SALON

Friday, May 17, 2013 2:41 PM UTC

Photographed secretly at home: Is it art?

A gallery show features pictures of residents shot through their windows. The subjects are understandably annoyed

By

Topics: Photography, Art, controversy, Arne Svenson, Editor's Picks, Google,

Photographed secretly at home: Is it art?A visitor views the photography of Arne Svenson on Thursday, May 16, 2013 at the Julie Saul Gallery in New York. (Credit: AP/Bebeto Matthews)

When does an image become an invasion?

For as long as there have been cameras, there have been photographers who’ve captured the intimate, unaware moments of human existence. Masters like Eugène Atget and Henri Cartier-Bresson defined photography as an art form with their images of people simply going about the business of being themselves. And the recent posthumous fame of Vivian Maier is ample proof of our obsession with the beauty of the unposed moment.

Yet in a world in which anyone with a phone — which is pretty much everyone — can be an amateur lensman, the opportunity to go too far is always present, if fuzzily defined. There is an entire genre of creepy quasi-porn gleaned from surreptitious photos of women, and a whole new class of sex offenders thanks to it. And Instagram, when not fulfilling its primary function as a chronicle of other people’s meals and manicures, is often one big exercise in “Look at that stupid person over there.” But in a daily world of questionable ethics, photographer Arne Svenson has managed to come up with a new head-scratcher. For his latest project, he didn’t go out to the street. He peered into the window.

“The Neighbors,” currently on display at the Julie Saul Gallery in Chelsea, is, at first glance, a quiet, painterly collection of intimate yet semi-abstract images. A seemingly nude male figure stands illuminated behind a curtain. A woman sits serenely, holding a menacing pair of scissors. A lone figure naps on a couch. A figure in a green dress crouches on the floor, her rear pressed close to the glass.

None of the photos show the subject’s faces, but the residents of the luxury condo across the street from Svenson are understandably none too thrilled to see their asses turned into artwork — that’s fetching up at up to $7,500 a print, all without their consent. As a resident told the Associated Press Friday, “I don’t feel it’s a violation in a legal sense, but in a New York, personal sense, there was a line crossed.” An email circulated among the residents recently reads, “I love art, but find this to be an outrageous invasion of privacy.” Another resident told the “Today” show ominously, “I have children, young children, in this building. I’m sure there’s a lot we haven’t seen. What else is there, and what else is he planning on doing with them?”

In the show’s gallery notes, Svenson says, “The Neighbors don’t know they are being photographed; I carefully shoot from the shadows of my home into theirs.” It may be art, but also, eww.

In a post on Eric Kim’s street photography blog last month, photographer Mike Aviña writes, “While each photographer has to decide how best to work, we would all do well to keep in mind the larger values at stake.”

All of us are now potential subjects. If you live in a big, expensive glass building, you do so at the risk of having your moments at home in repose observed and recorded. Yet the residents of the Zinc building, where units have listed for as much as $6 million, should have as much right to dignity and respect as the homeless man passed on the sidewalk that some moron with an iPhone thinks would make a cool shot.

At its best, photography doesn’t detach itself from humanity. It illuminates it. And you can make something that’s interesting to look at, and legally acceptable to do, and reveal more about yourself and your own larger values than you ever could about the people you peep.

Mary Elizabeth Williams

Mary Elizabeth Williams is a staff writer for Salon and the author of "Gimme Shelter: My Three Years Searching for the American Dream." Follow her on Twitter: @embeedub. More Mary Elizabeth Williams.

You Might Also Like

More Related Stories

Featured Slide Shows

7 motorist-friendly camping sites

close X
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 9

Sponsored Post

  • White River National Forest via Lower Crystal Lake, Colorado
    For those OK with the mainstream, White River Forest welcomes more than 10 million visitors a year, making it the most-visited recreation forest in the nation. But don’t hate it for being beautiful; it’s got substance, too. The forest boasts 8 wilderness areas, 2,500 miles of trail, 1,900 miles of winding service system roads, and 12 ski resorts (should your snow shredders fit the trunk space). If ice isn’t your thing: take the tire-friendly Flat Tops Trail Scenic Byway — 82 miles connecting the towns of Meeker and Yampa, half of which is unpaved for you road rebels.
    fs.usda.gov/whiteriveryou


