Le regard panoptique et l’art surveillance : esthétique et politique du contournement

Abstract

This paper examines the “gaze” as an essential component of surveillance practices, as well as the ways in which it is conceptualized and represented in theory and “surveillance art”. We first trace the link between gaze and power in the Foucauldian theory of surveillance, in which power is intimately correlated to the ability to dominate the field of the visible. Secondly, we look at 40 surveillance art works produced since the year 2000. The study demonstrates that artists systematically try to uncover cracks and imperfections at the heart of the panoptic gaze, which claims to see everything. At the same time, they reveal their technical materiality, notably through the use of cameras, facial recognition software, and the collection of geolocation data. In short, these works refocus the debate on the dynamics of power relations in an age of pervasive surveillance.

Keywords

• surveillance art
• panoptic gaze
• Surveillance
• circumvention