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"The series “Mass Surveillance” is the result of a photographic survey of the thousands of publicly accessible webcams live-streaming around the world. It is a reflection about how our daily lives, in general, are constantly monitored and controlled. In documenting this phenomenon, the first impression is that the apparatus of the surveillance camera carries an inescapable and uncanny quality. Pictorially and precisely, its images connote the so-called ”state of exception,” a condition within law when all rules and all laws are suspended. It is the state of exception that underwrites the state of emergency, under which so many places have fallen. While the security camera is intended to protect and police, the public webcam takes on the outward form of entertainment. But more disturbingly, these streaming images are utilized today to underwrite regimes of power, where normal rights of privacy are permanently suspended. “Mass Surveillance” collects images from all over the world: a kindergarten in Japan to the streets of London. Insofar as these images were gathered from the Internet, “Mass Surveillance” presents the apparatus of the traditional surveillance camera in its contemporary iteration, the webcam. Thus, the final images take on the distortions of the device while pushing them further, emphasizing digitalization, pixellation, and the very process of being (re)photographed. Given the physical ubiquity of such cameras today—and add in their footages’ presence on the Internet—and we arrive at a moment where the state of exception is no longer an exception, but a universal." —Gaia Light Since 2010 she has been working on a long-term, perpetually ongoing, project, Mass Surveillance, which is the result of a sustained, photographic-documentary survey of the thousands of publicly accessible webcams available on the Internet. The presence of this wide network of surveillance cameras illustrates how public, as well as private day-to-day activities are constantly monitored and subtly or explicitly controlled. The series is composed of still photos shot with a digital camera through the screen of a computer while attending freely accessible webcams’ live-streaming sessions on the Internet and aims to question the increasingly intricate connections between privacy rights and surveillance needs in the post-9/11 world. - taken from Gaia Lights website MASS SURVEILLANCE 2016 The Mass Surveillance series is a systematic sampling of thousands of publicly accessible webcams, which for very different reasons offer free, live-streaming services and broadcast a range of activities that cover private and public space, urban and domestic environments, and seemingly remote and/or wild landscapes worldwide. The series is composed of still photos shot with a digital camera through the screen of a computer while attending freely accessible webcams' live-streaming sessions on the Internet and aims to question the increasingly intricate connections between privacy rights and surveillance needs in the post-9/11 world. For years I have been documenting all sorts of streams, freely available and easily accessible on the Internet, photographing all kinds of extremes and weird practices happening on surveillance cameras and distributed online, for God knows what reason. I have always been intrigued by the perpetually increasing extent of the popularity of this phenomenon, recognizing a lack of information and, more importantly, of specific and adequate regulation or accountability. The Internet is a gigantic planet, some would say dark planet, and as any other communal experience needs limits, boundaries, and rules in order to healthily and democratically function. Technology is certainly faster than the legislator nowadays, but this should represent an incentive to confront the problem, not an excuse/alibi to remain passive. I believe in the power of visual knowledge and in the progressive force of photography as an important tool to raise consciousness and inspire reflections and actions toward positive changes within the regulatory apparatus of the Internet, especially when related to surveillance practices and abusive interpersonal relations. The Mass Surveillance series is focused on the limits and dangers of the Internet as ideal platform for the broadcast of everyday life, much of which occurs without the subjects or the participants ever knowing they are conscripted “actors” in a strange carnival. This Series is for all of the unaware victims of abusive surveillance practices in the hope that my efforts will suggest/inspire a change in the way the Internet’s wilder practices are perceived today by the majority of aware and unaware citizens and above all by sleeping legislators. In this series and written document above, Gaia talks about the need for "regulation and accountability" on the internet and aims to expose the dangers of "abusive surveillance" which can be found freely online. Again, for me, it is the aesthetic of the images which appeals - harsh vignette, grainy, pixelated, out of focus with camera angles that are taken from up high, all of which make the images feel indecorous - inappropriate.
At some stage, I would like to try and manipulate my images to have this kind of appearance to see how they work and how it changes the meaning.
