StreetView: 'Move Over, Robert Frank!' as Artist Finds Google's Oeuvre
It wasn't too long ago that Google Maps took to the streets with its army of camera-equipped cars as it embarked on its quest to photograph every avenue in the world. As they archived all these random images of daily life and human existence, they captured more than their fair share of comedic, and often downright embarrassing moments. One artist, though, recently trolled through that entire stockpile, and has uncovered some surprisingly beautiful -- and often powerful -- imagery.Jon Rafman, an artist based out of Montreal, took it upon himself to find Google's artistic side, and has assembled a fascinating collection, NPR reports. The photos run the gamut from the complacently pensive (a barebacked woman staring at the Sea in Italy), to the humorous (the dilapidated facade of a Rod Stewart fan club in Scotland), to the downright harrowing (a series of curbside homeless).
Rafman (whose previous work includes this modern masterpiece), thoughtfully contextualizes his latest collection in an essay for Art Fag City, commenting through the "lens" of a contemporary society that has gradually accustomed itself to a growing photographic presence. As you click through the collection, it's pretty mind-blowing to think that these kinds of aesthetically radiant images can be captured totally anonymously -- by a simple camera on top of a car, twirling around and clicking without thought, no human eye or hand to frame it. It's this underlying, stream-of-consciousness layer to Rafman's work that renders the images so searingly resonant. More importantly, it serves as a subtle suggestion that the invasion of cameras and recording technology into our lives may not only portend humanity becoming a commodity; Big Brother can be beautiful sometimes, too. [From: NPR]
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