The Suppression of Art in Today’s Society
WARNING: Mounting Soap Box and preparing for rant
Earlier today I experienced what I thought to be a rather odd phenomenon. I was patronizing the Corner Bakery Cafe at the Fair Oaks mall and I happened to snap a picture of their rather artsy pastry display while I was waiting in line to order my food. I though that the display looked so nice that I snapped a second shot. As I was taking the second picture I noticed that the woman behind the register was trying to get my attention. I ignored her as I thought she was just trying to tell me that she was ready to take my order, and since I was waiting to order with my mother I sort of waved her off. She was, however, persistent. When I looked up she announced that I was not allowed to be taking pictures. Not allowed to take pictures????? Since when did that happen? I was particularly offended, and spazzed when it was suddenly my turn to order. My first inclination was to decline to order anything since they declined to let me take an artsy shot of their pastries; I am after all, a photographer, an artist. But since my mother had already ordered I thought it would be rude if I asked her to cancel her order and go elsewhere so I obliged the cashier (who had not forbidden me from taking pictures, though he saw me doing that just as obviously as the other nasty cashier) and ordered whatever my mother ordered. I saw this opportunity to tweet about this event.
I truly tried not to think any more of it, though I was quite annoyed.
I should take this opportunity to explain what exactlywas doing taking random pictures of pastries. I don’t often go about taking random shots, I’m a much more deliberate photographer. However, in a recent issue of Photojojo’s Newsletter they discussed a method for developing film using coffee and vitamin C.
“Wow!” I thought, after reading it, “I could really help save the environment! I wouldn’t have to worry about how to dispose of those nasty noxious chemicals….”
And I set out to blow a roll of my favorite film, as the article suggests, on random stuff so that I could work through some of the stickier timing issues of learning to develop film in common household products. I was quite pleased that there were exactly three rolls of the 35mm 100 speed, Rollei Retro film that I so earnestly love, one to blow and two to create fantastic art work with. I’ve been so excited to try this film processing out that I have been taking my trusty Pentax K-1000 around with me everywhere in hopes that I can finish this roll up and get into my Kitchen-Sink-Darkroom. So it is vastly important to note that in addition to being a simple artist, I also have no clue if this roll of film is even going to turn out.
So, I went on about my merry way for the rest of the afternoon. I suddenly developed a bad case of camera-shyness after my run-in with the Corner Bakery cashier woman. I’ve had a great deal of problems getting over that as a photographer anyway, and now, more than ever I’m nervous about getting chewed out for taking pictures. The day was dreary and not great for outdoor photos, so I was a bit disappointed thinking that my roll would have to wait a whole additional 24-hours before it was ready to be subjected to some caffeinated processing. But then, my mom and I got the great idea… we’d head over to Reston to our new favorite place… Iceberry’s!
I feel that it’s important to note here that I was considering writing an extremely favorable review of this location on Yelp.com before today. Now I’m not so sure. I would also like to note that after today, I visited their website and their links to their privacy policy and terms of use are not active. And now I’ve got you wondering what is up, don’t I?
We arrived (my mother and I) amidst the drizzle and dank that had become the standard for today’s weather. The little shop on Main Street in Reston was like a little beacon of sunshine. Their cute little sign hung outside the door welcoming us. I snapped a picture of it before we went in and my mother noted how the ladies inside were smiling at us (we were their only customers, probably the only customers of the dayif the cold, dank weather had anything to do with it). I went in and immediately felt cozy with the warm colors inside the shop and I ordered a medium yogurt rather than my customary small. The woman served up my yogurt and I took the smooth, tangy concoction back to my seat and pulled out my camera to snap a shot of that infinite goodness before devoured it. And then, because the interior is so artsy I thought I’d just snap a few more pictures (the roll was nearing 20, and it’s only a 24 roll, so I knew I was almost there). But before I could fire off the shutter I heard a familiar phrase…
“Oh… you can’t take pictures.”
WHAT?????!!!!???
You’ve got to be joking?! Twice in one day?!!!! I was fuming at this point. My yogurt wasn’t even good. In fact, I thought it tasted horrible, and I was tempted to ask for a refund. Who are they to say that I can’t make art? And who even knows if that silly roll of film is going to come out!!! I sat there just fuming and fuming until I finally couldn’t take it any more.
“OK, I’m going,” I said to my mother who hadn’t even finished her small yogurt yet, “I’m gonna go across the street. I’ll see you over there?” I said in a rather huffy tone and then left my mother there alone. Yes, folks, I left my mother. Alone. All ALONE. I realize that was an absolutely terrible thing to do to one’s mother after the long hours that she probably spent in childbirth with me, but I was actually sparing her the possibility that I would have to explain to the cops that I had Tourette’s syndrome (a heinous lie) and that’s why I suddenly started spouting the worst socially inappropriate and derogatory remarks at the women behind the counter.
My mother actually asked the women why I wasn’t allowed to take pictures, and their response was they were directed to tell people they weren’t allowed to take pictures because the decor was the shop owner’s property and the shop owner didn’t want people to copy the design of the inside of the store. Might I add that I have been in there on several other occasions and have taken pictures with my iPhone but never once had it mentioned to me that I was unable to take photographs. Might I also mention that quite a bit of the decor looks like something I could easily purchase from Ikea.
The inanity (great word, huh? I mean, it is a word, right?) of this whole foray is completely beyond my comprehension. Someone, please, quickly, tell me how it is that our society has come to this! How is that I, as an artist and a photographer, am no longer allowed to go to public places and photograph what I see to display as art!!! Isn’t that the greatest form of flattery? The fact that I think that something is so beautiful that I want to take a picture of it, hang it on my wall, share it with the world and all that nonsense?! I am so utterly offended by the events of today that I think I might have to subject myself to a self-imposed hermitage and do nothing but take pictures of my own toenail clippings for the rest of my life because at least I know that I’m not going to forbid myself from photographing them.
