2016_Vasileios Bouzas_The discreet charm of Surveillance.pdf (original) (raw)

Keywords: Surveillance, Visual, Culture, Internet, Ethics The present report refers to different forms of surveillance through the presentation and comments on selected artworks that have incorporated them in their conceptual or technical content and to the corresponding theoretical approaches. It highlights the continuity in the research of various artists on the topic by presenting key historic projects. Emphasis is given to the presentation of contemporary forms of monitoring, especially the ones using the Internet and the co management of mass information data. The presentation of selected art projects is not only related to the fact that a large proportion of criticism and comments come from the art world (the disclosure of surveillance), but also that they cancel the totally abstract and invisible environment of the modern forms of surveillance by providing the necessary visualization. It comments on the invisible surveillance that takes place in real time during the online-communication of thousands of unsuspecting users, the possibility of interference and distortion of the communication by creating new content, the power of the new forms of surveillance as they have been developed through the use of wireless networks that incorporate the user's location as well as the location of 'things'. It reveals the dynamics of the positive use of surveillance on the fields of social and artistic practices and at the same time the actual and potential risks of their possible misuse. It presents the correlation of the projects with a range of theoretical approaches, which are highlighting the unique characteristics of the current dematerialized and decentralized "Super-Panopticon" as the relation of contemporary monitoring to the touch rather to the picture by the use of computer and mobile keyboards, the massive "self-monitoring" which is currently going on by converting the objects to subjects (inverse surveillance) and the voluntary disclosure of personal multiple data formats during the interaction process, the massive collection, storage, classification and commercialization of big data, the potential of manipulation of social behavior as well as the potential of intimidation and coercion, the invisible and constant presence and pervasiveness of surveillance that extends from acts to traces. Introduction It is certain that the positive aspect of monitoring is to ensure the security of citizens; therefore we call it positive surveillance. There is no doubt that the need for surveillance is a basic need for any vital organism to be able to survive and protect itself. Besides positive surveillance, the transfer of the idea of 'Panopticon' and the 'big brother' to the information society creates new practices which limit civil liberties and rights and consequently convert a disciplined society to a controlling one. The relationship developed among new technologies and monitoring capabilities gave artists the means to design and create new types of work. Following the diversity of the methods of monitoring and the different types of surveillance, various types of art works emerged bearing their own distinct language. Due to the complexity of the technical means of contemporary surveillance for the collection and processing of mass data, art works have become more complex and synergistic. Although the corresponding art works may not always be directly connected with the notion of criticism of the state of surveillance, they usually imply it by diffusing ideas which are questioning the relegation of privacy in the gestalt of modern societies. A large number of comments have been made dealing with the subject, a fact that highlights the emergence of the culture of surveillance. Furthermore, by questioning the role of the media in our society, the demand for the 'humanization' of new technologies becomes topical.