Ive come to the end of my time on this project so ill leave you with my positioning statement.
This series is a reaction to Britain’s culture of surveillance. Focusing on CCTV as one of the most overt forms of surveillance carried out on society and the parallels it draws with other photographic practices. The images are concerned with humanizing the gaze of the camera and in doing so highlighting the camera as mask for the operator. They encourage consideration of the practice, not as an infallible system of protection or control, but as one occupied by invisible individuals whose personal agendas and prejudices determine the function and effectiveness of the system.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Cameras as authority figures
One thing that became of interest to me while researching this project but was not considered for inclusion as images is the idea of cameras as modern icons of authority and how that relates to the notions of surveillance that i have been covering.
Foucault's panoptic model of society is one that best fits CCTV rather than cameras in general due to his claims that it functions at its best when the gaze cannot be verified. having said this, the associations with the cameras gaze and control have been facilitated in more recent times to bolster the holders authority. in the UK this point is exemplified by the Forward Intelligence Unit (FIT), police armed with digital SLRs and camcorders whose purpose is to gather evidence and seek out potential troublemakers in situations where the police are involved in crowd control situations. the idea behind this is that although the crowd may vastly outnumber the police, if individuals can be identified and singled out they can later be dealt with as individuals there by removing the sense of power they may feel as a group and placing it back in the hands of the police.
Importantly in this situation it is not the police presence which holds authority but the camera and the information it can record. Again to reference Foucault there is a fundamental link between power and knowledge and thus the cameras ability to document events allows the holder to create his or her own truthful version of that event, to control it, to have power over it. The police's understanding of this is not to be underestimated or assumed to halt at the arming of police with cameras. In an open letter from the National Union of Journalists to the home office, Jeremy Dear (2008) comments on the FIT’s targeting of photographers covering political protest.
“The government must stamp out the routine and deliberate targeting of photographers and other journalists by the Forward Intelligence Team. Such actions undermine media freedom and can serve to intimidate photographers trying to carry out their lawful work.”
His letter describes how police actively discourage the use of cameras so that the knowledge-power balance may be tipped in their favor. Berger uses the political protest as the setting for his discussion on the cameras ability to reproduce reality or rather the photographers ability to re-present his version of reality. simply by turning the camera to exclude an element, a crowd can be transformed into an violent mob or the police into the tools of an oppressive state.
Although Jeremy Dear rightly advocates the rights of his union members to carry out their work he neglects to defend the general publics right to use cameras in this situation. The availability of affordable cameras and camcorders to the public has allowed people to exercise this knowledge-power dynamic to there advantage and form watchdogs against misuse of power. notably the filming of Rodney Kings assault at the hands of several police officers. filmed by a member of the public on home videoing equipment allowed king to stand against the police in court. the video footage was aired on national news stations and put great pressure on the judge not to side with the police which was the president in such cases.
a project named witness combines human rights campaigning with video technology and the internet as a medium of distribution. they allow people affected by human rights violations to expose those committing them on a global scale. the ability to share this information with such a wide audience has also greatly affected the power of the camera. a similar action happened spontaneously at the start of 2009 when Oscar Grant was shot dead by police in Oakland, California while lying on the platform of the city's underground system. many passengers where already filming the police who they thought where using unnecessary force before the incident. the video quickly made its way onto web sites such as youtube as well as official news websites. shortly after this it was aired on TV news and the piece was uploaded back onto the internet, this video received over 500,000 in 4 days. such images allow people to make their own judgments about events and place pressure on those in positions of power to be properly punished and more importantly reassuring the public that they deal with such issues responsibly
Unfortunately as Jeremy Dear noted the police seem to be bent on avoiding the critical gaze of the public rather than responding to it. indeed many people at the scene of the Oscar Grant shooting reported the police confiscating phones and cameras. recently in the UK section 76 of the counter terrorism act criminalizes gathering of information (including photographs) of police and armed forces with a potential prison sentence of 10 years.
