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In 1949, when George Orwell first published his classic dystopian novel 1984, the extreme invasion of privacy as "Big Brother watch[ed] you" was no more than a futuristic fantasy. We're now thirty-three years past this crafted 'future' narrative and the sad truth comes out: Orwell's predictions weren't so far off. This fantasized society where the boundaries between the public and private spheres have been blurred – or erased entirely – has become a grave reality, much due to the rampant social media controlling our 21st century lives.
While many shy away from the harsh post 9/11 reality, curator Svetlana Reingold and a group of artists have chosen to address the complicated nature of privacy in the best way they know how: through a group of eleven new exhibitions – five solo and six group.
Through a variety of artistic endeavors, Anonym-X: the End of the Privacy Era at the Haifa Museum of Art will deal with exhibitionism, narcissism, voyeurism, the gaze and surveillance to raise challenging questions about "the source of the artwork, power and control".
To try and get at the value of art within social media's shared cultural sphere, the exhibition cluster is broken into three chapters. The first focuses on voyeurism as a tool of social regulation; the second approaches those whose privacy is most violated on a daily basis - celebrities; and the third dives into the many understandings of the 21st century Orwellian surveillance society. Don't stare from afar! Take a break from Facebook stalking, stop scrolling on buzzfeed and channel that energy into a thought-provoking collection of art instead.
Anonym-X: the End of the Privacy Era is on now at the Haifa Museum of Art, 26 Shabtai Levy , Haifa (04-9115997, hma.org.il)