CCTV

I was in London last week, and once again (despite having been there many times) the omnipresence of CCTV cameras in public spaces continues to astonish me.
I have mixed feelings about them, but in general, however strange this may seem to many of my friends, in this particular case positive feelings win.

I think central London (taking as central a really large area) is one of the safest places that one can find in a modern metropolis. I don't like being surveilled by the the police, the state or whoever... but if I weigh up the moral disturbance that being observed causes me against the risk of being mugged by a violent gang, finding all public toilets, phones... vandalized, etc... I'm afraid I've turned so conservative to happily accept being monitored...
Well, maybe this thought is common to many Londoners, as otherwise it would be hard to understand that a population that has so fiercely opposed to Identity Cards could accept the attack to privacity that CCTV involves.

Related to this (but with a much broader scope) Tate Modern is hosting an exhibition that seems pretty interesting:

Exposed: Vouyerism, surveillance and the camera

No doubt CCTV has been, is, and will ever be a hot, controversial topic, and street art clearly reflects it:

Banksy, Marble Arch, London, 2004:




Marble Arch, London, September 2010:




Frankfurt, August 2010:


Update 2011/06/02
When I was in Munich last April (world famous for its impressive Bavarian baroque architecture, but its less known Art Nouveau treasures are also stunning) I came across this good addition to this post:



I think it reads something like: "Dictatorship of Safety"