Post 5
Project Proposal
Working title:
- Surveillance Synthesis
Keywords
Surveillance / Virtuality / Reality
Motivation & Central question
- Here are some questions and thoughts I have, and wants to use this creation as a medium to know how other people think about it!
1. Blurred Boundaries:
In our modern landscape, the lines between the digital and the phsiycal have blurred significantly. Our everyday use of digital communication tools, such as messaging and sharing images. These interactions aren't just extension of the virtual; They are seamlessly integrated into our daily reality. This shift challenges the conventional separation between the digital and the phsiycal, signaling a transformative paradigm in how we perceive and interact with these realms.
2. Surveillance, Power, and Privacy:
As we navigate the digital landscape with direct access to surveillance feeds, questions arise about the influence wielded by powerful entities, such as law enforcement and government agencies. The potential impact of their authority on our privacy and safety raises crucial questions about the balance between security measures and individual freedoms.
Intended audience.
- This work is designed for those interested in both art and technology. Beyond that, watching surveillance footage might trigger curiosity about peeking into others' lives to engage a more general audience. It taps into our subtle desire to observe their private moments. This curiosity is a thought-provoking aspect of the work, urging viewers to reflect on privacy, surveillance, and the allure of glimpsing into others' lives without their consent.
You can come across this project in art exhibitions, technology fairs, or online art platforms. The objective of this project is to encourage conversations and thoughts about how technology impacts our perception and the concept of privacy in our lives.
So this project could be a way of exploring the profound impact of technology on our lives, particularly in terms of privacy and perception. Ultimately, creating this piece might serve as a means to stimulate thought, pose questions, or simply experiment with pushing the boundaries of visual representation in our increasingly digital world.
Context.
1. Exhausting a Crowd
Kyle McDonald United States 2015 720 min
This project offers surveillance footage from various public areas, inviting viewers to engage actively by annotating timestamps, highlighting observations, or sharing their thoughts through comments.
In my opinion, this project offers a unique and less burdensome perspective compared to traditional monitor-screen works, which often evoke immediate thoughts of political and social implications. Allowing the audience to actively participate creates a more immersive experience than works conveying one-way concepts. Consequently, the project maintains its critical nature while providing an engaging and easily interactive experience.
2. Stay v3
Hasan Elahi
There are a few inspirations (perspectives) I got from Hasan Elahi's work:
1. Surveillance and Privacy:
His work challenges our notions of privacy in the digital age. It prompts us to think deeply about the data we generate and how easily it can be collected and misused. His approach forces us to consider whether we can maintain control over our own personal information or if, in the era of constant surveillance, privacy has become an illusion.
2. Transparency and Self-Exposure:
Elahi's decision to make his life an open book is a commentary on transparency and the power dynamics of surveillance. Just like asking us to consider whether, in an age when so much information is shared willingly on social media, we can truly distinguish between voluntary self-exposure and involuntary surveillance.
3. Art as Activism:
Elahi's work blurs the lines between art and activism. It demonstrates how art can be a powerful tool for social commentary and change. By turning his experience into art, he shed light on broader issues of government surveillance and individual rights.
In summary, Hasan Elahi's work is a simple but strong example for me. Through this work, he explored complex societal issues related to surveillance, privacy, and technology. Also, he made viewers rethink their own relationships with privacy and surveillance in the modern world.
3. 33 Questions per Minute
RAFAEL LOZANO-HEMMER
I was thinking that if I use images to implement such randomness, I might be able to create some results beyond my imagination. Let the people in the picture be constantly taken out from "different" footage , making the characters in the virtual space I created fleeting and repeated.
4. The Follower
Dries Depoorter
This work targeted on different individuals captured on surveillance cameras, and he searched for him/her on social media via landmarks and time. This work sheds light on the photos and information we choose to upload to the internet (or social media) and how much of our personal privacy can be pieced together by these information.
Apart from that it also got me thinking is it completely ethical to search and find these public materials uploaded by users?
Moreover, I personally have a strong sense of privacy being violated when we target specific people. But when I watched the public area video, I didn’t feel this way. Perhaps this will also be a point I must consider when adjusting how I present my work.
5. Browser History Visualization
Shan Huang
The favicon stack in the extension tells a story of the user's browsing journey. It inspired me about how to tell a narrative or convey a message through visual elements.
Also, it is interesting to use everyday elements into an art form, elevate ordinary or overlooked elements of our surroundings into something extraordinary, and encourage viewers to find out the beauty in the familiar.
6. The Babbling Brook
Don Blair and James Coleman
This artwork provides a fresh perspective on the concept of surveillance for me. Typically, when we think of surveillance, our minds gravitate towards monitors or the monitoring of digital data. However, this project introduces a novel angle by directing attention to data records within the environment. It prompts a reevaluation of surveillance, not solely as the observation of digital information but as a means of monitoring physical spaces and the data embedded within them. The emphasis shifts from conventional notions of surveillance to a broader understanding that encompasses the monitoring of our surrounding environment and the valuable insights that can be derived from such observations.
7. Last clock
Jussi Ängeslevä
“The Last clock displays a space’s history and rhythm. Trails behind its hands paint the clock face with a video feed, creating a mandala of archived time.”
