Marc Trautmann

Off the radar

In his series Off the Radar, Marc Trautmann portrays erstwhile aeronautic masterpieces in their elementary beauty: vulnerable and in some cases robbed of their commanding gear. The metallic reflections on their naked exteriors are one last shiny testament to the bygone technical precision. Their slow decay hides any traces of former airline signets or signatures, bonding them together in anonymity as though they were a rare breed.

The panoramic desert backdrop emphasizes their enormous dimensions and graceful lines; there is a resolute flash, as though these co-conspirators have collected here in peace and quiet away from their passengers.

But the dismantled doors seem to invite the curious onlooker to board the impressive machines that seem to stretch their wings leisurely to the sky. In the desert sands the one-time aeronautic icons no longer depend on anyone marveling at the engineering feat of their oversized structure. They evoke no pity but rather respect for the former capabilities and capacities that have now become monuments to the history of technology.

In the Mojave Desert Trautmann was faced with an unusual scenario: scrapped Lockheeds, disassembled Boeings, ransacked TriStars, jet planes without noses. The planes have staked their claim here in the desert, stubbornly defying their inevitable decay. Planes from around America will someday take-off on their last flights; here under the glaring sun they find their final landing strip. Trautmann’s title Off the Radar seems rather to mourn these machines’ disappearance from airports around the world than to relinquish them to nature for good.

Christina Wendenburg