Public, Private, Secret

The International Center of Photography has an exhibit going up from Arne Svenson that's a bit on the controversial side. The gallery of works features images of Svenson's neighbors, shot secretly with a telephoto lens. His claim is that this doesn't violate any privacy issues, despite their lack of participation agreement from inside their private homes, because the figures are kept vague, never a specific visage being shown. His claims were held up by the New York Appellate Division as works of art and, thus, not commercial works violating privacy. It's certainly a sticky subject that continue to undergo scrutiny.

Further reading on the topic here and here.