There was an interesting article in last weeks Guardian The art of peeping: photography at the limits of privacy. It concerned the work of Arne Svenson (seen above) and the fact that he had been taken to court about the photographs he had been taking of his neighbours. The images ate taken using a long lens of the apartment block opposite Stevenson's in New York. The court found in Stevenson's favour saying that despite the content Svenson did not have to gain permission to show the images. However it still does not answer the question about whether or not the images are voyeuristic.
For my part I can say that I find the photographs fascinating, and yes part of this is because we are looking at someone else's life, unadorned and not posed and there is an element of voyeurism in that; but I don't feel that it makes me a voyeur just someone who is interested in images of peoples lives. I think if the images were in any way salacious I would feel differently, but surely what Svenson is doing is exactly what a photographer like Martin Parr might do, which is to hold up a mirror to ourselves so that we might understand life a little more.
The link to the article is below
http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/photography-blog/2013/aug/19/art-peeping-photography-privacy-arne-svenson
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