Proposal for Project #1:
Concerning People & Technology:
Issues of Privacy & Control

As our society becomes increasingly technological there are two related issues which are of particular concern to me. Both of these issues have to do with the erosion of boundaries, one boundary is that between private and public, the other, between human and machine. First, then I wish to address the increased invasion of privacy via, to name only the most prevalent and obvious, surveillance cameras, monitoring of phone conversations, and especially web-based data mining. Second, and related to the first, is the potential effect of the increased interface, even interpenetration, between man and machine.

Allow me to clarify my concerns. I am not at all against technology; rather, I am for it. Its benefits are too numerous to mention. To oversimplify: there is technology in the hands of the "good guys" which already gives us advanced communication, entertainment, travel, medicine, and much more; its trajectory leads us to some version of what we see in the world of Star Trek's Federation in which everyone has a chance and no one is left behind. But then there is technology in the hands of the "bad guys" which can lead to a nightmare world of control in which no one has any privacy and everyone is taken over by technology to the point of complete dehumanization, the classic science fiction example being Star Trek's Borg.

In approaching these related and rather complex issues I plan to glean images from the Internet, some from everyday experience (like the ads that pop up in my g-mail account, ads that are, amazingly, always relevant to the subject of the e-mail I have just opened), some from scientific or medical technology sites, and others from media sites such as screen shots of science fiction episodes having to do with controlled societies like the Borg. There may also be some use of text, perhaps articles pertaining to these issues, perhaps my own thoughts. My goal is to present two works which will address these issues, cast light on them, indicate possible trajectories, and, hopefully, encourage thought and dialogue. Following are some of the images I have begun gathering to aid in the creative process.