After peer review, “On Power, Pans & Panopticons” has been published by the International Panorama Conference (IPC).
This paper was presented at the IPC Annual Conference in Atlanta, GA, on September 27, 2019.
Abstract:
Some might think it ironic that an artist who makes panoramic photographs and is concerned about the current circumstances of our digitally networked world would explore a surveillance technology invented at the end of the 18th century. This paper reviews the history of the British social reformer Jeremy Bentham’s panopticon and places it in context with a contemporaneous invention: the panoramic painting. One of the few existing panopticon buildings, the Presidio Modelo in Cuba, is described, with a focus on its history and cultural impact. Finally, the paper offers reflections on the power/knowledge relationship and on how the panopticon can serve as a metaphor for our highly surveilled world, where those in power, gathering the data (knowledge), can predict and modify our behavior.