The idea that people's behavior may be regulated by the mere possibility of being observed at any given moment was at the center of Jeremy Bentham's idea for designing a panopticon, a type of prison where inmates could be heard and observed at any time, but could not know whether or not they were being monitored during any given moment. This is a form of the power/knowledge relationship that Foucault writes about; Foucault argues that through photographic surveillance, citizens become "docile bodies of the moern state," participating in the ideologies of society because of a desire to fit in (p.110). The book presents examples of modern surveillance (in the form of CCTV cameras) that can also contribute to this effect on society.
The description of the panopticon brings to mind works by German photographer Andreas Gursky. Among his works are a series of photographs representing urban diversity, which includes several photographs of enormous residential buildings.
In larger versions of these images, you can actually see into many of the apartments whose shades are open. Thus, in a way, Gursky creates an intrusion into people's privacy through the creation of visual imagery (and unlike the surveillance cameras in public places, here, strangers are able to gaze into individual's homes). When I first saw these photographs, I was fascinated by the chance to look into individuals' windows; I felt curious about the variety of ways in which people arranged and decorated identical living spaces. However, the analysis of the power/knowledge concept leads me to wonder how much of my fascination was unconsciously linked to the power of gazing into unsuspecting people's homes.
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