I like the way this work puts the time and space together. I would love to explore how to reflect the evolving nature of the surrounding environment and maybe add the time element to my work! Additionally, I'm intrigued by the technique of leaving traces or employing a slit-scan approach in my project, akin to what's done in 'The Last Clock.'
Here are some points that I feel interesting!
1. Camera Presence:
The study investigates three framing scenarios: as a medium for an intimidating authority, as a neutral viewer, and as a tool for self-observation. It reminds me how different presentations of surveillance technology might influence perceptions and behavior.
2. Cheating Behavior:
The findings reveal that specific framing scenarios led to significantly less cheating behavior. Maybe explore how ethical or moral themes can be integrated into the project and whether my artwork prompts reflection on ethical considerations, surveillance, or human behavior.
9. Social Identity model of Deindividuation Effects (SIDE)
11. Cues of being watched enhance cooperation in a real-world setting
RAFAEL LOZANO-HEMMER
I was thinking that if I use images to implement such randomness, I might be able to create some results beyond my imagination. Let the people in the picture be constantly taken out from "different" footage , making the characters in the virtual space I created fleeting and repeated.
4. The Follower
Dries Depoorter
This work targeted on different individuals captured on surveillance cameras, and he searched for him/her on social media via landmarks and time. This work sheds light on the photos and information we choose to upload to the internet (or social media) and how much of our personal privacy can be pieced together by these information.
Apart from that it also got me thinking is it completely ethical to search and find these public materials uploaded by users?
Moreover, I personally have a strong sense of privacy being violated when we target specific people. But when I watched the public area video, I didn’t feel this way. Perhaps this will also be a point I must consider when adjusting how I present my work.
5. Browser History Visualization
Shan Huang
The favicon stack in the extension tells a story of the user's browsing journey. It inspired me about how to tell a narrative or convey a message through visual elements.
Also, it is interesting to use everyday elements into an art form, elevate ordinary or overlooked elements of our surroundings into something extraordinary, and encourage viewers to find out the beauty in the familiar.
6. The Babbling Brook
Don Blair and James Coleman
This artwork provides a fresh perspective on the concept of surveillance for me. Typically, when we think of surveillance, our minds gravitate towards monitors or the monitoring of digital data. However, this project introduces a novel angle by directing attention to data records within the environment. It prompts a reevaluation of surveillance, not solely as the observation of digital information but as a means of monitoring physical spaces and the data embedded within them. The emphasis shifts from conventional notions of surveillance to a broader understanding that encompasses the monitoring of our surrounding environment and the valuable insights that can be derived from such observations.
7. Last clock
Jussi Ängeslevä
“The Last clock displays a space’s history and rhythm. Trails behind its hands paint the clock face with a video feed, creating a mandala of archived time.”
I like the way this work puts the time and space together. I would love to explore how to reflect the evolving nature of the surrounding environment and maybe add the time element to my work! Additionally, I'm intrigued by the technique of leaving traces or employing a slit-scan approach in my project, akin to what's done in 'The Last Clock.'
Here are some points that I feel interesting!
1. Camera Presence:
The study investigates three framing scenarios: as a medium for an intimidating authority, as a neutral viewer, and as a tool for self-observation. It reminds me how different presentations of surveillance technology might influence perceptions and behavior.
2. Cheating Behavior:
The findings reveal that specific framing scenarios led to significantly less cheating behavior. Maybe explore how ethical or moral themes can be integrated into the project and whether my artwork prompts reflection on ethical considerations, surveillance, or human behavior.
And here are some interesting study!
9. Social Identity model of Deindividuation Effects (SIDE)
11. Cues of being watched enhance cooperation in a real-world setting
Form.
- Visualization, mockup, or rapid prototype. If relevant, include your early prototypes and what you learned from them.
I want to keep it as a website that contains real-time footage so people will see what happened at this moment in the other space in the world. By adding some information about where the person is captured on camera, it will be more intuitive for the audience to understand without any instruction.
After this, I would love to try to make a physical version, which is to connect a raspberry pie to a tiny screen, go to the website, and keep showing the contents for 24 hours a day.
Some images that I feel will be great as references with different senses of space and movement.
Production plan.
This semester:
Research and Refinement:
-Dive deeper into the theoretical of surveillance, and other’s feedback.
-Refine the concept based on initial feedback.
Data Collection:
-Gather diverse surveillance footage to be used (or document) in the project.
Next semester:
Make mockup Prototyping into functional Prototype:
The resource restrictions on different websites will become another difficulty I must overcome. (I have talked to Anna and will try another solution soon!)
Digital Manipulation:
Begin the process of digitally manipulating the collected footage, experimenting with different techniques to achieve the desired aesthetic.
Feedback Loop:
Continuously seek feedback from peers, mentors, and potential viewers to refine the work iteratively and understand what elements are needed and how they perceive this work.
Physical Version:
If the digital version progresses well, create a version with Rasberry Pie connected to a screen that connects to the website and continuously shows the contents.
Documentation:
Document the process, challenges faced, and decisions made for later analysis and presentation.