The Medium of the Secret: On an Asymmetrical Invisibility War

• In Event: Hacking

Abstract

Intersecting philosophical, aesthetic and political concerns, this paper discusses the significance of the medium of the secret in contemporary society. I analyze two opposing cases of producing public and visible opacity. The first mode focuses on the production of visible invisibilities in the form of government censorship of documents, by redacting contents that have been deemed potentially harmful to national security should they be revealed and published. Redaction as overlay represents an imposed visibility, when government agencies ought to disclose information, and yet control the terms of the revelation to the public. Second, I survey the opposing and disruptive tactic of produced invisibilities mobilized by hacker, programmers and artists looking for ways to counter surveillance and capture. This growing body of heterogeneous work speaks to a shared desire to remain invisible in the digital age and of a despair that the future offers little relief to concerns about privacy.

Author

• Ella Klik, New York U