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"In our increasingly intrusive electronic culture, how do we delineate the boundary between public and private? “Surveillance Landscapes” is a body of work that interrogates how surveillance technology has changed our relationship to—and understanding of—landscape and place. To produce this work, I hack into surveillance cameras, public webcams, and CCTV feeds in pursuit of the “classical” picturesque landscape. The resulting visual product becomes dislocated from its automated origins and leads to an investigation of land, borders, and power. The very act of surveying a site through these photographic systems implies a dominating relationship between man and place. Ultimately, I hope to undermine these schemes of social control through my blurred, melancholic images—found while exploiting the technological mechanisms of power in our surveillance society." —Marcus DeSieno Images taken from http://www.marcusdesieno.com/surveillance-landscapes/m67a5gdxcw025r88sananaoaefcbr2 I really like the aesthetic of this work - the landscape viewed through the grubby glass of the CCTV lens, does indeed invoke a sense of possession upon me as the viewer. The natural aesthetic of nature obscured by manmade machine.
Of all the practitioners I have looked at, I identify most with the work of Beat Streuli - not necessarily in our motives or self objectives, but certianly in our finished work. In fact on reflection, I am quite astounded by the similarities in our work up to this point. Streulis aesthetic is a lot more clearer, richer and polished in appearance to mine, and this is for several technical and logistical reasons including, the time of year and the weather, which limits my ambient light availability to somewhere between grey and greyer. I cannot wait for the spring/summer months when I can drop my iso, increase my shutter speed and throw caution to the wind with my aperture for maximum artisitic quality control!!
There is also Streulis equipment to take into account, he uses a telephoto lens, which although I cant find the details for, I can tell that it far outshines any lens I have available to use. I would hazard an educated guess that he probably shoots with a lens of at least 400mm with a very wide aperture of somewhere around f2.8 - this accounts for the clarity, rich tones and noise-free aesthetic. This gives his images an almost cinematic quality - no doubt useful for the billboard sized prints he displays of his work! This photo series questions surveillance in our city |
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"The colors of the pales (the vertical stripes) are those used in the flag of the United States of America; White signifies purity and innocence, Red, hardiness & valour, and Blue, the color of the Chief (the broad band above the stripes) signifies vigilance, perseverance & justice." http://www.usflag.org/colors.html
The stark contrast in the symbology of the American Flag and the way people in Dunns photos have posed with it, resignates with me and what I would like to try and acheive.
I really like the flag series, the antihesis of the American Dream using the iconic american flag.
The stark contrast in the symbology of the American Flag and the way people in Dunns photos have posed with it, resignates with me and what I would like to try and acheive.
I really like the flag series, the antihesis of the American Dream using the iconic american flag.
"People Taking Pictures"
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This is a great idea - looking at people taking the image. I really like the notion and possibilities this throws up to me - I may develop something similar to this in my own practice.
"Turkey Street"
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These images I liked because of their oddities and irony. I like the humour that can be found in everyday life that we are a part of but do not always 'see'
"Street 12"
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These documentary style shots are pobably my least favourite, factual, cliche, black and white shots that tell an aged old tale of life on the streets
"Score Out The Door NY Street"
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All Photos sourced from http://www.cheryldunn.net/
Interview: Street Photographer Cheryl Dunn On New York, Her Idols And Photography In Flux
"The beauty of street photography is in the very small details."/
Interview Sourced from:
Photographer and filmmaker Cheryl Dunn has been documenting life on the streets of New York City since making it home in the '80s and with her candid, kinetic documentary style, she has captured the gritty reality and brash energy of alternative Americana subculture for decades. In 2013, with a little help from Kickstarter, Dunn released the documentary Everybody Street, in which she follows some of her personal idols and New York's most iconic street photographers including Bruce Davidson, Elliot Erwitt, Rebecca Lepkoff, Jill Freedman, Martha Cooper, Jamel Shazaam and Bruce Gilden, to provide a fascinating interwoven portrait into the styles, lives and personalities of her subjects. We interviewed Cheryl in the lead up to her appearance at Semi-Permanent Sydney where she'll be discussing Everybody Street, New York City and more.
Suz Tucker: Hi Cheryl. Your photography is so strongly linked with New York City. What was it about the City that made you want to move there after college, and what sections of New York have meant the most to you?
Cheryl Dunn: I grew up in New Jersey, close to New York. I was a kid during the gnarliest time in New York: Every night on the news, it was all about murders and chaos and the black-outs. Every time I went over the bridge or through a tunnel, I swear my heart would race in fear and excitement. You would drive down the West Side Highway and it would be littered with car carcasses. If you got a flat tire and you had to leave your car, your car would get stripped.
