NATO: The Military Codification System for the Ordering of Everything in the World

by Suzanne Treister

The NATO Codification System (NCS) is a military inventory which is both complex and comprehensive, using at its base a four-digit coding system to identify, classify and number items of supply.
Since discovering a file on the NATO Codification System, Suzanne Treister became fascinated by the nature of the codification, using it to develop an encyclopaedic series of watercolours. This book contains 186 of these intricate still life renditions of diverse objects.

208 pages, Hardcover

First published October 7, 2008

Reviews

[Nat]

This is a collection of watercolors that organizes a bewildering variety of objects according to their place in the NATO logistical codification system. The results share some of the oddness of Borges' "Chinese Encyclopedia".

For example, Barnett Newman's Who's Afraid of Red, Yellow and Blue IV falls in class 9915, Colectors' and/or Historical Items (Includes: Antiques; Artifacts; Coins; Stamps; Rare Books; Works of Art, Collectors and/or Historical Gems; Jewelry, and Cut Precious Stones; Natural History Items.) Other classified items include hand towels, soap, film stills, and an English Maid Dress/Straightjacket.