PUBLIC COLLECTORS

One of the consequences of being in Copenhagen this week and some of next is that I will miss the Chicago protests against the NATO Summit and the expected displays of endless police power and surveillance. Nonetheless, there is plenty of surveillance in Copenhagen and no shortage of signs announcing that the cameras are always watching. I often photograph the camera alert signs when I travel and see you can see this collection, along with many new photos from Copenhagen and Tingbjerg, here. When observed as a collection, you can see a lot of ideas - some very outdated - about what a video surveillance camera should look like.

Ongoing documentation of surveillance camera alert signs. This example was taken in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood on November 16, 2011. Many more from various cities here.

Greetings from New York City, home of endless surveillance camera alert signs. Many other examples here.

I continue to document surveillance camera alert signs when I travel (and in Chicago, where I live). This example is from Lisbon, Portugal. You can view over 30 more signs from various cities here.

Continued documentation of signs announcing the presence of surveillance cameras in New York City. Don’t leave your bike here either! You can view all of the camera signs (with previous photos from Budapest) here.

Continued documentation of signs announcing the presence of surveillance cameras in New York City. You can view all of them (with previous photos from Budapest) here.

Continued documentation of signs announcing the presence of surveillance cameras in New York City. You can view all of them (with previous photos from Budapest) here.

On a very short trip to New York City I began to notice more of the signs announcing the presence of surveillance cameras that I became so fixated on in Budapest, so I decided to continue documenting them. I didn’t have much time to look but nonetheless, I’ve added a bunch of new photos to the previous collection. You can view all of them here.

With all my posting on Tumblr and uploading to Flickr, it has been a while since I made a new honest to goodness page on the main Public Collectors website. Well, following my recent travels in Budapest, here’s something new in the Digital Collections section:

Surveillance Camera Alert Signs in Budapest, Hungary

Like many cities, there are countless surveillance cameras in Budapest, keeping watch over stores, banks, government buildings and various properties that are deemed worthy of extra protection. During a short trip my eye was frequently drawn to the signs that announce the presence of these cameras and after a few days I started to photograph them. Some businesses use a standard-issue sign but many do not. In addition to relaying a telling detail of our society of social control devices at every turn, the signs become a catalog of different video camera designs, from the more simple styles of the 1960s and early 70s, to bulky VHS camcorders of the 1970s and 80s, and smaller HD cameras of the 90s and 2000s.

These photos were taken between July 10-13, 2010 - primarily in Pest, though at least one was taken on the Buda side of the Danube River. Special thanks to Jen Blair who pointed out some of the signs that I would have overlooked during our walks through the city.

Marc Fischer