New exhibit depicts all levels of privacy

By Samantha McCoy

On Watching and Being Seen, an Altgeld Hall exhibit, features work from 27 artists from Chicago to Japan.

The art within the exhibit depicts the level of privacy in the world and shows privacy throughout time. The show includes artwork from the ’30s.

“I enjoy the general reaction the artwork receives,” said exhibit employee Jillian Allen. “In particular, Kohei Yoshiyuki’s ‘The Park series.’”

This exhibit is set up behind a dark curtain and is displayed in the same way as when it was in Japan. The pictures are of peeping toms who hung around parks near Tokyo looking to see people kissing. Yoshiyuki documents the exchanges between the peeping toms and the people they were watching.

Ron Galella was a paparazzo in the mid-20th century who has work in the exhibit.

“Galella often photographed celebrities by surprise, even though they often knew he was there,” said museum coordinator Heather Green.

Photos of Justin Bieber are also in this exhibit. Joachim Ladefoged took the photos for TIME Magazine and they were difficult to acquire because Bieber did not want to be photographed. There is also a film about the paparazzi by Jessica Dimmock.

“[It’s about] watching the watchers,” Green said. “It shows new paparazzi: young, male, aggressive, often foreign, and they go to dramatic lengths to get these photos.”

The exhibit depicts caution of surveillance and awareness within social media.

“The aspect of the exhibit will hit home with college students because of social media,” Green said.

Green said the exhibit is relevant especially because of recent news: Edward Snowden revealed government surveillance and officials caught suspected bomber Dzokhar Tsarnaev through surveillance.

“Constant surveillance can be both detrimental and helpful,” Green said.