Flying School (Classroom, Flying School, Erie International Airport, Erie, Pennsylvania)

This spare, functional space served as a classroom to teach pilots how to fly. The interior attempts to simulate flying using a model cockpit that is far removed from the experience of maneuvering a massive plane, engines whirring, through the sky.

Lynne Cohen included this image in her series Occupied Territory, a body of work that surveys interiors such as classrooms, laboratories, waiting rooms, and other institutional spaces without people. These images call attention to the standardization and uniformity of social spaces meant to inspire learning and discovery but lacking any sense of warmth or creative expression.