The Museum of Old and New things presents..
The Naked Truth: Mankind exposed through surveillance
Shizuka Yokomizo
Stranger No. 1 1998
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
© The artist
While surveillance continues to serve a great purpose in the safety of society, it also is slowly burning down the walls that preserve our privacy. The boundaries of human dignity are constantly changing to satisfy both what is right and what is safe. Surveillance in America post 9/11 has drastically progressed, leaving the citizens of the country exposed to the government more than ever. But where do we draw the line on such a controversial topic? The Naked Truth: Mankind exposed through surveillance reveals the most drastic uses of surveillance that can sometimes leave people feeling, well, pretty naked.
Exhibits:
1. Airport Security: Then & Now
Traditional pat down vs. Z Backscatter
Airport “pat downs” began in 2005 after two women in Russia bombed the planes they boarded with explosives hidden in their bra’s. The act was passed in order to encourage the safety of passengers on flights and reduce the risk of smuggling illegal paraphernalia (specifically weapons). However, not everyone was happy with the idea of being felt up (or down) by a stranger. Overtime, people were unhappy with this form of search and felt that it was intrusive to their privacy, especially when pat downs were performed on very young citizens. So what better way help solve this controversial issue than to invent an x-ray machine that requires no touch, but instead, allows a stranger to see you naked.
Nov. 17, 2010 (AP Photo/ The Denver Post, Craig F. Walker, File)
The Z Backscatter was created by AS&E (American Science and Engineering, Inc) and was introduced to airports in order to enhance the safety against illegal paraphernalia post 9/11/. While some would much rather endure in a full body scan rather than a pat down by the TSA, it may be because they are not really aware of what the TSA is able to see. The photos produced by the Backscatter are high in quality and extremely lifelike. Since the machines full capabilities are such a violation to privacy, they are programed to only display an outline of passengers, blurring out their private parts. So how different are these machines compared to metal detectors and pat downs? Well lucky for us, each time we are scanned we receive .009 millirems (a unit of absorbed radiation). Since we cannot necessarily see the person who is watching us or the screen that displays our body, the Backscatter stands as a form of surveillance. Today, backscatter machines are also used to scan vehicles passing borders and people before entering certain events. The machines allow somebody to watch us naked, and we really have no control over it.
Left: The type of image the test system in Phoenix is producing; Right: What Z Backscatter is capable of
Image courtesy AP
Both forms of airport security serve as a purpose to keep watch over the people who are boarding airplanes. While many may not realize, surveillance is not always based off of a camera hanging in the top corner of a department store or over a traffic light on the street. The Z Backscatter allows someone to view a person out of their control. And as the world becomes a more cautious place, these backscatter machines may even replace security cameras, giving those in control the ability to see multiple people naked without their consent. A world where security guards get paid to watch a peep show all day…what could be better?
2. Dressing Room Surveillance
In our country there are only 13 states that do not allow surveillance in all places of privacy (bathrooms, dressing rooms, etc.) For the remaining states, it is totally legal for a business to stick a two way mirror or camera in a dressing room or bathroom to protect against shoplifting and/or dangerous behavior. While many states feel differently about lockers and bathrooms than they do towards dressing rooms, the idea of being monitored by a random stranger while changing is disturbing.
Macy’s is one of the most popular stores guilty of monitoring their customers in the dressing room. Many people who have entered a dressing room at Macy’s remember the sign that hangs on the mirror. It usually reads”Fitting Rooms are monitored by Loss Prevention Personnel to prevent shortage.” Others read by “same sex personnel to prevent theft.” Either way, entering a dressing room to that sign may alter the way you get changed. Some women admit to turning around and facing the door, in order to keep from exposing their chests. But is facing the door always safe?
standupforthetruth.com
In both Texas and Florida, people found that the dressing room doors in department stores were turned upside down so that the panels were facing diagonally up and away from the dressing room, allowing employees to see right through the slats. On the other hand, the shopper was unable to see out of the door, not aware that anyone could be watching. This creepy set up was clearly done with the intentions of watching over people while they tried on clothes. In these cases, department stores fail to take into consideration the privacy of their customers. They have found a way to watch over them without making it as obvious as hanging a camera over the mirror. This tricks the customer into feeling comfortable and alone, which is clearly not the case. So next time you enter a dressing room, think twice about how you change and where you face!
chicago.cbslocal.com
3. Apartment Windows & Nosy Neighbors
New York City’s Secret Photo Exhibit
For people people living in Manhattan, the question of whether or not to keep the blinds of their apartment window down is a serious matter. Living in such close quarters leaves the privacy of ones home at risk. New Yorkers are constantly worried about getting naked in front of the mirror or leaving the light on when its dark with the blinds up. Apartment windows leave New Yorkers at constant risk of exposure and invasion of privacy by neighbors and strangers. Im sure many of us wonder, “Are they looking at me with binoculars across there?” Regardless of what is unknown, the fact that we are aware of this exposure may sometimes change the way we act….or not. By leaving the blinds open, some believe that we are setting up our own stage and access for the outside world to watch.
In a secret photo exhibition in NYC, photographer Arne Svenson took multiple shots of the residents living in the Tribeca apartment across from his. While none of their faces are exposed, the subjects of these photographs are worried that Svenson could have taken photos of them and their kids which are not being displayed in the exhibit. With legal action being considered by these residents Scevson claims that “For my subjects, there is no question of privacy. They are performing behind a transparent scrim on a stage of their own creation with the curtain raised high” (LA Times). But what if Svenson did have possible nude photographs of these people? Would they ever really know? So next time you decide to get changed in front of the window of your apartment with the blinds up, think twice.
SOURCES
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/tsa-chief-chechen-women-explosive-bras-inspired-us-airport-pat-downs
http://www.tsa.gov/traveler-information/pat-downs
http://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/science-questions/backscatter.htm
http://as-e.com/products-solutions/personnel-screening/checkpoint-lobby/product/smartcheck-ht#
http://www.ehow.com/list_7464756_states-allow-cameras-dressing-rooms.html
http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2011/09/29/how-private-is-that-dressing-room-not-as-much-as-youd-think/
http://consumerist.com/2011/08/08/macys-admits-its-totally-peeping-on-you-in-the-fitting-room/http://articles.latimes.com/2013/may/17/news/la-art-or-voyeurism-20130516
http://articles.latimes.com/2013/may/17/news/la-art-or-voyeurism-20130516
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