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“All of Linz – A Group Photo from Above”
This year's Ars Electronica will scrutinize one thing above all: the relationship between privacy and publicity. Thus, what will be staged in Linz September 5-11 won’t be art in public space but art as public space. So, what could be more natural than to invite the people of Linz to step outside for a “group photo” and to thereby demonstrate: GOODBYE PRIVACY!
(Linz, July 6, 2007) The video surveillance of downtown Linz provoked heated discussions when it was mandated in 2006, but there are many other, much older “eyes in the sky” that many of us are aware of only vaguely if at all. The espionage flights featured in big-budget Hollywood films have acquainted moviegoers with orthographic photography, but it has taken a confrontation with the incredibly detailed images available at Google Earth to make many of us cognizant of the fact that the capital of the Province of Upper Austria and we ourselves are now among the subjects of ever-higher-definition imaging. In the meantime, the resounding success of this global sightseeing has also delivered a wake-up call to the competition and opened their eyes to this lucrative “observation from above” market niche. Now, security interests are being overtaken by market interests; indeed, the two are even embroiled in conflict with one another. Everyone is observing everyone else, and all of us together comprise the cast of the greatest realty TV show of all time.
Please smile, you’re being photographed!
Ars Electronica’s invitation to a “group portrait” on Saturday, September 8, 2007 is meant to stage a mise en scène in which the city and its residents come across in the best possible light! The observed thereby become performers and take the process of being observed to the point of absurdity. The exhortation to “Please smile, you’re being photographed!” is meant to politely summon every man, woman and child to go outside and direct his or her message to the heavens—for instance, via banner or human chain, a “creatively” mowed lawn or a work of art.
1 pixel = 8 square centimeters of Linz
A small, specially-constructed aircraft will circle Linz at an altitude of 1,140 meters and photograph the city. The entire city. A total of 4,424 exposures will be made during this approximately 4½-hour flyover. The high-resolution technology won’t leave much out of the picture: each individual pixel will represent 8 cm2 of Linz.
Group Photo will be on display in the Ars Electronica Center
Just a few days after the shoot, the Linz Group Photo will go on display at the Ars Electronica Center. Be sure to drop by and see for yourself how well your likeness has been captured. You’ll also be able to take home your own copy custom-printed on site!
gruppenfoto@aec.at
If you have questions about the Linz Group Photo, please don’t hesitate to contact us: send an e-mail to gruppenfoto@aec.at or call ++43-732/7272-40. Complete information about the Linz Group Photo is available online at www.aec.at/gruppenfoto.
Online Accreditation
Journalists can get accredited for GOODBYE PRIVACY beginning immediately at www.aec.at/accreditation
With queries, please contact:
Christopher Ruckerbauer
Press Officer Ars Electronica
christopher.ruckerbauer@aec.at
Tel. ++43-732-7272-38
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