National Security Agency, Ft. Meade, Maryland; National Reconnaissance Office, Chantilly, Virginia; National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Springfield, Virginia

Trevor Paglen, National Security Agency, Ft. Meade, Maryland; National Reconnaissance Office, Chantilly, Virginia; National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Springfield, Virginia, 2014, chromogenic prints, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase made possible by the American Art Forum, 2014.57A-C, © 2014, Trevor Paglen. Courtesy of the artist and Metro Pictures.
Copied Trevor Paglen, National Security Agency, Ft. Meade, Maryland; National Reconnaissance Office, Chantilly, Virginia; National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Springfield, Virginia, 2014, chromogenic prints, each image: 18 × 27 in. (45.7 × 68.6 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase made possible by the American Art Forum, 2014.57A-C, © 2014, Trevor Paglen. Courtesy of the artist and Metro Pictures.

Artwork Details

Title
National Security Agency, Ft. Meade, Maryland; National Reconnaissance Office, Chantilly, Virginia; National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Springfield, Virginia
Artist
Date
2014
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
each image: 18 × 27 in. (45.7 × 68.6 cm)
Copyright
© 2014, Trevor Paglen. Courtesy of the artist and Metro Pictures.
Credit Line
Museum purchase made possible by the American Art Forum
Mediums Description
chromogenic prints
Classifications
Subjects
  • Landscape — time — night
  • Architecture Exterior — civic — federal building
Object Number
2014.57A-C
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/2014.57A-C

Artwork Description

Trevor Paglen focuses his lens on the U.S. surveillance agencies that until recently have been little known to the American public. In response to former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden's leak of classified documents detailing the National Security Agency's reconnaissance programs, Paglen rented a helicopter to photograph the headquarters of three large intelligence agencies, then released the images into the public domain.