Now at this stage it must seem somewhat hypocritical to be singing the praises of surveillance carried out against police and others in positions of power while producing a project criticizing CCTV in Britain. i'll admit that in some respects it is but i find it interesting that the police themselves, who we presume CCTV is ultimately destined for, seem to be no keener on the idea than myself. i also feel that the those who join the police force are entrusted with powers that warrant a need for transparency. lastly the specific targeting of police for surveillance begins when members of the public are concerned by their actions unlike CCTV which is a constant presence.
Some links to relating to discussed
section 76
witness
Oscar Grant news report
FIT tackle anti social behavior
Foucault's panoptic model of society is one that best fits CCTV rather than cameras in general due to his claims that it functions at its best when the gaze cannot be verified. having said this, the associations with the cameras gaze and control have been facilitated in more recent times to bolster the holders authority. in the UK this point is exemplified by the Forward Intelligence Unit (FIT), police armed with digital SLRs and camcorders whose purpose is to gather evidence and seek out potential troublemakers in situations where the police are involved in crowd control situations. the idea behind this is that although the crowd may vastly outnumber the police, if individuals can be identified and singled out they can later be dealt with as individuals there by removing the sense of power they may feel as a group and placing it back in the hands of the police.
Importantly in this situation it is not the police presence which holds authority but the camera and the information it can record. Again to reference Foucault there is a fundamental link between power and knowledge and thus the cameras ability to document events allows the holder to create his or her own truthful version of that event, to control it, to have power over it. The police's understanding of this is not to be underestimated or assumed to halt at the arming of police with cameras. In an open letter from the National Union of Journalists to the home office, Jeremy Dear (2008) comments on the FIT’s targeting of photographers covering political protest.
“The government must stamp out the routine and deliberate targeting of photographers and other journalists by the Forward Intelligence Team. Such actions undermine media freedom and can serve to intimidate photographers trying to carry out their lawful work.”
His letter describes how police actively discourage the use of cameras so that the knowledge-power balance may be tipped in their favor. Berger uses the political protest as the setting for his discussion on the cameras ability to reproduce reality or rather the photographers ability to re-present his version of reality. simply by turning the camera to exclude an element, a crowd can be transformed into an violent mob or the police into the tools of an oppressive state.
Although Jeremy Dear rightly advocates the rights of his union members to carry out their work he neglects to defend the general publics right to use cameras in this situation. The availability of affordable cameras and camcorders to the public has allowed people to exercise this knowledge-power dynamic to there advantage and form watchdogs against misuse of power. notably the filming of Rodney Kings assault at the hands of several police officers. filmed by a member of the public on home videoing equipment allowed king to stand against the police in court. the video footage was aired on national news stations and put great pressure on the judge not to side with the police which was the president in such cases.
a project named witness combines human rights campaigning with video technology and the internet as a medium of distribution. they allow people affected by human rights violations to expose those committing them on a global scale. the ability to share this information with such a wide audience has also greatly affected the power of the camera. a similar action happened spontaneously at the start of 2009 when Oscar Grant was shot dead by police in Oakland, California while lying on the platform of the city's underground system. many passengers where already filming the police who they thought where using unnecessary force before the incident. the video quickly made its way onto web sites such as youtube as well as official news websites. shortly after this it was aired on TV news and the piece was uploaded back onto the internet, this video received over 500,000 in 4 days. such images allow people to make their own judgments about events and place pressure on those in positions of power to be properly punished and more importantly reassuring the public that they deal with such issues responsibly
Unfortunately as Jeremy Dear noted the police seem to be bent on avoiding the critical gaze of the public rather than responding to it. indeed many people at the scene of the Oscar Grant shooting reported the police confiscating phones and cameras. recently in the UK section 76 of the counter terrorism act criminalizes gathering of information (including photographs) of police and armed forces with a potential prison sentence of 10 years.
