Drones Take NYC!

An exhibition at the Museum of the Moving Image in New York City imagines what life will be like in 2015, when unmanned aerial vehicles become legal for domestic commercial use in the United States. Using Google Maps and image software, artist Rajeev Basu recruited several artists and visionaries, including eBoy, Supermundane, and Saiman Chow, and encouraged them to brainstorm about drones in everyday life. 

The result is manipulated images of mini-aircraft performing functions that range from advertising knockoff designer goods in Chinatown to commemorating the site of John Lennon's death by continuously circling the block of 72nd Street where he was shot. Drones are commonly associated with alarming news about faraway war and executive branch overreach, but Drones of New York (February 8 through March 7, online at dronesofnewyork.com) offers hope that useful or entertaining commercial applications will soon eclipse more sinister functions. —Katherine Mangu-Ward