T her e has b een a p rol i f e ra ti on - pa rt i cu l a rl y i n photogra phy, f i l m and vi de o - o f work tha t expl or es (of ten i n me l a ncho l i c mode, bu t f re qu e ntl y t oo w i th a sense o f s ti l l r aw ma te ri a l i ty) the rui ns o f mo de rni s t a rchi tec ture, the de f unct i nfr a s tr uc ture o f t he col d w ar, te rri tori e s de ci ma ted by i nd us tri a l or e nvi ronm e nta l di sa s t er, t he relics of the economic hubris of the last decades of the twentieth century. In recent years many artists have turned to themes and imagery of decay and destruction - more especially, the remai ns o f bu i l di ng s an d land scape s tha t no w se em l i ke rel i cs o f the l as t century. M uch of the a rt, t h ou gh t and li te ratu re de s cri be d i n thi s book i s a respons e to this contemporary state of ruinous affairs. At the sam e ti me, the pr os pect o f pl a ne t a r y rui na ti on throu gh cl i mate chang e - a l i nge ri ng di sa s t er t o repl ace the s wif t nucl e a r one i ma gi ne d h a l f a ce ntury ago - di d not f ai l to nouri s h furthe r r ui nou s f antas i es a nd a pprehe nsions. In general, a sense of t he wani ng of t he mo de rni ty and mode rni s m o f t he twe nti e th c e ntury w as i n the ai r, al ong si de an a w arenes s o f the dec ayi ng m a ch i ne ry o f col onial i s m a nd a vex ed nostalgi a f or the a e s the ti c f orms and i con og rap hy o f th e f orm e r Sovi et B l oc.
At the close of the last decade, economic ruin led to a rash of images of archi t ectu r al and urba n-pl a nning di sa ster - hous i ng devel opments tha t woul d never be i nha bi ted, off i ce bl ock s tha t coul d no t b e com pl e ted - and a rene wed awareness of the long decline of major industrial sites and cities of the last century: the plight of Detroit became the prime example.
I n the wake o f the de s tr uc ti on o f t he Worl d Tr ade Ce nter i n 20 01, and i n the m i d s t o f the wars th a t f oll owe d i n A f ghani stan a nd I raq (w i th the i r i mages o f e xpl od e d B uddh as i n B a mi yan a nd to ppl e d statu es o f Sa ddam Hu ss ei n, r e s pe cti vel y) we have been f aced once more wi th the as sa ul t on u rban a nd arch i tec tur a l ma te ri a l i ty as a symbol of ge op ol i ti ca l strife. The first decade or so of the twenty-first century has seen what appears to be a di s ti nct f l ou ri s hing - i n the r ea l ms o f gl oba l e v ents, p op ula r cult ure a nd the wo rk o f v i sua l arti s ts - o f i mages o f catas tr ophe and decay. W e l i ve now, t ho ug h we m i g h t say th a t we have always l i ved, in a ti m e o f ruina ti on.
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