Trevor Paglen
Encyclopedia
Trevor Paglen is an American artist, geographer, and author.
He holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a PhD in geography from the University of California at Berkeley, where he currently works as a researcher.
Paglen is the author of three books including Torture Taxi
, (co-authored with investigative journalist A.C. Thompson) which was the first book to comprehensively describe the CIA's extraordinary rendition
program (Melville House Publishing
, 2006, ISBN 1-933633-09-3), and I Could Tell You But Then You Would Have to be Destroyed by Me (Melville House Publishing
, 2007, ISBN 1933633328), which is a look at the world of black project
s through unit patches and memorabilia created for top-secret programs.
Paglen's most recent book, Blank Spots on the Map: The Dark Geography of the Pentagon's Secret World is a broader look at secrecy in the United States.
as well as the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
and Bellwether Gallery
in New York. He was an Eyebeam
Commissioned Artist in 2007 and has a Master of Fine Arts degree from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
His visual work such as his "Limit Telephotography" and "The Other Night Sky" series has received widespread attention for both his technical innovations and for his conceptual project that involves simultaneously making and negating documentary-style truth-claims.
, 2009, ISBN 9780091636586) edited by Nato Thompson is largely inspired by Paglen's work.
He holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a PhD in geography from the University of California at Berkeley, where he currently works as a researcher.
Paglen is the author of three books including Torture Taxi
Torture Taxi
Torture Taxi: On the Trail of the CIA’s Rendition Flights is a 2006 book by A.C. Thompson and Trevor Paglen documenting the CIA's extraordinary rendition program....
, (co-authored with investigative journalist A.C. Thompson) which was the first book to comprehensively describe the CIA's extraordinary rendition
Extraordinary rendition
Extraordinary rendition is the abduction and illegal transfer of a person from one nation to another. "Torture by proxy" is used by some critics to describe situations in which the United States and the United Kingdom have transferred suspected terrorists to other countries in order to torture the...
program (Melville House Publishing
Melville House Publishing
Melville House Publishing is an independent publisher of literary fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. The company was founded in 2001 by the husband and wife team of Dennis Loy Johnson and Valerie Merians in Hoboken, New Jersey, a location Johnson jokingly called "the Left Bank" of New York City...
, 2006, ISBN 1-933633-09-3), and I Could Tell You But Then You Would Have to be Destroyed by Me (Melville House Publishing
Melville House Publishing
Melville House Publishing is an independent publisher of literary fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. The company was founded in 2001 by the husband and wife team of Dennis Loy Johnson and Valerie Merians in Hoboken, New Jersey, a location Johnson jokingly called "the Left Bank" of New York City...
, 2007, ISBN 1933633328), which is a look at the world of black project
Black project
In the United States and United Kingdom, a black project is in the vernacular a classified military/defense project, unacknowledged publicly by the government, military personnel, and defense contractors. Examples of U.S...
s through unit patches and memorabilia created for top-secret programs.
Paglen's most recent book, Blank Spots on the Map: The Dark Geography of the Pentagon's Secret World is a broader look at secrecy in the United States.
Art career
Paglen has shown photography and other visual works at numerous museums and galleries including MassMoca, and Andy Warhol Museum of Modern ArtAndy Warhol Museum of Modern Art
The Andy Warhol Museum of Modern Art in Medzilaborce, Slovakia was established in 1991 by the American family of the artist Andy Warhol and the Slovak Ministry of Culture...
as well as the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is a modern art museum located in San Francisco, California. A nonprofit organization, SFMOMA holds an internationally recognized collection of modern and contemporary art and was the first museum on the West Coast devoted solely to 20th century art...
and Bellwether Gallery
Bellwether Gallery
Bellwether Gallery was a New York City art gallery based in Chelsea. Director and owner Becky Smith was recognized as an important promoter of emerging artists since the gallery's 1999 opening in the Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn...
in New York. He was an Eyebeam
Eyebeam Atelier
Eyebeam, is a not-for-profit arts and technology center in New York City. Their stated purpose is to promote the creative use of new technologies by funding artwork, education and exhibitions. The founders were John S. Johnson III, David S. Johnson and Roderic R...
Commissioned Artist in 2007 and has a Master of Fine Arts degree from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
His visual work such as his "Limit Telephotography" and "The Other Night Sky" series has received widespread attention for both his technical innovations and for his conceptual project that involves simultaneously making and negating documentary-style truth-claims.
Experimental Geography
Trevor Paglen is credited with coining the term "Experimental Geography" to describe practices coupling experimental cultural production and art-making with ideas from critical human geography about the production of space, materialism, and praxis. The 2009 book Experimental Geography: Radical Approaches to Landscape, Cartography, and Urbanism (Melville House PublishingMelville House Publishing
Melville House Publishing is an independent publisher of literary fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. The company was founded in 2001 by the husband and wife team of Dennis Loy Johnson and Valerie Merians in Hoboken, New Jersey, a location Johnson jokingly called "the Left Bank" of New York City...
, 2009, ISBN 9780091636586) edited by Nato Thompson is largely inspired by Paglen's work.