Existing comment:
The Last Pictures
What, if anything, does it mean, that the spacecraft we build are undoubtedly humankind's longest-lasting material legacy? Perhaps it means nothing. Or perhaps the idea of meaning itself breaks down in the vastness of time.
-- Trevor Paglen, 2012
The Last Pictures series invites us to imagine a future when humans no longer exist and all that remains of civilization is a ring of dead satellites orbiting the Earth. As with all his work, Paglen began this project with a question. Could we use the spacecraft circling our planet to tell a story about the former inhabitants of Earth -- the people who made the machines -- and what became of them? This multipart installation documents Paglen's effort to answer that question. The installation includes a matrix of one hundred images, an archival disc, and a timeline, as well as documents related to art, philosophy, religion, and space.
The centerpiece of the installation is the matrix of one hundred images, which Paglen spent years selecting with the help of scientists, artists, and philosophers. The images range in subject from an electron micrograph of a Martian meteorite to cloned Texas Longhorns. They illustrate the myriad calamities of life on Earth, both man-made events and natural disasters, and show humanity buffeted by violence. Together, the images convey an impression of uncertainty and anxiety about our present moment and our future. |