Introduction. Envisioning performance postdemocracy : creative activism, (a little bit of) damage, and surveillance's inevitable products. God's eyes. Of sheep, shepherds, and oversight : defrocking the cultures of surveillance -- Private eyes. Surveillance operatives : activists, undercover agents, and the "New Theater" -- Blind eyes. This private island : the modern ban-opticon from camp x-ray to private prisons -- Electronic eyes. Outperforming activism : surveillance technologies beyond surveillance camera players -- Downcast eyes. Data doubles, Pepper's ghost, and zombie categories : the specters of performance in the bit parts of surveillance -- An eye for an eye. Envisioning performance postdemocracy : creative activism, (a little bit of) damage, and surveillance's inevitable products.
Summary:
"Placing the disciplines of performance studies and surveillance studies in a timely critical dialogue, Performance, Transparency, and the Cultures of Surveillance not only theorizes how surveillance performs but also how the technologies and corresponding cultures of surveillance alter the performance of everyday life. This exploration draws upon a rich array of examples from theater, performance, and the arts, all of which provide vivid illustration of the book's central argument: that the rise of the surveillance society coincides with a profound collapse of democratic oversight and transparency--a collapse that, in turn, demands a radical rethinking of how performance practitioners conceptualize art and its political efficacy. The book thus makes the case that artists and critics must reexamine--indeed, must radically redefine--their notions of performance if they are to mount any meaningful counter to the increasingly invasive surveillance society.-- Page 4 of cover.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.