Out Today: Review of Google Earth in NOW

It's been said (and debated) that 400 million people have used Google Earth. This week in NOW, I review two of those users--John van der Woude and Eryn Foster--who have made art using the application for Gallery 44. Here's an excerpt:

John van der Woude’s prints make up the more successful body of work here. Using satellite images gleaned from Google Earth, van der Woude stitches together some incredible aerial views of the world’s busiest airports.

These slick, glossy, detailed images, while fun to look at for a long time, also provide many conceptual points of departure: How does the lightness of global, go-anywhere mobility get played out and bound up at ground level? Who can really fathom the dense intersections of individual stories and trajectories that happen in these places, let alone design for them?

Image of one of John van der Woude's works from NOW