Now at this stage it must seem somewhat hypocritical to be singing the praises of surveillance carried out against police and others in positions of power while producing a project criticizing CCTV in Britain. i'll admit that in some respects it is but i find it interesting that the police themselves, who we presume CCTV is ultimately destined for, seem to be no keener on the idea than myself. i also feel that the those who join the police force are entrusted with powers that warrant a need for transparency. lastly the specific targeting of police for surveillance begins when members of the public are concerned by their actions unlike CCTV which is a constant presence.
Some links to relating to discussed
section 76
witness
Oscar Grant news report
FIT tackle anti social behavior
lighting
some quick sketches detailing positions and number of lights for each of my final images. flashes where triggered using either pocket wizards, slaves or one of my glamorous assistants. if gelled i wrote the colour next to the flash.
exposure was generally f8 as i tried to keep the distance of the lights fairly consistent, shutter speed at about a second to allow the flash to be synced by hand when needed and also to allow some ambient to expose features other than the subject. i did a couple of shots of just the environments using only ambient light but i didn't use much of these for the final images, the exception being for the under side of the bridge in the canal shoot.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
broadmarsh
this is an underpass which gives access to both the bus station and the broad marsh shopping center. one of the flashes died so i had to use a ambient as a main source of light for the model and as such lost some of the exaggerated colour casts. strangely the scan from an image i shot to Finnish the roll of film, using no flash and from a different angle produced much more vivid results. having said this im still pretty pleased with the image as it is possibly the most successful composites so far.
car park
i chose this location as car parks form hubs for those traveling in to cites be it for work, shopping, etc.
Friday, March 13, 2009
watching the tram
it was quite nice to be able to get an actual cctv camera in the frame aswell as the figure. struck me as odd how i was able to set up 3 flash stands and a tripod with out any disruption at the tram stop. it would never be possible at the train station despite the two being conjoined.
at the canal
various images from the canal which will be combined for the final series.
boring technical stuff...
Mamiyah RB
Kodak VC 400
3 gelled flashs
boring technical stuff...
Mamiyah RB
Kodak VC 400
3 gelled flashs
Thursday, March 12, 2009
test shoot
fairly successful first attempt. unfortunately i had to paint a new hood in photoshop which doesn't hold up to much scrutiny at print size. this is mostly due to the file size of the 6MP camera, although fine for printing it was very pixelated while painting making it hard to add detail/texture. on top of this the long exposure needed for proper exposure left the model somewhat soft from movement.
next stage i think is to try using a medium format film camera and scan in the negatives to hopefully give me some leeway for editing. i will also aim to expose the subject with flash to make sure any movement on their part doesn't affect the image.
next stage i think is to try using a medium format film camera and scan in the negatives to hopefully give me some leeway for editing. i will also aim to expose the subject with flash to make sure any movement on their part doesn't affect the image.
flash show and cctv
some mufti exposure images from the day that Britain ground to a halt. could be nice to do a typography of Nottingham CCTV on one frame but i don't know how well it would work on cameras that don't have such a blank background.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Behind the Screens
Gavin J.D. Smith has written a very interesting essay on the subject of CCTV controllers which can be found here.
What separates Smith’s work on CCTV from others on the subject is that he has not chosen to side with either pro or anti surveillance camps instead choosing to approach his research from an ethnographic perspective which aims to impartially evaluate the system through a self involved case study. In this case he has chosen to focus on the security staff operating a CCTV control room of an American college.
The most important feature of the essay is that it rejects “technological determinism” which Smith describes as an “unquestioning belief in the power of technology, whether benign or malevolent.” To combat this smith focuses on the human element to determine both the limitations of the system and how it operates outside of the hypothetical realm that most discussions are based.
One area Smith was keen to investigate was who was being targeted and why. In his observations he concluded that operators, simply through the practice of their job, had to select certain members of society which they considered to be more likely to commit crimes so as to prevent them. This meant that the gaze of the cameras was largely determined by personal prejudice of the operator. Young males in particular where found to be subject of the cameras gaze while anyone who’s clothing made it harder to distinguish where seen to be deliberately avoiding the cameras and as a consequence where more intensely scrutinized. In addition to this Smith found that much of the time the operators where not surveying the campus but following subjects of personal interest be it female students, interesting cars or even playing hide and seek with the security guards. One operator admitted to training one camera on his car at all times so as to assure its safety. Smith points towards another study by Norris and Armstrong which focused on an alternative CCTV operating room to conclude that this is not a localized problem.
