Helicopter from the series History

David Levinthal, Helicopter from the series History, 2014, inkjet print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Donald Standford Rosenfeld, Jr., 2017.41.8, © 2014, David Levinthal
Copied David Levinthal, Helicopter from the series History, 2014, inkjet print, 61 × 79 in. (154.9 × 200.7 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Donald Standford Rosenfeld, Jr., 2017.41.8, © 2014, David Levinthal

Artwork Details

Title
Helicopter from the series History
Artist
Date
2014
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
61 × 79 in. (154.9 × 200.7 cm)
Copyright
© 2014, David Levinthal
Credit Line
Gift of Donald Standford Rosenfeld, Jr.
Mediums Description
inkjet print
Classifications
Subjects
  • Landscape — time — night
Object Number
2017.41.8
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/2017.41.8

Artwork Description

Levinthal began creating photographic references to the Vietnam War in 2010, spurred by the availability of a higher quality and number of toy replicas related to the conflict. Helicopter references the opening sequence from Francis Ford Coppola's iconic 1979 film Apocalypse Now, in which Huey helicopters fly in front of a massive napalm explosion. With just a few visual elements, Levinthal conjures a vivid and instantly recognizable picture of the Vietnam War.

Exhibitions

Media - 2017.32.10 - SAAM-2017.32.10_1 - 133751
American Myth & Memory: David Levinthal Photographs 
June 7, 2019–October 14, 2019
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Populated with toy cowboys and cavalry, Barbie dolls and baseball players, David Levinthal’s photographs reference iconic images and events that shaped postwar American society.