The Airport Tower as Art

Featured on nytimes.com

A few years ago, the old control tower at La Guardia Airport in New York caught the eye of Carolyn J. Russo, a staff photographer at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., who was pregnant at the time and completing another photographic project related to flight. These two things, she said, inspired her newest project.

The result is a fascinating book of over 100 pictures of 85 airport towers, in 23 countries, called “Art of the Airport Tower” (Smithsonian Books). A yearlong exhibition of the work at the Air and Space Museum opened last month.

The towers are shot in stark, intimate fashion, revealing details and distinctive features that few might notice but reveal the character of the place. Ms. Russo recently spoke on the phone about her work and her inspiration. Following are edited excerpts from that conversation.

Q. What ties all these images together?

A. I wanted to showcase a significant landmark in the aviation landscape. I was trying to elevate them even higher than they are, and I was trying to treat them as something more powerful and with more presence.

How did the idea come about?

I just came off another project, photographing aircraft, and I was looking at aircraft much differently. The first time that I really looked at the La Guardia tower, it looked like an abstraction. I think it brings more awareness to the towers and how beautiful they are. I wanted my own view. I didn’t want a repeat typology. And I get to see a different angle from what everyone gets to see.

Towers are so vital to aviation and yet a lot of travelers don’t notice them anymore. Airports are so big and don’t often offer a view of runways or towers.

Yes, Some don’t. I hope this project will make you think about those amazing structures. They really are the choreographer of the whole airport. They are quite significant.

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