Am I alone, or do other people think that this is ridiculous?
Hey Whitney -
Yes, it is rather ridiculous! I think you should continue to perfect the “covert snap” as you taught me in NYC. That way nobody will be any to the wiser.
Jim
Jim Spitznas’s last blog post..All Bird Images
I had the unfortunate experience of being asked just this week to not take pictures in Tyson’s Galleria because of their “no photo policy”. The security guard was very nice about it but I found it ironic that in the biggest recession since the Great Depression the most expensive Mall in DC would get precious about the privacy of their kalanchoe. Yes, I’m an unemployed photographer who is going to steal kalanchoe! Seriously if I was I’d go to the Ritz Carlton and steal something much more esoteric. It was especially funny because the whole reason I had my camera was I was going to the Ritz Camera to buy a $90.00 accessory but the Ritz Camera had closed either a victim of the recession or their chi chi prices or possibly (dare I hope) decamping in protest of the Mall’s no photo policy!!!
It is also odd when everywhere you go people can take pictures with their cell phones and nobody knows if they are taking pictures or not. If you’d whipped out your iPhone you would not have had a problem.
Legally people in the US are entitled to be the only one’s who profit from their private property including images of them and their children. While you can take pictures for editorial purposes you can’t for commercial publication or to make it look like they endorse something they don’t endorse. Apparently “art” falls in between in a grey area. If you think about it, if you slapped Iceberry’s on a lunchbox and sold a million of them they’d be pissed but of course if you did this as a marketing company, it would be worth gold to them in free advertising. So maybe that’s the approach you need to take. Hi, I’m WCM, mind if I market your company for FREE?
But I agree-people are totally nuts. And FYI I have found Southern States and the nursery over in Lincoln are very happy to have you snap whatever you’d like.
Cecelia Spitznas’s last blog post..Better Than an Astronaut Phone
What really gets my goat is when someone says photographing tombstones is an invasion of privacy: http://ancestories1.blogspot.com/2009/03/photographing-gravestones-invasion-of.html
And welcome to the Genea-Blogosphere, Whitney!
Miriam Robbins Midkiff’s last blog post..Saturday Night Fun – Finding FHL Resources
Unfortunately, the interior of stores is private property, not public. The owners have the right to prohibit photography while you’re inside. If you’re out on the sidewalk (public property), taking a picture of the exterior, you’re fine.
Here’s a useful intro to photographer’s rights that can answer many of your questions.
Devon’s last blog post..Less Broody
Did a new Processing sketch. Almost makes it look…
yes, it IS rediculous!!! But it resulted in a very amusing and thought-provoking blog, didn’t it!
I worked for a newspaper for several years and also have a background as a creative director for a small women’s magazine. I spent a period of time in both roles as a photographer. Devon is absolutely correct about the inside of businesses being different from the outside – I found that if I asked permission first (usually by calling ahead) and explained what it was for, shop owners were typically very welcoming. As Cecilia says, free marketing! Of course, as someone in your position who wants to shoot a photo merely because you find your subject something you want to look at later, it seems like a lot of trouble to go “ask first,” so it can be very frustrating!
I also had to deal with the problem when it was in public. Shooting a street festival or county fair, for example, on rare occasions would warrant someone pitching a fit about getting their photo taken for one reason or another. In this case, they absolutely did not have a right to be angry – it was a public place, and they chose to be in that public place. To avoid controversy I typically just agreed not to use their photo and move on. You never know what someone has been through to not make them want to be photographed.
True story #1: A women came in the newspaper one day to yell at a photographer who had submitted a photo of the woman’s horse for publication. The woman was angry because the horse HAD A RUNNY NOSE and it MADE HIM LOOK BAD. I am not kidding.
Tru story #2: Another woman came to the newspaper angry because someone had photographed her in a public place dancing with a man who was not her husband and this photo, published the day before, had apparently landed her in hot water.
Moral of this story: Blow your nose and your horse’s nose before you leave the house.
Melissa’s last blog post..Uninvited dinner party guest (wait, that’s me)
@Jim: Yeah, I don’t know why I stopped that! Thought it’s hard to be “covert” when you’re the only person in the place!
@Cece: I completely agree. I think that shop owners are missing out on loads of free advertising.
@Devon: THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for that fantastic link. While it still greatly annoys me that people are so paranoid that they feel the need to curb people’s creativity, I’m happy to follow guidelines / laws when I know what they are.
@Melissa: I’m always amazed at what bother’s people. I am the kind of person that often carries a camera around and is jut looking for random artsy shots. So it’s often difficult for me to call ahead for permission. I’d be making phone calls all day if I did that! I might have had the composure to explain that I was just taking pictures for my own personal pleasure and enjoyment except that I was totally taken aback and offended in the manner in which I was approached by the shop owners.
I suppose since I would never ever dare use my photography for evil it’s hard for me to grasp why people would automatically assume that the person with the camera has malicious intent.
Sigh – I guess I’ll just have to do some more “shooting from the hip” from now on. Trouble with my best friend the Pentax K-1000 is that the shutter is anything but silent.
I say keep shooting! Most people should be flattered, and those that aren’t are uptight and they don’t deserve to dictate your fun. Just be ready to explain yourself when asked. You could always make something up: “I’m working for a new reality TV show called ‘We’d like to hand you a million dollars’ but as you’ve asked me to stop we’ll take our work elsewhere. Thanks for your time.”
Melissa’s last blog post..One night in Charlotte and the world’s your oyster