Contrôle et aliénation : l'autosurveillance comme contre-mesure

Details

Supervisors

Streitberger, Alexander

Faculty

Faculté de philosophie, arts et lettres

Degree label

Master de spécialisation en cultures visuelles

Abstract

enThis work, divided into two parts, first explores the history of the notion of surveillance and its importance in contemporary visual culture. From Bentham's panopticon to the new technologies, our environment and our daily interactions are conditioned by a permanent watch that implies a digitalization and a biological reductionism serving algorithmic data intended to locate but also to anticipate the movements of the body of the "dividual". Justified on the one hand by the security it allows and on the other hand by its contribution to ergonomics and speed, this situation of alienation appears desirable since it defines our relationships with others and ensures our status as citizens (identity cards, bank cards, online purchases): to try to abstain from it completely would imply social suicide. The chapter also looks at the influence that the subject of surveillance has on the artistic field before the second chapter of the study focuses more specifically on the reaction of two digital artists to automated mass surveillance. Hasan Elahi, firstly, developed his project as an alibi generator following a misunderstanding that led to him being questioned at length by the FBI. Since 2003, not without irony and provocation, he has automatically listed on his website the photographs he takes, his phone calls and also his geolocation. The following year, another self-monitoring project began, entirely supervised by Alberto Frigo. Through this exercise of manual archiving and yet simulation of algorithmic automation, he aspires to rediscover himself. Thus, since 2004, he has been sharing on his website the plurality of his person (denied by traditional control and surveillance) but also of his environment, whether it be, among other things, photographing all the objects he holds in his right hand, or indicating the strength of the wind. We will see that both Elahi and Frigo, who reuse their respective self-tracking projects in the museum setting, indirectly question the voyeuristic element that partly defines surveillance but also, more broadly, our relationship to social media.