Trevor Paglen talking at google about America’s black sites, classified projects, secret military patches…

»Dr. Sidney Gottlieb’s Approval of MKULTRA Subproject #8 on LSD-June 9,1953« and » Joint Hearing- Select Committee on Intelligence- Project MKULTRA, The CIA’s Program of Research in Behavorial Modification- Aug 3,1977 «, drawings from the Book, Volume 3: “The Most Fine Art of Redaction. A Primer In the Erasure of Grand Ideas.” By Gerald Edwards.

»Symbology (Volume I)«, 2006 by Trevor Paglen. Military culture is filled with a totemic visual language consisting of symbols and insignia that signify everything from various unit and command affiliations to significant events, and noteworthy programs. A typical uniform will sport patches identifying its wearer’s job, program affiliation, achievements and place within the military hierarchy. These markers of identity and program heraldry begin to create a peculiar symbolic regime when they depict one’s affiliation with what defense-industry insiders call the “black world” – the world of classified programs, projects, and places, whose outlines, even existence, are deeply-held secrets. Nonetheless, the Pentagon’s “black world” is replete with the rich symbolic language that characterizes other, less obscure, military activities. The symbols and insignia shown in the Symbology series provide a glimpse into how contemporary military units answer questions that have historically been the purview of mystery cults, secret societies, religions, and mystics: How does one represent that which, by definition, must not be represented?

Secrets For Sale trailer and blog, other work by Elodie Pong.