Insecurity Booth
Multi-Channel Interactive Media Installation by Sam Manera
In the ATA Window - October 2011
And in ATA during the festival
The practice of mounting video cameras in public spaces; i.e. train stations, traffic signals, office buildings, etc… started in the mid 1960’s. In less than fifty years, the use of surveillance cameras in public areas has become an all too common sight. One cannot cross a city intersection with out being photographed.
Using surveillance as a medium, the Insecurity Booth incorporates multiple video monitors and cameras. The viewer experiences a barrage of images both collected and in real time. The subject of the images being skewed amongst that of found/ captured surveillance footage and images from cameras positioned around Artist’s Television Access. The viewer becomes disoriented in what appears as images of themselves or perhaps images of others. In appearance, The Insecurity Booth resembles a “control” panel, much like a mall or office building would house. False perception, misrepresentation, disorientation, voyeurism, and vanity are the source of The Insecurity Booth’s power.
Sam Manera is a practicing Artist, who currently lives in San Francisco. Sam’s mediums of choice include: Experimental Film/Video, Photography, Kinetic sculpture, and Interactive Media installations. He specializes in alternative techniques and mixing of mediums. Sam’s work has been displayed in several galleries in the Bay Area as well as in Houston and Marfa Texas.
