Surveillance at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art

Surveillance group exhibition featuring Blue Sky Days, September 16, 2016 to January 29, 2016

Artist talk with Tomas van Houtryve October 6, 2016 at 6:00 pm

The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
4525 Oak Street
Kansas City, Missouri 64111
USA

Who is watching you? In the 21st century, it is hard to escape the camera’s all-seeing eye. With every movement recorded by cameras, it is difficult to remember that surveillance is not a modern construct. This exhibition examines photography’s role in secretive looking from the 1860s to today.

Dating from 1864 to 2014, the works in this exhibition fall under categories of spying/hidden camera, photography of the forbidden, military surveillance, areas of heavy surveillance, and mapping satellites and drones. Also included are examples of counter-surveillance that either prevent watching or surveille the watchers.

The group exhibition includes works by Henri-Cartier Bresson, Paul Strand, Walker Evans, Miroslav Tichy, Trevor Paglen, Mishka Henner, and Tomas van Houtryve.

The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art acquired two prints from Tomas van Houtyve’s Blue Sky Days series for their permanent collection.