Document Type
Article
Abstract
This essay inquires into the vexed matter of the visual culture of catastrophic events by situating a small group of aerial photographs of the damaged and collapsing World Trade Center Towers not only in the tradition of war reportage and photojournalism but also in the historical practices of military airpower in the expanded sense of “aeromobility.” The aerial images were taken by an amateur photographer in an NYPD aviation unit on a routine patrol on the morning of September 11, 2001 and submitted to the “9/11” Commission to be deposited, eventually, with the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the federal agency in charge of the investigation of the collapse of the twin towers. Released from the NIST archive in 2010 after ABC News filed a Freedom of Information request, the photographs were touted as significantly unique due to their "previously unseen" status and, most importantly, their aerial viewpoint. As ensembles of activities and interests, these photographs have more dimensions than thematic content or aesthetic structure. Their circulation and reception provokes questions about the diverse components of images that are often dismissed or unrecognized. Cultural objects such as photographs participate in the biopolitical control of populations and security concerns yet we cannot account for these powerful aspects of the visual apparatus if we compartmentalize the complex, multiple elements of aerial images.
Repository Citation
Kaplan, Caren. "A Rare and Chilling View': Aerial Photography, Militarized Aeromobility, and Biopower in the Visual Culture of '9/11'." Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture vol. 11, no. 2, 2011, pp. 1–16. https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/reconstruction/vol11/iss2/6