beyond the stratosphere, The Elevated Eye features historical images from NASA as well as the work of Erwan Rivault (@earthfromsatellites), a French geographer who uses data from European Space Agency satellites to create stunning images of natural wonders on the Earth’s surface.

The Elevated Eye: Aerial Photography Past and Present will be open to the public from October 10, 2019 through March 8, 2020 at Forest Lawn Museum, Forest Lawn-Glendale, 1712 S. Glendale Avenue, Glendale, California.