Exposed

At this time in my life, I constantly admit if I could be one person in the whole world I would be Beyonce. Now she may not write her own songs but I personally believe she has amazing voice and is an incredible dancer. She also defines herself as an independent woman who does not depend herself on anyone, which I admire.

However, being Beyonce is unrealistic. Growing up I was always an athlete with little to no interest in art. However, as I grow older I have found a deep appreciation for it. My parents have always discretely made photography a large part of our lives. It is in our living room, our fridge, hallways and our rooms. I have always looked back and appreciated whoever was there to capture the moment.

On June 16, 2010 (yesterday) for my Culture by Design class our teacher Jay took us to the Exposed Exhibit at the Tate Modern Museum. It is an exhibit on voyeurism and surveillance photography. One man everyday would pick a random person to follow and take pictures of them, note what they did and would eventually stop following them when they entered a private building. Another woman named Sophie Calle took a job as a hotel housekeeper, she would go into specific rooms everyday and take notes of what was there and make suggestions of what those people were like. She would then take pictures of various belongings in the room. Creepy? Yeah I would think it is a large invasion of privacy, however, it intrigued me more than scared me. My teacher Jay said when he first saw it he was outraged and appalled. However, he soon realized that when you go to a hotel that stuff happens all the time; you leave for the afternoon and then a person comes in cleans your room and gives you fresh towels. The same woman also hired a private investigator to follow her one day, she had no idea which day he would follow her. At the end of the day the investigator would deliver his notes to a friend or family member of hers, thinking they were the ones who requested the investigation, and then she would get to see the results.

Some say, photography like this isn’t art. However, the whole exhibit is about capturing life as it is, isn’t that art? If I could take on another hobby I think it would be to take on photography and capture life as it is. Kodak moments and things people want to remember; who they are with, where they went and where they are going. Photography is a large part of our history, capturing it one frame at a time. It is also a little more realistic than Beyonce, cause lets face it I can’t sing.