Artists resist global surveillance through entropy and invisibility

Since the 1980s, artists have challenged mass surveillance. Julia Scher's 1988 installation 'Security by Julia' let museum visitors experience being watched. In the 1990s, the Surveillance Camera Players hijacked public security cameras for theatrical protest. After 9/11, the focus shifted from audio-video to digital data, facial recognition, and drones. Trevor Paglen photographs secret military bases and CIA prisons, stating his work shows 'what it means to be invisible.' Hito Steyerl's 2013 video 'How Not To Be Seen' parodies tutorials on evading surveillance. Zach Blas's 'Facial Weaponization Suite' (2011-14) creates collective masks to confuse biometric software. Martin Backes's 'Pixelhead' (2010) is a pixelated hood inspired by Google Street View. Jacob Appelbaum advocates entropy for encryption and anonymous networks. Laura Poitras's 2016 Whitney Museum exhibition 'Astro Noise' addressed total surveillance, with curator Adam D. Weinberg noting art's randomness and ambiguity challenge oppressive systems.