Theory has reached zero conditions, with modernity crashing into the vanishing points, the metropolis confronting skyscraper vertigo, and the starry skies moving away in the big bang universe. If there is a place where art, nature, and technology have combined to radically distill the existential conditions of postmillennial culture, then perhaps it is in the vast deserts of Nevada. Anasazi, the Bomb, Burning Man, Area 51, Luxor, Las Vegas, Earth Art City, Clock of the Long Now, 5000-year old trees, and the nothingnesses in the deserts of the real — these are the ground zeros for imagining any utopia of the future, the Nevada Test Sites.

forthcoming 2011

Barry Vacker teaches media, cultural, and utopian theory at Temple University, Philadelphia. The author of many articles and book chapters, his recent publications include the text for Peter Granser's photography book Signs (Hatje Cantz 2008). Vacker's recent work with experimental media includes the first three volumes of the "Theory Zero" book series (Zero Conditions, Crashing Into the Vanishing Points, and Starry Skies Moving Away), as well as the documentary film Space Times Square (2007), which he wrote and directed. barryvacker.net

< main page