Paul Virilio Unknown Quantity

From 2002 to 2003, Paul Virilio—urban planner, philosopher, and author of numerous books on the moral, political, and cultural consequences of technology—conceived an exhibition for the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain on the theme of accidents.
The exhibition catalog combines Virilio’s philosophical thoughts with a wide selection of images from the press. Contrary to lapsing into the spectacular or dramatic, it strives to initiate rational reflection on accidents, their genesis and accumulation. This lucid deconstruction of accidents stands in contrast to the blindingly swift technical progress and inventions around us. It marks a pause, a conscious reclaiming of the unthought, the perpetual quickening of things, thus prefiguring a potential Museum of Accidents.