Blank Spots on the Map: The Dark Geogra... A source page for quotes linked to Trevor Paglen. 0 quotes
“No matter how secret a particular satellite was, it had to obey the same laws of physics as the rest of the solar system.” SecrecySatellite Book:Blank Spots on the Map: The Dark Geography of the Pentagon's Secret World Source: Blank Spots on the Map: The Dark Geography of the Pentagon's Secret World
“With the geosynchronous orbit, the RAE Table maxes out. It has two answers for the orbital lifetime of a spacecraft in GSO: "greater than a million years" and "indefinite.” SpacecraftSatelliteIndefiniteEchostar XviGeosynchronous OrbitGso Book:The Last Pictures Source: The Last Pictures
“Beginning in the early 1960's, history began to rhyme once again when the Department of Energy and the military began setting off nuclear weapons in the desert. Mushroom clouds lit the skies, and fallout fell like snow. The explosions were called tests, but were nonetheless full-fledged dress rehearsals for Armageddon, perhaps more. Among the desert's longtime residents, the difference between "nuclear testing" and "nuclear war" was far from self-evident.” HistoryNuclear Weapons Free WorldNevada History Book:Blank Spots on the Map: The Dark Geography of the Pentagon's Secret World Source: Blank Spots on the Map: The Dark Geography of the Pentagon's Secret World
“Our pictures are fleeting and elusive. In the far future, bits of hard drives may be fossilized in limestone, and discarded iPhones may find themselves encased in amber, hardened like nail polish, but the bits of humanity that these exquisitely crafted machines hold will be lost to time.” PreservationIphonePicturesEchostar XviHard Drive Book:The Last Pictures Source: The Last Pictures
“For a time, people were getting arrested for photographing the Brooklyn Bridge. So to me, what it meant to do photography also changed. There was a new kind of politics to it - something that was very aggressive and dangerous - and a presumption that it would reveal some kind of truth or evidence.” PeopleKindDangerousChangedPhotographyEvidenceBridgesAggressiveArrestedBrooklynPresumptionBrooklyn Bridge Author:Trevor Paglen
“The dead spacecraft in orbit have become a permanent fixture around our planet, not unlike the rings of Saturn. They will be the longest-lasting artifacts of human civilization, quietly circling Earth until the Sun turns into a Red Giant, about five billion years from now.” YearsHumansEarthTurnsSunFivePlanetsCivilizationRedBillionsRingsPermanentGiantsLastingOur PlanetOrbitArtifactsSaturnHuman CivilizationSpacecraftFixture Author:Trevor Paglen
“Perhaps someday in the distant future, dinosaurs may once again rule the Earth. If they ever learn to watch the stars, then maybe they will find our ruins in the sky.” IfsMayEarthStarsWatchesSkyRuinsSomedayDinosaurs Author:Trevor Paglen
“When you have an economically unequal society, you end up with huge swaths of society that are disposable, basically.” Author:Trevor Paglen
“The U.S. generally wants to solve problems with coercion. That's kind of the default way the American state wants to try to solve problems. So there are many parallels between that: mass incarceration, mass surveillance, and militarism.” TryingKindProblemIncarceration Author:Trevor Paglen
“The switch has been built. Maybe you trust Barack Obama not to throw that switch, and maybe you trust George Bush not to throw that switch, but as we look towards the future, we see inequality becoming more and more acute. We're seeing more and more protests against cops and this kind of thing. We're also seeing more and more natural disasters. We're seeing more and more environmental insecurity.” KindNaturalEnvironmentalDisasterInequalityBarackInsecurityProtestCopNatural Disaster Author:Trevor Paglen
“Injustice drives me crazy! It really upsets me when I see politicians lying.” LyingCrazyPoliticianInjusticeUpset Author:Trevor Paglen
“I'm pretty cynical about the future, but I feel like that's not an ethical position for me to take. It's not okay for me to behave as if I'm cynical about the future. Even if I am.” OkayBehaveEthicalCynicalNot Okay Author:Trevor Paglen
“Art is more than a series of images that are disembodied. Art is objects that live in real places, economies, spaces, architecture.” ArtRealSpaceEconomyObjectsArt IsSeriesArchitecture Author:Trevor Paglen
“I really do think of them as post-minimalist sculptures, inspired in large part by some very early spacecraft that NASA built.” ThinkingBuiltInspiredPostsSculptureNasaMinimalistSpacecraft Author:Trevor Paglen
“To go and photograph an airbase is not only to photograph something but it is to insist on one’s right to photograph. You’re flexing that right.” PhotographFlexing Author:Trevor Paglen