Overview

Starred review from December 19, 2016
The notion that human creations are almost never designed to be seen from above provides the source of the great confusion and great wonder of Grant’s assiduous found photography, first displayed on his popular Instagram feed, @dailyoverview, and now showcased in this impeccable book. Each of the book’s 200-plus images is made up of numerous high-resolution satellite photographs stitched together to yield fantastic aerial views. Grant developed his approach almost by accident while playing around on a mapping program in 2013: a search for “Earth” revealed not the entire planet but a small part of it—the town of Earth, Texas—and the beguiling patterns of the world as seen from above. Human endeavors without a single impulse towards the picturesque often result in dazzling sights: dollhouse pastels from lithium mining and aluminum manufacture, engrossing geometric spirals of thermosolar plants, and De Stijl–like container port vistas. This book of photos might lead one to believe that humankind has dedicated itself solely to space-directed installation art—and in a way it has. Color photos.