“The gaze of the cameras does not fall equally on all users of the street but on those who are stereotypically predefined as potentially deviant, or who through appearance and demeanour, are singled out by operators as unrespectable. In this way youth, particularly those already socially and economically marginal, may be subject to even greater levels of authoritative intervention and official stigmatization, and rather than contributing to social justice through the reduction of victimization, CCTV will merely become a tool of injustice through the amplification of differential and discriminatory policing” (Norris and Armstrong 1997).
Smith also interestingly explores the consequences of an ineffective CCTV system which is an unusual stance for criticism compared to more familiar Orwellian scenarios. One of the key issues is that of misplaced trust in the security afforded by CCTV could likely cause people to become unnecessary victims of crime as they allow there guard to be lowered and place them selves into much more risky situations. On top of this the presence of the symbolic authority figure risks absolving peoples feelings of personal or collective responsibility for each other, as individuals assure themselves that either security staff or police can respond to protect of apprehend individuals according to their position. Unfortunately CCTV is replacing man power much in the same way that Bentham’s panopticon did but this does not offer the public more protection it merely increases the likely hood of prosecution. Most interestingly when Smith asked one of the CCTV operators’ what he felt would improve the system they said more men on the ground.
“Definitely more men. I mean the cameras are useful an’ that, but they can’t go
inside buildings and actually step in and physically remove the criminals. They
can’t stop an assault happenin’ either can they? They can watch an’ record it, but
they can’t intervene like my men can.” (Davie 2004)
When ascertaining the cause of these problems Smith points towards the human element and seeks to understand the route of the operator’s problems rather than simply vilify them. Smith looks firstly at delegation of such a demanding role to essential unskilled minimum wage workers. He felt that the wage was the most important factor regarding the operators shared feelings of under appreciation and that this did not make the operators inclined to perform to their full potential. With regards to training the main interest was the operation of the colleges specific network of cameras and thus the operators of the cameras where expected to instinctively know who to target and why. This is a green light from the institution to exercise personal prejudice in the name of security. The most obvious and obstructive problem facing the operators was the problem of boredom. Smith himself admitted to struggling to concentrate on the screens of the control room after 45 minutes and felt it was unreasonable to expect anyone to be attentive over the duration of an 8 hour shift.
I find this essay particularly useful in contextualizing my work. My initial idea was to introduce a human element to the CCTV image that we have become almost too familiar with. By encouraging the viewer to consider the person behind the lens they will hopefully begin to ask similar questions that are so common place when viewing documentary photography. Most people are aware that the camera is not merely a mechanical device that records reality and this same attitude should be accepted when regarding a system of cameras.
for good measure enjoy this trailer of a film about a CCTV operator turned stalker
What separates Smith’s work on CCTV from others on the subject is that he has not chosen to side with either pro or anti surveillance camps instead choosing to approach his research from an ethnographic perspective which aims to impartially evaluate the system through a self involved case study. In this case he has chosen to focus on the security staff operating a CCTV control room of an American college.
The most important feature of the essay is that it rejects “technological determinism” which Smith describes as an “unquestioning belief in the power of technology, whether benign or malevolent.” To combat this smith focuses on the human element to determine both the limitations of the system and how it operates outside of the hypothetical realm that most discussions are based.
One area Smith was keen to investigate was who was being targeted and why. In his observations he concluded that operators, simply through the practice of their job, had to select certain members of society which they considered to be more likely to commit crimes so as to prevent them. This meant that the gaze of the cameras was largely determined by personal prejudice of the operator. Young males in particular where found to be subject of the cameras gaze while anyone who’s clothing made it harder to distinguish where seen to be deliberately avoiding the cameras and as a consequence where more intensely scrutinized. In addition to this Smith found that much of the time the operators where not surveying the campus but following subjects of personal interest be it female students, interesting cars or even playing hide and seek with the security guards. One operator admitted to training one camera on his car at all times so as to assure its safety. Smith points towards another study by Norris and Armstrong which focused on an alternative CCTV operating room to conclude that this is not a localized problem.