    Image credit: Getty

  • Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest via Noontootla Creek, Georgia
    Boasting 10 wildernesses, 430 miles of trail and 1,367 miles of trout-filled stream, this Georgia forest is hailed as a camper’s paradise. Try driving the Ridge and Valley Scenic Byway, which saw Civil War battles fought. If the tall peaks make your engine tremble, opt for the relatively flat Oconee National Forest, which offers smaller hills and an easy trail to the ghost town of Scull Shoals. Scaredy-cats can opt for John’s Mountain Overlook, which leads to twin waterfalls for the sensitive sightseer in you.
    fs.usda.gov/conf


    Image credit: flickr/chattoconeenf

  • Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness Area via Green Road, Michigan
    The only national forest in Lower Michigan, the Huron-Mainstee spans nearly 1 million acres of public land. Outside the requisite lush habitat for fish and wildlife on display, the Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness Area is among the biggest hooks for visitors: offering beach camping with shores pounded by big, cerulean surf. Splash in some rum and you just might think you were in the Caribbean.
    fs.usda.gov/hmnf


    Image credit: umich.edu

  • Canaan Mountain via Backcountry Canaan Loop Road, West Virginia
    A favorite hailed by outdoorsman and author Johnny Molloy as some of the best high-country car camping sites anywhere in the country, you don’t have to go far to get away. Travel 20 miles west of Dolly Sods (among the busiest in the East) to find the Canaan Backcountry (for more quiet and peace). Those willing to leave the car for a bit and foot it would be remiss to neglect day-hiking the White Rim Rocks, Table Rock Overlook, or the rim at Blackwater River Gorge.
    fs.usda.gov/mnf


    Image credit: Getty

  • Mt. Rogers NRA via Hurricane Creek Road, North Carolina
    Most know it as the highest country they’ll see from North Carolina to New Hampshire. What they may not know? Car campers can get the same grand experience for less hassle. Drop the 50-pound backpacks and take the highway to the high country by stopping anywhere on the twisting (hence the name) Hurricane Road for access to a 15-mile loop that boasts the best of the grassy balds. It’s the road less travelled, and the high one, at that.
    fs.usda.gov/gwj


    Image credit: wikipedia.org

  • Long Key State Park via the Overseas Highway, Florida
    Hiking can get old; sometimes you’d rather paddle. For a weekend getaway of the coastal variety and quieter version of the Florida Keys that’s no less luxe, stick your head in the sand (and ocean, if snorkeling’s your thing) at any of Long Key’s 60 sites. Canoes and kayaks are aplenty, as are the hot showers and electric power source amenities. Think of it as the getaway from the typical getaway.
    floridastateparks.org/longkey/default.cfm


    Image credit: floridastateparks.org

  • Grand Canyon National Park via Crazy Jug Point, Arizona
    You didn’t think we’d neglect one of the world’s most famous national parks, did you? Nor would we dare lead you astray with one of the busiest parts of the park. With the Colorado River still within view of this cliff-edge site, Crazy Jug is a carside camper’s refuge from the troops of tourists. Find easy access to the Bill Hall Trail less than a mile from camp, and descend to get a peek at the volcanic Mt. Trumbull. (Fear not: It’s about as active as your typical lazy Sunday in front of the tube, if not more peaceful.)
    fs.usda.gov/kaibab


    Image credit: flickr/Irish Typepad

  • As the go-to (weekend) getaway car for fiscally conscious field trips with friends, the 2013 MINI Convertible is your campground racer of choice, allowing you and up to three of your co-pilots to take in all the beauty of nature high and low. And with a fuel efficiency that won’t leave you in the latter, you won’t have to worry about being left stranded (or awkwardly asking to go halfsies on gas expenses).


    Image credit: miniusa.com

  • Recent Slide Shows

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 9

Related Videos

Comments

 50 Comments

Comment Preview

Your name will appear as username ( settings | log out )

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href=""> <b> <em> <strong> <i> <blockquote>

follow salon

Most Read

Popular on Reddit

links from salon.com

vote
James Clapper is still lying to America
108 points109 points | comment
vote
Let's Stop Screwing Around and Impeach James Clapper: After lying to Congress about all the different ways the NSA's spying on us, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper lies about how he lied. Call the White House at 202 456-1111 and Tell Obama to Get Rid of Clapper
87 points88 points | 3 comments
vote
Machiavelli doesn’t belong to the 1 percent | "The Prince" is oft-quoted on Wall Street, but its author was a hero of the working class who despised elites
62 points63 points | 13 comments
vote
We must hate our children
60 points61 points | 11 comments
vote
Machiavelli doesn’t belong to the 1 percent | "The Prince" is oft-quoted on Wall Street, but its author was a hero of the working class who despised elites
53 points54 points | 16 comments

From Around the Web

Presented by Scribol
listener_new_rect The Listener: "The Joker": Laughing at life's deepest sorrows