crashing into the vanishing points

table of contents
pale blue dot
vanishing points for modernity
  vanishing points in space and time
 the metropolis as modern utopia
 the metropolis turns dystopian
 ground zeros
  trinity
 tomorrowland
 whole earth
 apollo 8
 the big bang
nuclear apocalypse
  doomsday clock
 MAD-ness
 nuclear apocalypse in hollywood
 007 and the spectre of modernity
 SDI and the terminator
 nuclear fundamentalism
 virtual apocalypse
  media as mirror, mirage, master, market, model, mind, matrix
 iphones and reversing the vanishing points
 disney and baudrillard
 tomorrowland, evolution and devolution
 ecological apocalypse
  earth as aesthetic object
 the gaia hypothesis
 deep ecologies
 the unabomber manifesto
 hurricane katrina
 secular apocalypse
  modernity and humanity
 the god hypothesis
 we are not at the center of the universe
 cosmic apocalypse
  the warping of space-time
 the expanding universe
 strange destiny
 the end of the future?


about the author
Barry Vacker teaches courses on media, culture, and utopian theory at Temple University in Philadelphia. Most recently, Vacker wrote the text for Peter Granser's photography book Signs, published by Hatje Cantz (Stuttgart 2008); he also wrote and directed the experimental documentary Space Times Square (2007). A professor for twelve years, he received his PhD from the University of Texas at Austin.

forthcoming October 2008
 
 

"This is a bold and original series that offers startling insights into the ground zeros for global culture, the strange conditions facing theory and utopia for the postmillennial world."
— Carine Krecké, Université de Provence (France) and Elisabeth Krecké, Université Paul Cézanne (France)

"Deploying a mix of existential and utopian philosophy to decode many strange cultural parallels, the Theory Zero series offers a visually striking critique that will inspire artists and infuriate intellectuals from across the spectrum."
— Chris Matthew Sciabarra, New York University

"By mixing Sartre and Baudrillard with everyday art and architecture, Barry Vacker creates a canvas for illuminating the 'zero' conditions for theory, the vanishing points for the conventional ways of seeing postmillennial culture."
— Jarice Hanson, The University of Massachusetts - Amherst