“The gaze of the cameras does not fall equally on all users of the street but on those who are stereotypically predefined as potentially deviant, or who through appearance and demeanour, are singled out by operators as unrespectable. In this way youth, particularly those already socially and economically marginal, may be subject to even greater levels of authoritative intervention and official stigmatization, and rather than contributing to social justice through the reduction of victimization, CCTV will merely become a tool of injustice through the amplification of differential and discriminatory policing” (Norris and Armstrong 1997).
Smith also interestingly explores the consequences of an ineffective CCTV system which is an unusual stance for criticism compared to more familiar Orwellian scenarios. One of the key issues is that of misplaced trust in the security afforded by CCTV could likely cause people to become unnecessary victims of crime as they allow there guard to be lowered and place them selves into much more risky situations. On top of this the presence of the symbolic authority figure risks absolving peoples feelings of personal or collective responsibility for each other, as individuals assure themselves that either security staff or police can respond to protect of apprehend individuals according to their position. Unfortunately CCTV is replacing man power much in the same way that Bentham’s panopticon did but this does not offer the public more protection it merely increases the likely hood of prosecution. Most interestingly when Smith asked one of the CCTV operators’ what he felt would improve the system they said more men on the ground.
“Definitely more men. I mean the cameras are useful an’ that, but they can’t go
inside buildings and actually step in and physically remove the criminals. They
can’t stop an assault happenin’ either can they? They can watch an’ record it, but
they can’t intervene like my men can.” (Davie 2004)
When ascertaining the cause of these problems Smith points towards the human element and seeks to understand the route of the operator’s problems rather than simply vilify them. Smith looks firstly at delegation of such a demanding role to essential unskilled minimum wage workers. He felt that the wage was the most important factor regarding the operators shared feelings of under appreciation and that this did not make the operators inclined to perform to their full potential. With regards to training the main interest was the operation of the colleges specific network of cameras and thus the operators of the cameras where expected to instinctively know who to target and why. This is a green light from the institution to exercise personal prejudice in the name of security. The most obvious and obstructive problem facing the operators was the problem of boredom. Smith himself admitted to struggling to concentrate on the screens of the control room after 45 minutes and felt it was unreasonable to expect anyone to be attentive over the duration of an 8 hour shift.
I find this essay particularly useful in contextualizing my work. My initial idea was to introduce a human element to the CCTV image that we have become almost too familiar with. By encouraging the viewer to consider the person behind the lens they will hopefully begin to ask similar questions that are so common place when viewing documentary photography. Most people are aware that the camera is not merely a mechanical device that records reality and this same attitude should be accepted when regarding a system of cameras.
for good measure enjoy this trailer of a film about a CCTV operator turned stalker
Friday, February 20, 2009
Discipline and Punish
Foucault’s book discipline and punish examines the forces of social control since the rise of modernity. His opening chapter contrasts the public torture of Robert-François Damiens in the 1800’s against the schedule of inmates in 19th century prisons.
His book gives particular attention to Jeremy Bentham’s Panoptican, a modernist prison design which sort to maximize prison efficiency by reducing the number of guards required in relation the number of prisoners.
The way Bentham achieved this was to build a multi story, semi circular structure. Prison cells lined the walls with a window to the outside and bars in place of an inside wall. At the centre of the prison a guard tower over looks every cell, which is backlit by its window rendering the prisoner permanently visible. The guard, on the other hand, is shielded from view by venetian blinds so that inmates can not tell when they are being watched and more importantly when they are not being watched. This perceived state of constant surveillance forces the inmates to regulate their behavior at all times and thus eliminates the need for enough guards to carry out such surveillance.
