NYU artist gets camera surgically implanted in head

Iraqi-born professor will wear camera for a year, capture images at one-minute intervals for Qatar museum

By Ula Ilnytzky

Published November 23, 2010 3:53PM (EST)

This Aug. 24, 2010 photo provided by New York University arts professor Wafaa Bilal, shows Bilal holding the prototype of a digital camera that he had implanted in the back of his head, in New York. Bilal, a visual artist widely recognized for his interactive and performance pieces, has undergone surgery to implant a tiny camera in the back of his head for an artwork commissioned by a new museum in Doha, Qatar. Titled "The 3rd I," it is one of 23 contemporary works commissioned for the opening of Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art on Dec. 30, 2010. (AP Photo/Wafaa Bila, Bard Farwell) NO SALES (AP)
This Aug. 24, 2010 photo provided by New York University arts professor Wafaa Bilal, shows Bilal holding the prototype of a digital camera that he had implanted in the back of his head, in New York. Bilal, a visual artist widely recognized for his interactive and performance pieces, has undergone surgery to implant a tiny camera in the back of his head for an artwork commissioned by a new museum in Doha, Qatar. Titled "The 3rd I," it is one of 23 contemporary works commissioned for the opening of Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art on Dec. 30, 2010. (AP Photo/Wafaa Bila, Bard Farwell) NO SALES (AP)

A tiny camera has been surgically implanted to the back of a New York University professor's head -- all in the name of art.

Visual artist Wafaa Bilal teaches at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. He had the surgery for a project called "The 3rd I." It's been commissioned by a new museum in the Arab Gulf state of Qatar that opens Dec. 30.

The Iraqi-born artist will wear the camera for a year and capture images at one-minute intervals that will be transmitted to monitors at the museum. He says details of the project will be revealed at a Dec. 15 preview at the museum.

NYU is concerned about how the artwork will impact students. It says it's talking with Bilal how best to protect privacy.

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Online:

http://www.mathaf.org


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