The Autonomy Cube
This sculpture peaked my interest because of its interactive aspect. By connecting to the Autonomy Cube, one can communicate with another through the secure Wi-Fi hotspot without concern for privacy. Even recently, with the thought that all Google search history being easily downloadable seems questionable. While actively participating in this sculpture’s functions, it made me question the reliability of the current systems and how it would affect the future of my data usage. I also liked the fact that it was enclosed in a clear box. It kind of emphasizes the importance of transparency, which has been an issue in recent news regarding the government.
Sense
Even after the news about the NSA came out, I still did not have a firm grasp of how severe the situation was regarding personal privacy. After walking through the whole exhibit, I realized how surveillance technology has intruded into the most inconspicuous corners of the world. I couldn’t even tell that drones were in the backgrounds of all his earlier photographs if I hadn’t read the press release prior to visiting the gallery.
Nonsense
Since a lot of the Paglen’s installations didn’t have any explanations or names attached to them, I had a hard time figuring out what some of them were. For instance, there was a green patch that was pinned on the wall, and I had no idea what significance it had to the entire exhibit. Also, I didn’t realize the list of words running up the wall were A-Z of codenames. Were they designated names for drones? Or for secret government surveillance operations? I have no clue.
