Topic overview
In brief
- Brian Appel has been uploading tens of thousands of photos of subway passengers to his Facebook account.
- Many individuals, including minors, have been photographed without their consent, raising safety concerns.
- The controversy has sparked a debate about privacy rights and the responsibilities of artists.
Summary
In New York City, Brian Appel, a former professor at the School of Visual Arts, has been under scrutiny for his extensive collection of photographs featuring unsuspecting subway passengers. Over the past two years, Appel has uploaded tens of thousands of images to his Facebook account, capturing individuals, including minors, in various states of dress and emotion. This has raised significant concerns among the public, particularly parents, about the implications of such actions on personal safety and privacy. One mother, Courtney Fitzpatrick, expressed her outrage after discovering images of her daughters among Appel's collection, highlighting the emotional distress it caused her family.
The controversy intensified as Fitzpatrick noted that one of her daughters had previously experienced stalking, raising fears that Appel's photographs could lead to further harassment. The images, which are not blurred, include identifiable details such as the time and location, exacerbating concerns about the potential for unwanted attention or stalking. Fitzpatrick's discovery prompted her to spend hours searching through Appel's posts, ultimately finding her daughters in separate images, which she described as deeply unsettling.