MILSTAR 3 in Sagittarius (Inactive Communication and Targeting Satellite; USA 143)
Artist
Trevor Paglen
(American, born 1974)
Date2008
MediumChromogenic print
DimensionsImage: 37 1/2 x 30 inches (95.25 x 76.2 cm)
Sheet: 38 1/2 x 31 inches (97.79 x 78.74 cm)
Sheet: 38 1/2 x 31 inches (97.79 x 78.74 cm)
Credit LineGift of the Hall Family Foundation
Object number2010.35.13
MarkingsPrinted along both upper and lower (left) margins: "521377-639821-30.00x37.50-2010-07-28/1-tpaglen Loose Trim; User Defaults applied"; and along both upper and lower (right) margins: [bar code].
On View
Not on viewCollections
DescriptionLarge scale color view of night sky, showing stars and linear trace of orbiting satellite.Exhibition History
Heavens:
Photographs of the Sky & Cosmos. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art,
Kansas City, MO, June 15 -November 13, 2011,
no cat.
Surveillance. The Nelson Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO. September 16, 2016 – January 29, 2017, no cat.
Like the great 19th-century survey photographers who charted the little-known territories of the West, Trevor Paglen investigates the unmapped realms of space. Attaching his camera to a telescope, Paglen photographs the night sky to reveal some of the nearly 200 classified American satellites orbiting the earth. Most of these are considered secret: there is little or no official acknowledgment of their existence. MILSTAR, or Military Strategic and Tactical Relay, is a constellation of communications satellites operated by the United States Air Force, that provides secure worldwide communication for the armed forces of the United States. In tracing the paths of these orbiting secret satellites, Paglen brings the question of surveillance, as an expression of military power, to bear on our contemplation of the heavens.
Hall Family Foundation, Kansas City, MO, 2010;
Given by the Hall Family Foundation to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2010.
Given by the Hall Family Foundation to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2010.
Copyright© Trevor Paglen
Information about a particular artwork or image, including provenance information,
is based upon historic information and may not be currently accurate or complete.
Research on artwork and images is an ongoing process, and the information about a
particular artwork or image may not reflect the most current information available to the Museum.
If you notice a mistake or have additional information about a particular artwork or image,
please e-mail provenance@nelson-atkins.org.