The city was bankrupt, so they had no money to pick up these cars... You would just think "If we break down we’re going to die here". I guess I was drawn to that energy. I didn't know what I wanted to be in life but I knew I had to live there. One thing about this town, it is always in flux. People move here everyday to make their way. It's a hard town; it's a town of hustlers from every walk of life. I go on a trip and come back two weeks later and a building is gone. Something new has popped up. It's a town of reinvention and the speed of change is pretty fast these days. Mixed with the history of what has come before… New York is a constant source of amazement for me. I have lived downtown most of my 31 years here. I live in the East Village now and lived there in the mid '80s so I would say this section really means a lot to me.
Suz Tucker: What is your most vivid memory from the filming of Everybody Street? Was there a photographer whose experiences documenting NYC were particularly relatable to?
Cheryl Dunn: Shooting Bruce Gilden ducking out of the way from getting hit by a woman in the diamond district then all these guys with bottles and cans suddenly came out of nowhere all up in his face. That was pretty memorable. He got very wound up afterward, and went on about what he would have done to those people if this were back in the day when he was more wild. And shooting 16mm of Bruce Davidson on the subway.
Suz Tucker: Hi Cheryl. Your photography is so strongly linked with New York City. What was it about the City that made you want to move there after college, and what sections of New York have meant the most to you?
Cheryl Dunn: I grew up in New Jersey, close to New York. I was a kid during the gnarliest time in New York: Every night on the news, it was all about murders and chaos and the black-outs. Every time I went over the bridge or through a tunnel, I swear my heart would race in fear and excitement. You would drive down the West Side Highway and it would be littered with car carcasses. If you got a flat tire and you had to leave your car, your car would get stripped.
The city was bankrupt, so they had no money to pick up these cars... You would just think "If we break down we’re going to die here". I guess I was drawn to that energy. I didn't know what I wanted to be in life but I knew I had to live there. One thing about this town, it is always in flux. People move here everyday to make their way. It's a hard town; it's a town of hustlers from every walk of life. I go on a trip and come back two weeks later and a building is gone. Something new has popped up. It's a town of reinvention and the speed of change is pretty fast these days. Mixed with the history of what has come before… New York is a constant source of amazement for me. I have lived downtown most of my 31 years here. I live in the East Village now and lived there in the mid '80s so I would say this section really means a lot to me.
Suz Tucker: What is your most vivid memory from the filming of Everybody Street? Was there a photographer whose experiences documenting NYC were particularly relatable to?
Cheryl Dunn: Shooting Bruce Gilden ducking out of the way from getting hit by a woman in the diamond district then all these guys with bottles and cans suddenly came out of nowhere all up in his face. That was pretty memorable. He got very wound up afterward, and went on about what he would have done to those people if this were back in the day when he was more wild. And shooting 16mm of Bruce Davidson on the subway.
Bruce Gilden photographed in action by Cheryl Dunn
Suz Tucker: One of the most fascinating elements of the film was seeing how the different photographers approach their subjects. With street photography it seems that in order to take great photos, the photographer's personality is almost as important as their technical skills - how watchful they are, how they engage with their subjects, how they create relationships with the people they document... What do you reckon?
Cheryl Dunn: I purposefully wanted to present very distinctly different personalities and working methods because street photography is so much about individual's personalities and want kind of images they make. All the characteristics that are displayed with this group of photographers - the quiet and observed technician, the crazy in your face hustler, the documentarian who spends months with their subjects… Someone who doesn't do this as a practice wouldn't understand the nuances and the diverse approaches, ways of working, personalities…how they really influence the work in very different ways. The beauty of street photography is in the very small details. What detail this photographer would pick out in a broad scene versus what someone else would pick out is so different. Unless you do it, you might not understand that. Someone who does this and searches for it is in tune with those details. I wanted to show the capabilities of a trained eye, perhaps. It's a real thing.
