Art Review: “Elevated Descent: The Helipads of Downtown Los Angeles” at the Center for Land Use Interpretation

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If the great German photographers Bernd and Hilla Becher had grown up with Google Earth at their fingertips, they might have made images like those in the small exhibition, “Elevated Descent: The Helipads of Downtown Los Angeles.” At the Center for Land Use Interpretation, the unsentimental show surveys a single, often overlooked feature of the urban landscape to tell us something significant about the world we live in.

The exhibition consists of two series of images, each presented in the manner of an old-fashioned slide show, and two straightforward captions, each printed on a letter-size piece of paper.

The written component provides basic background facts, informing visitors that L.A.’s downtown has far more helipads than any other city in the country, and that is because zoning laws require every building taller than 75 feet to have an Emergency Helicopter Landing Facility. (Fire truck ladders rarely reach higher than 80 feet.)

All of the images in the larger of the two presentations have been shot from above, giving visitors a bird’s-eye view of the specially marked platforms. In the crisp, geometric pictures, space flattens dramatically.

It’s difficult to distinguish skyscrapers from warehouses. The perceptual disorientation compels you to look closely to see things with fresh eyes and heightened attentiveness. It’s invigorating.

The images on the small monitor show the same buildings shot from the street. Some tower overhead, like super-sized Minimalist sculptures striving skyward. Others look ordinary, their nondescript features clashing with the exoticism of rooftop landing pads. All are daunting.

Together, the two series demonstrate how different a single thing can look when it is seen from different perspective.

Looking down and gazing up come with distinct emotions and power-relationships, inviting visitors to think clearly and deeply about our surroundings and our complex place in them.

The Center for Land Use Interpretation, 9331 Venice Blvd., (310) 839-5722, through September. Open Friday-Sunday, noon-5 p.m. http://www.clui.org

--David Pagel

Above: The Westin Bonaventure Hotel and Suites. Photo credit: Google Earth.