“The most striking thesis of discipline and punish is that the disciplinary techniques introduced for criminals become the model for other modern sites of control (schools, hospitals, factories, etc). So that the prison discipline pervades all of modern society. We live, Foucault says, in a ‘carceral archipeligo’ (DP, 298)” (Gutter)
Foucault describes these techniques as taking the form of three distinct actions;
Hierarchical observation.
Modern architecture are built to both serve the functional need of the people who use them but also to increase their visibility to assure that the powers that govern the space can be effective. The panoptican is the archetype of this structure but the principles are applied elsewhere such as schools, lecture theaters, factory floors and office buildings.
Normalizing judgment.
Society increasingly values rankings and statics, individuals are therefore judged not by the rightness or wrongness of there actions but by how they compare to their peers.
Examination.
This final action combines the two principles above and implements them. Individuals can then be observed, judged and attention can be focused on those who exhibit unacceptable or unusual behavior.
This is of course fascinating in much the same way 1984 or the matrix is but is it applicable to post-modern society? I personally believe it is more relevant in a contemporary Brittish context than it was in France at its time of writing. With the advent of CCTV, expensive and complex architectural concerns or active authority figures are no longer necessary. An understanding of how the normalizing gaze is employed to examine us is ingrained through the education system from an early age. Though we may not be aware of it our lives more closely match that of the prisoner than ever before.
His book gives particular attention to Jeremy Bentham’s Panoptican, a modernist prison design which sort to maximize prison efficiency by reducing the number of guards required in relation the number of prisoners.
The way Bentham achieved this was to build a multi story, semi circular structure. Prison cells lined the walls with a window to the outside and bars in place of an inside wall. At the centre of the prison a guard tower over looks every cell, which is backlit by its window rendering the prisoner permanently visible. The guard, on the other hand, is shielded from view by venetian blinds so that inmates can not tell when they are being watched and more importantly when they are not being watched. This perceived state of constant surveillance forces the inmates to regulate their behavior at all times and thus eliminates the need for enough guards to carry out such surveillance.
“The most striking thesis of discipline and punish is that the disciplinary techniques introduced for criminals become the model for other modern sites of control (schools, hospitals, factories, etc). So that the prison discipline pervades all of modern society. We live, Foucault says, in a ‘carceral archipeligo’ (DP, 298)” (Gutter)
Foucault describes these techniques as taking the form of three distinct actions;
Hierarchical observation.
Modern architecture are built to both serve the functional need of the people who use them but also to increase their visibility to assure that the powers that govern the space can be effective. The panoptican is the archetype of this structure but the principles are applied elsewhere such as schools, lecture theaters, factory floors and office buildings.
Normalizing judgment.
Society increasingly values rankings and statics, individuals are therefore judged not by the rightness or wrongness of there actions but by how they compare to their peers.
Examination.
This final action combines the two principles above and implements them. Individuals can then be observed, judged and attention can be focused on those who exhibit unacceptable or unusual behavior.
This is of course fascinating in much the same way 1984 or the matrix is but is it applicable to post-modern society? I personally believe it is more relevant in a contemporary Brittish context than it was in France at its time of writing. With the advent of CCTV, expensive and complex architectural concerns or active authority figures are no longer necessary. An understanding of how the normalizing gaze is employed to examine us is ingrained through the education system from an early age. Though we may not be aware of it our lives more closely match that of the prisoner than ever before.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
surveillance in the house of lords
somewhat late on putting this up but interesting in relation to my project none the less. Here is a brief audio comment on the house of lords statements.
Firstly i am pleased to see genuine criticism CCTV surveillance being given by government and the issues of intrusions of privacy and effectiveness being considered. unfortunately as mentioned in the report no comments where made on a proposed database cataloging mobile phone use as well as internet browsing habits and email use. Here we see one of the most damaging factors of Britons acceptance of CCTV. previously unacceptable intrusions on personal privacy become acceptable by proxy as CCTV fails to achieve its intended purpose.
