Artist Precedents.

   Linda recommended the book Exposed: Voyeurism, Surveillance, and the Camera since 1870 to me, and it has a lot of work very similar to mine in it. It also has a lot of great essays about the topics of voyeurism and surveillance, with respect to the development of photography.

   Benjamin Lowy, "Iraq | Perspectives II."

   All of the photos in this series were taken in Iraq from 2003 to 2008. Lowy used US military-issue night vision goggles, and duct taped them to his camera. In the photos in the series, we see citizens as well as military, and some landscapes. All of the subjects of his photos show fear, citizen and military alike. The landscapes seem to convey a feeling of hopelessness. Lowy sought to make the audience think with this series, and wanted them to question war. He did this by presenting photos of war in an atypical way.

   The photos have heavy vignetting, as well as the classic night vision green look. The subject is generally at the center of the photo. All the lights in the photos glow more than normal, and are over exposed. This is the aesthetic I am aiming for in my series, as well. However, Lowy's photos are less surveillance, and more point of view.

Bill Epperidge:

Heroin party in NYC hotel room

Date: 1964

Artist and Related People:

Artist: Bill Eppridge

American (b. Argentina)

Dimensions: Image (Paper): 13 1/8 x 9 in. (33.3 x 22.9 cm)

Medium: Gelatin silver print

Credit Line: The LIFE Magazine Collection, 2005

place taken: United States, New York, New York

   I like that this photo is taken in a hotel room, because people are always concerned with privacy in hotels. Although this is not surveillance, it seems to make a statement about private becoming public. 

[At lamppost on Broadway and West 71st Street, Karen,

a heroin addict and prostitute, does some drug peddling, New York]

Date: 1965

Artist and Related People:

Artist: Bill Eppridge

American (b. Argentina)

Dimensions: Image (Paper): 13 3/16 x 8 3/4 in. (33.5 x 22.2 cm)

Medium: Gelatin silver print

Credit Line: The LIFE Magazine Collection, 2005

place taken: United States, New York, New York

Two fluffy-sweatered young men stroll in New York City, ignoring the stare if a "Straight" couple. Flagrant homosexuals are unabashed by reactions of shock, perplexity, disgust

Date: April 27, 1964

Artist and Related People:

Artist: Bill Eppridge

American (b. Argentina)

Dimensions: Image (Paper): 13 1/8 x 9 1/4 in. (33.3 x 23.5 cm)

Medium: Gelatin silver print

Credit Line: The LIFE Magazine Collection, 2005

place taken: United States, New York, New York

   Epperidge's work from the mid 60s seems to deal with drugs, sex, homosexuality, and other taboo things. It also has a surveillance aspect, sometimes bordering on voyeurism. In particular, he photographs a "junkie couple," John and Karen. Karen is a prostitute and John is in and out of jail. Some of his photos seem to be moments he has captured, while others seem to be more set up. I really enjoy his surveillance-esque photos, taken from above or at the hip. They really give a sense of the subject being watched. His photos are all in black and white, which aids in this motif. I have set up my photos in a similar way, with some of them taken above, and not in color. I'm hoping this portrays as much of a surveillance feeling as Epperidge's work.