20th Century and Contemporary, Books, Photography, Tuesday Studio

Tuesday Studio: Overexposure?

Exposed: Voyeurism, Surveillance, and the Camera Since 1870

Although photography has been around since the late 1800s, its prevalence in today’s society has been a recent rise. With the advent of digital cameras and a more celebrity-oriented society, everyone can be paparazzi. Exposed, a collection of photographs by Sophie Calle, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Walker Evans, Andy Warhol and many more, asks the question: when does exposure become overexposure? Sandra Phillips, senior curator of photography at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, provides essays and commentary about some of the more invasive aspects of photography, such as hidden cameras and questions the morality behind the voyeuristic background of cameras. For a budding photographer or just the occasional picture-snapper, this book provides artistic, political and even moral dilemmas behind many artists’ most famous works.

The Tate Modern will be showcasing some of these famous images from 5/28/10 –10/03/10, where viewers can judge for themselves whether these images are invasive or artistic—or perhaps both.

Can’t make it out to the Tate Museum? Check out this clip here where Sandra Phillips talks about the themes behind camera exposure, with images of the exhibit at the Tate in the background.

Philip Gefter at The Daily Beast also wrote a feature about the exhibit, with a gallery of images that you can peruse at your leisure. From Jackie Kennedy running from the camera, to a close up of Paris Hilton’s face inside a vehicle, events of all different natures have been captured on film.

Future exhibition dates will also include 10/30/10 – 4/17/11 at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and 5/21/10 – 9/11/11 at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis.

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