Firstly i am pleased to see genuine criticism CCTV surveillance being given by government and the issues of intrusions of privacy and effectiveness being considered. unfortunately as mentioned in the report no comments where made on a proposed database cataloging mobile phone use as well as internet browsing habits and email use. Here we see one of the most damaging factors of Britons acceptance of CCTV. previously unacceptable intrusions on personal privacy become acceptable by proxy as CCTV fails to achieve its intended purpose.
Guilty pleasures
In the essay Guilty Pleasures, from which the quote at the top of my blog comes from, Batchen discusses artists and authorities’ preoccupation with observation and surveillance through the medium of photography. In his writing there are two more quotes I will discuss with relation to my project.
“According to the Philadelphia photographer of 16th October 1886 ‘it(hidden cameras) can do more mischief than its weight in dynamite, or more good than its weight in gold, according to the disposition of the person who pulls the string’”
This statement in particular I find very interesting in relation to a discussion on surveillance as it neither tries to condemn nor justify the use of photography for surveillance but acknowledges both its potentials. One of the main concerns of my project is not the legitimacy of CCTV surveillance as a practice but the way in which it is applied. It seems that there is no transparency when it comes to those who implement it and more worryingly no need to prove its necessity nor effectiveness to those whose privacy it sacrifices.
“The average person believes implicitly that the photograph cannot falsify. Of course you and I know that this unbounded faith in the integrity of the photograph is often rudely shaken, for, while photographs may not lie, liars may photograph. It becomes necessary, then, in our relation to the truth, to see to it that the camera we depend upon contracts no bad habits”
Although I feel the first statement in this quote is somewhat untrue, in the context of discussing specifically CCTV footage from which I took it I believe this is a common problem. With the public being familiarized with the aesthetic of CCTV footage through Hollywood films such as enemy of the state and through television programming such as crime watch; subjects portrayed by cameras designed for the surveillance of criminals become guilty by association. Any action which is out of the ordinary becomes suspicious regardless of its legality.
“According to the Philadelphia photographer of 16th October 1886 ‘it(hidden cameras) can do more mischief than its weight in dynamite, or more good than its weight in gold, according to the disposition of the person who pulls the string’”
This statement in particular I find very interesting in relation to a discussion on surveillance as it neither tries to condemn nor justify the use of photography for surveillance but acknowledges both its potentials. One of the main concerns of my project is not the legitimacy of CCTV surveillance as a practice but the way in which it is applied. It seems that there is no transparency when it comes to those who implement it and more worryingly no need to prove its necessity nor effectiveness to those whose privacy it sacrifices.
“The average person believes implicitly that the photograph cannot falsify. Of course you and I know that this unbounded faith in the integrity of the photograph is often rudely shaken, for, while photographs may not lie, liars may photograph. It becomes necessary, then, in our relation to the truth, to see to it that the camera we depend upon contracts no bad habits”
Although I feel the first statement in this quote is somewhat untrue, in the context of discussing specifically CCTV footage from which I took it I believe this is a common problem. With the public being familiarized with the aesthetic of CCTV footage through Hollywood films such as enemy of the state and through television programming such as crime watch; subjects portrayed by cameras designed for the surveillance of criminals become guilty by association. Any action which is out of the ordinary becomes suspicious regardless of its legality.
mask up
Here is a sample of a series a previously made on CCTV. this project focused on the personal effect CCTV had on my life and my desire to preserve my privacy. this was done by censoring my face before it was recorded. i did this by first photographing my face and then pixelating it, printing it onto card and making it into a mask. This mask was intended as a physical barrier between the camera and myself but also a visual metaphor for the masks we wear in public in our everyday lives.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Faceless
Featured in these articles BBC, Guardian.
