Artist
Julie Anand(American, born 1974)American, born 1974
Artist
Damon Sauer(American, born 1978)American, born 1978
CultureAmerican
Titles
- Calibration Mark AJ56 with Satellites
- from the series Ground Truth - Corona Landmarks
Date2017
Place depictedCasa Grande, Arizona, United States
MediumInkjet print
DimensionsSheet: 55 × 44 in. (139.7 × 111.8 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by Bryn Larsen
Object number2017.426
Not on view
Explore Further
Department
PhotographyObject Type
From 1959 to 1972, the United States
launched 144 covert satellites to monitor Communist nations. To focus and
calibrate those satellite cameras, 60-foot targets were built in a 16-mile grid
in Arizona’s Sonoran Desert. Here, Anand and Sauer photographed one remaining
target and digitally embedded the paths of all publicly known satellites crossing the site at the
moment of image capture. The contrast between the remnants of a secret Cold War
program and the surfeit of currently active satellites prompts uneasy questions
about the magnitude of covert surveillance in today’s world.
ProvenanceThe artist's, Phoenix; purchased by MFAH, 2017.
Cataloguing data may change with further research.
If you have questions about this work of art or the MFAH Online Collection please contact us.
Jon Tonks
2013, printed 2014
Inkjet print
2015.266
