Composed of official committee members and illicit “agents,” the INS harks back to early twentieth-century avant-gardes, producing declarations, reports, public hearings, broadcasts, and research documents, as well as orchestrating more covert media infiltrations, all governed by the objective, set out in the “Founding Manifesto,” of mapping, entering, and occupying the space of death through literature, philosophy, culture, and technology.

This publication is devoted to the phenomenon of the artist novel, and whether it can be considered to be a medium in its own right within the visual arts. Thanks to the contributions of a selected group of artists, writers, curators, and scholars this publication strives to demonstrate that literature, when treated by visual artists, can take place well beyond the space of the book.

This publication focuses on a single work of art: 5,000 Feet is the Best (2011) by artist Omer Fast. With this cinematic video work, Fast has entered into a discussion about one of the most pressing issues today, namely drone surveillance and warfare—that is, the use of unmanned planes operated by “pilots” on the ground.