Episode No. 381 of The Modern Art Notes Podcast features artist Trevor Paglen and curator Nancy Edwards.

From Friday, Feb. 22, the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego is presenting “Trevor Paglen: Sites Unseen,” a mid-career survey. Paglen’s work examines the nexus of power, systems, state intelligence and the military, usually in an effort to make the invisible visible. Among the institutions devoting exhibitions to Paglen’s art are the Vienna Secession, and the Kunstverein in Frankfurt. He’s written five books and is a MacArthur ‘genius’ fellowship recipient. “Paglen” is at MCASD’s downtown location through June 2. It was curated by John P. Jacob and organized by the Smithsonian American Art Museum, which published the show’s terrific catalogue. Amazon offers it for $37.

On the second segment, Kimbell Art Museum curator Nancy Edwards discusses “The Lure of Dresden: Bellotto at the Court of Saxony.” The exhibition features onetime Canaletto studio-hand Bernardo Bellotto’s extraordinary broad, yet detailed view paintings of Dresden and its environs. (Bellotto was the court painter in Dresden from roughly 1748-58.) The exhibition is on view through April 28. The excellent catalogue was published by Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden and Sandstein Verlag. Amazon offers it for $33.

Air date: February 21, 2019.

Trevor Paglen, DMSP 5B/F4 From Pyramid Lake Reservation (Military Meteorological Satellite; 1973-054A), 2009.

JMW Turner, Rain, Steam, and Speed — Great Western Railway, 1844.

Trevor Paglen, NSA-Tapped Fiber Optic Cable Landing Site, Mastic Beach, New York, United States, 2015.

Trevor Paglen, Control Tower (Area 52); Tonopah Test Range, NV, Distance ~20 miles, 11:55 am, 2006.

Trevor Paglen, still from 89 Landscapes, 2015.

Trevor Paglen, Autonymy Cube, 2015.

Trevor Paglen, Trinity Cube, 2016.

Trevor Paglen, They Watch the Moon, 2010.

Trevor Paglen, Fanon (Even the Dead Are Not Safe) Eigenface, 2017.

Bernardo Bellotto, Dresden from the Left Bank of the Elbe, below the Fortifications, 1748.

Bernardo Bellotto, The Zwinger Moat in Dresden, 1751-52.

Bernardo Bellotto, Sonnenstein Fortress above Pirna, Seen from Hausberg, 1753-55.

Bernardo Bellotto, Pirna from the Posta Hills, 1753-54.

Bernardo Bellotto, The Breite Gasse in Pirna, 1754/55.

Bernardo Bellotto, Dresden from the Left Bank of the Elbe above the Bridgehead of the Old Town, 1748.