Surveillance and the arts

Hoping to acquire new insight on the challenges and failings of American democracy, artist Cindy DeFelice left New York for the Eastern German city of Leipzig. DeFelice's timing landed her in Europe for the American government shutdown and the NSA debacle. DW takes a look at how four artists have been affected by spying.

International news sources like Deutsche Welle have been instrumental in broadening Cindy DeFelice’s view of democracy, the artist said. "I'm becoming much more sensitive to the conditions that can define the limits of a particular government...gross economic and educational inequality, widespread fear and anxiety and extreme power in the hands of the few." She creates art in her Leipzig studio.

Cindy DeFelice's research led her to the Stasi Museum in Leipzig. Pictured here is a Stasi uniform. Fear tactics were effective tools during the GDR, where people would simply disappear- sometimes for a year, sometimes forever. Though the standard of living in the GDR improved in the 1970s under Erich Honecker's leadership, the new "consumer socialism" proved to be a mere distraction.

"See no evil, hear no evil" was one of the topics Uwe Scholz addressed in the Leipzig Ballet's 1992 piece, "PAX QUESTUOSA." On the left is a poster of off Mario Schröder's new adaptation, the original performance poster appears on the right.

Uwe Scholz also addressed issues that led to the Monday demonstrations in Leipzig, such as fear of total annihilation by the atomic bomb. With support from dance historian Andreas Auerbach, current ballet director and former dancer under Scholz, Mario Schröder has reconstructed "Pax" from video footage and his own experience dancing in the piece. Here Schröder instructs Laura Costa Chaud.

In his new choreography Mario Schröder examines the world in its contemporary context: the paradox of how open and diverse it has become through modern technology and yet how much more vulnerable we are. In the past, the enemy had a face. With our smart phones and GPS, are we asking to be tracked, especially when we have no idea exactly who's doing it or why?

Today's full expression through art and dance would not have been possible during the German Democratic Republic (GDR). This panel tapestry hanging in the Stasi Museum in Berlin shows the Stasi secret police happily at work. What you don't see is the panel to the right: a ballet company at rehearsals. On the left is a primary school classroom. Everyone was a potential enemy of the state.

In the GDR persons of interest were brought into a hot room, sat in a chair and then left to stew before being interrogated. What they didn't realize was that the chair had a removable lining. This was put into a jar, labeled and stored should the officials ever need to "set the dogs on you." Such jars can be found at the Stasi Museums in Berlin and Leipzig.

Till Galunke was born in the GDR, but grew up in Frankfurt am Main. Recent stories in the news have caused him to revisit his roots. His "inspiration wall" is a mix of iconic and lesser-known images including uniformed Volkspolizei and pages torn from fashion magazines. Some may find the mix eclectic, but in his paintings the two worlds merge rather than collide.

Till Galunke's rooms leave viewers wondering if they are on the outside looking in - or the inside wanting to escape. Perhaps this reflects his willingness to resist prejudging the people of the land of his birth. Instead he celebrates their liberation while taking an objective view that we are all just human.

The paintings of French artist Celine Germes are both powerful and soft. In a world where everything is point-and-shoot, Germes' delicate brushwork has her spending months at a time on one canvas. She juxtaposes modern society against her technique by painting intensely violent, heart-breaking images in the palest of greys.

Celine Germes knows that today's headlines fade quickly because they are replaced by tomorrow's front page news. Riots on Tuesday are replaced with beauty contest winners on Wednesday. This doesn't diminish the quality of yesterday's news. It only makes it difficult to see. Sometimes you must pause and think, just like you must take time to allow her images to fully appear.