The pinhole camera, which I used, made me question the idea of peepholes, voyeurism, and photography vs. pornography and how it all interacted with burlesque acts and the female image throughout the ages.

When photography came along, so did pornography and the live burlesque act was lost, but so was a sense of self-guilt of showing up at such a risqué show. You had your own private shows that no one else would know you were viewing when photography came along. You owned the image of the girl and the view was in one direction. No one would look back at you to see who you are. As a showgirl, stripper or burlesque dancer, I could only imagine feeling eyes crawling over my body as I performed my act and who was viewing me. Photography makes it easier to view someone else because you know you are suppose to view this image/this person. This image was photographed to be viewed in a certain way.

There were many types of cameras and photographs to choose from when shooting burlesque or pornographic images, as both photography evolved and burlesque shifted styles. Today burlesque seems to be making a comeback and I wanted to show this. Burlesque acts started out not so revealing but more of a comedy show with a lot of females making fun of the higher classes and the opera. Eventually, it became less about the act and more about the flesh.

I chose to use a pinhole camera because it reminds me of a peep show. The camera has no lens, only a hole, like a peephole, to create the image. The irony of using this pinhole is that the photographer cannot look through the hole in the camera or a viewfinder to see the image as it is being shot. The images that are created are a surprise to be revealed in the darkroom because there is no peephole for the photographer in the camera itself.

The pinhole camera also gives a sense of vagueness to the images, leaving smaller details out and only giving us a sense of presence and motion. This forces us to look harder at the images to see more. The vagueness reminds me of how burlesque girls tease and do not intend to reveal all in their acts.

Voyeurism, or the act of viewing other people secretly and rather sexually, is a strong element in this exhibit. This idea of privacy and seeing something we are not suppose to see because it is sexual in nature is the reason why I chose to put the images in individual containers. I want the viewer to get close and intimate with the subject and for the viewing to be private.

Go ahead. Take a peek. As I said before, photographs are taken for a reason: to be seen.