Best of CASE District VII Award
 

Institution: University of California San Diego

Title of entry: "Fallen Star" Flight Formation

About this entry: Located less than five miles west of Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, UC San Diego regularly experiences the flight path sound of military jets overhead. MCAS Miramar also hosts the annual Air Show. This entry highlights a photograph of the U.S. Navy Blue Angels flying past the university’s public art installation, “Fallen Star” by Do Ho Suh.

The image was captured by campus photographer Erik Jepsen during a training flight for the air show. Its purpose was to document a unique moment that connected a major regional event with one of the university’s most recognizable public artworks in a single, unforgettable frame.

The photograph was made through careful planning around flight schedules and vantage points, aligning the jets with the artwork’s unusual, tilted perch atop the seven-story Jacobs Hall. The result was a clean, high-impact visual that quickly became one of the university’s most widely shared images of the year, gaining over a million views across UC San Diego’s digital channels. The image highlights our campus identity, reinforcing its visibility during a widely popular regional tradition, while also underscoring San Diego’s longstanding connection to the military.