starry skies moving away

table of contents
an inconvenient truth
at the center of the universe

  utopia amidst the starry skies
  nothingness amidst the starry skies

clockwork cosmos
  the copernican revolution
  the sublime beneath the starry skies
  perisphere and the world of tomorrow
  the soviet tomorrow
  industrial utopias

space age
  new frontier
  space age utopias
  apollo 8
  the space age crashes

spaceship earth
  the gaia hypothesis
  biosphere and the world of yesterday
  ecotopias

cyberspace
  expanding virtual universe
  unisphere and google earth
  the copernican revolution in neuromancer
  the matrix, reloaded and reactionary
  infotopias
big bang
  the expanding universe
  no meaning for the rebel without a cause
  no future on the planet of the apes
  no exit from the space odyssey of 2001
  powers of ten
  hubble deep fields
  living in the twilight zone
starry skies and utopia


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