Cheryl Dunn: I purposefully wanted to present very distinctly different personalities and working methods because street photography is so much about individual's personalities and want kind of images they make. All the characteristics that are displayed with this group of photographers - the quiet and observed technician, the crazy in your face hustler, the documentarian who spends months with their subjects… Someone who doesn't do this as a practice wouldn't understand the nuances and the diverse approaches, ways of working, personalities…how they really influence the work in very different ways. The beauty of street photography is in the very small details. What detail this photographer would pick out in a broad scene versus what someone else would pick out is so different. Unless you do it, you might not understand that. Someone who does this and searches for it is in tune with those details. I wanted to show the capabilities of a trained eye, perhaps. It's a real thing.
A link to Dunns film 'Everybody Street'
| | "Everybody Street" illuminates the lives and work of New York's iconic street photographers and the incomparable city that has inspired them for decades. The documentary pays tribute to the spirit of street photography through a cinematic exploration of New York City, and captures the visceral rush, singular perseverance and at times immediate danger customary to these artists. Featured PhotographersBruce Davidson, Elliott Erwitt, Jill Freedman, Bruce Gilden, Joel Meyerowitz, Rebecca Lepkoff, Mary Ellen Mark, Jeff Mermelstein, Clayton Patterson, Ricky Powell, Jamel Shabazz, Martha Cooper, and Boogie, with historians Max Kozloff and Luc Sante. |
Suz Tucker: What is it about everyday individuals that capture your attention – especially compared to subjects like celebrities, politicians, etc?
Cheryl Dunn: I'm attracted to real emotion rather than manufactured emotion. I'm drawn to level playing fields. I hate when people think they are better than everyone else: that's not interesting to me. That's not my scene and that's not what draws my eye. I like to point my camera at something that isn't getting attention - I want to find stories in your average person's face or actions.
Cheryl Dunn: I'm attracted to real emotion rather than manufactured emotion. I'm drawn to level playing fields. I hate when people think they are better than everyone else: that's not interesting to me. That's not my scene and that's not what draws my eye. I like to point my camera at something that isn't getting attention - I want to find stories in your average person's face or actions.
Dash Snow by Cheryl Dunn
Suz Tucker: Street photography seems to have changed over the past decade. For one thing, Instagram has made taking and sharing photos more accessible and more democratised than ever. Then there's 'street style' photography in fashion, which found this insane popularity on the Internet and is now a recognised style of photography unto itself. In what ways do you think these two phenomena have been good or bad for photography?
Cheryl Dunn: The public's reaction to photography changes exponentially every couple of months. What is the trend? What is people's behavior like in front of and behind the camera? It's constantly evolving. One month people are nervous about being slandered on the Internet with images, the next it seems like everyone's looking for a little bit of notoriety and are stoked to have a camera poked in their face. Who knows what new app, way of shooting/sharing images is going to exist in six months. I just try to stay the course and do what I do. I alter my behavior based on people's reaction to me and their relationship with photography so that I can shoot the images I'm trying to get, that's all.
Suz Tucker: What was the turning point in the late '90s that inspired you to focus on a different art form other than photography through filmmaking?
Cheryl Dunn: I love them both and I feel they both inform each other – I still split my time between the two mediums. In this project, they are very equally utilised and the stillness of how I showed the artist's photographs statically, embedded in the often frantic, handheld film camera footage, seems to balance the experience. Very early in my career I did more photography, but when I started to make films myself, I always incorporated the still image, and I think visa versa - my still photographs have always been infused with motion, and actually breaking the frame when I did start to make film was very liberating.
Cheryl Dunn: The public's reaction to photography changes exponentially every couple of months. What is the trend? What is people's behavior like in front of and behind the camera? It's constantly evolving. One month people are nervous about being slandered on the Internet with images, the next it seems like everyone's looking for a little bit of notoriety and are stoked to have a camera poked in their face. Who knows what new app, way of shooting/sharing images is going to exist in six months. I just try to stay the course and do what I do. I alter my behavior based on people's reaction to me and their relationship with photography so that I can shoot the images I'm trying to get, that's all.
Suz Tucker: What was the turning point in the late '90s that inspired you to focus on a different art form other than photography through filmmaking?
Cheryl Dunn: I love them both and I feel they both inform each other – I still split my time between the two mediums. In this project, they are very equally utilised and the stillness of how I showed the artist's photographs statically, embedded in the often frantic, handheld film camera footage, seems to balance the experience. Very early in my career I did more photography, but when I started to make films myself, I always incorporated the still image, and I think visa versa - my still photographs have always been infused with motion, and actually breaking the frame when I did start to make film was very liberating.
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