Unearned Intimacies- Michele Iversen

This photography project from a few years ago presents photographs taken when standing outside peoples’ houses or other domiciles and taking photographs of moments that seem intimate. The subjects have neither consented nor are aware that they’re the subjects of the photos.

I think the project is particularly interesting since it violates our expectation of privacy in the home. Whereas a person would not be expected to have a candid photo taken of them while walking along the street, even though some people might perceive that as creepy, the idea that they could have their photo taken as they walk to a window is very weird. I think it invades privacy to make a point in the same way I’d like to for my final project.

Showroom Girls by William Popelier

In this project by a Dutch artist, photos taken by two pre-teen girls on a store showroom’s webcam are reapportioned by the artist, who then (assumably) used tineye or another reverse lookup service to find their Twitter and other social media handles and seems to essentially stalk these two girls. That’s super creepy. This project diverges from my own ideas in that I’d like to violate the privacy of people who have at least come to an art exhibit rather than unwitting observers. However, the idea of looking people up on the Internet to make a point is the same approach I’d take, albeit automatically.

Michelle Teran- Life: a user’s manual

This project unmasks the trackers who are using CCTV and other surveillance techniques to track people. Taking advantage of the unencrypted signals many surveillance cameras broadcast right out of the box, this traveling exhibit broadcasts and brings into the light the surveillance that is happening without you realizing it.