Manu Luksch's film Faceless goes one step further than the surveillance camera players. employing cameras used for surveillance to produce a 50min narrative film. the video was per cured using the Data Protection Act over the course of 5 years. to comply with this law all individuals featured in the footage, other than the one requesting a copy, must have there faces censored. this forms the basis of the narrative which portrays a distopian future where a women wakes in a world where no one but her self has a face.
unfortunatly as of 2001 it has become increasingly difficult to gain acces to our own footage. the footage must now be of a "biographical" nature though surely this should include everything that happens in a life. it must also not cause extra work for the CCTV operator, this is of course impossible as every face other than your own must be censored. despite this clamp down i have, in the past, tried to acquire my own footage but have simply been ignored.
Manu Luksch's film Faceless goes one step further than the surveillance camera players. employing cameras used for surveillance to produce a 50min narrative film. the video was per cured using the Data Protection Act over the course of 5 years. to comply with this law all individuals featured in the footage, other than the one requesting a copy, must have there faces censored. this forms the basis of the narrative which portrays a distopian future where a women wakes in a world where no one but her self has a face.
unfortunatly as of 2001 it has become increasingly difficult to gain acces to our own footage. the footage must now be of a "biographical" nature though surely this should include everything that happens in a life. it must also not cause extra work for the CCTV operator, this is of course impossible as every face other than your own must be censored. despite this clamp down i have, in the past, tried to acquire my own footage but have simply been ignored.
surveillance camera players
the surveilance camera players are a group of artists/activists which provide CCTV cameras with something to film. through a combination of street performance and signage they create tv programs for those watching the cameras and more importantly those passing who find themselves alerted to the presence of specific cameras employed for the production
"Surveillance society, which is an imminent reality, must be critiqued and attacked concurrently. Guerrilla programming is direct: it is a simultaneous exposure of the oppressive system and subversion of that system to inform the oppressors (and anyone else who may be watching us) of their own ridiculousness and complicity. As theory and practice must occur simultaneously, so must critique and subversion. Guerilla programming is go!"
-- M. Carter, 1995.
"Surveillance society, which is an imminent reality, must be critiqued and attacked concurrently. Guerrilla programming is direct: it is a simultaneous exposure of the oppressive system and subversion of that system to inform the oppressors (and anyone else who may be watching us) of their own ridiculousness and complicity. As theory and practice must occur simultaneously, so must critique and subversion. Guerilla programming is go!"
-- M. Carter, 1995.
CCTV in Nottingham
Treasure Hunt
the Nottingham based CCTV treasure hunt is seeking to highlight the level of CCTV surveillance carried out in the local area through mapping the location of cameras around the city center. The project uses digital photography to record the cameras and using a function of Google maps publishes there location on their website which is accessible to anyone. it is a user generated project meaning that although it has a specific creator any one in the local community can contribute. this way of working means that it can be easily updated as the CCTV system is updated.
A similar project created by a Jez Noond in 2005 mapped the CCTV cameras of nottingham city centre and went further to categorize the cameras by function. This information was shared in the form of a tour led by Noond
the Nottingham based CCTV treasure hunt is seeking to highlight the level of CCTV surveillance carried out in the local area through mapping the location of cameras around the city center. The project uses digital photography to record the cameras and using a function of Google maps publishes there location on their website which is accessible to anyone. it is a user generated project meaning that although it has a specific creator any one in the local community can contribute. this way of working means that it can be easily updated as the CCTV system is updated.
A similar project created by a Jez Noond in 2005 mapped the CCTV cameras of nottingham city centre and went further to categorize the cameras by function. This information was shared in the form of a tour led by Noond
brief
My project is a reaction to Britain’s culture of surveillance; Focusing on CCTV as one of the most overt forms of surveillance carried out on society and as it resonates with my work as a photographer. This project seeks to highlight the level of surveillance performed on us and also encourage the viewer to question its presence, the need for transparency and the legitimacy of this practice.
Through composite imaging I will create figures with CCTV cameras for heads and insert them into every day situations to see how the dynamic is changed when the mask of the camera is made apparent and the gaze is humanized.
Through composite imaging I will create figures with CCTV cameras for heads and insert them into every day situations to see how the dynamic is changed when the mask of the camera is made apparent and the gaze is humanized.
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