The Ends

The Ends

Anonymous snapshot, Gift of Peter J. Cohen, 2019.674

Photography has always been the bedfellow of voyeurism. It is built into the very language of the medium: we peer through viewfinders, make exposures, and capture the shot. Mass media, tabloids, and even photography produced in the name of social documentary have made what historian Vicki Goldberg calls “casual voyeurism” a socially acceptable part of our everyday lives.

Anonymous snapshot, Gift of Peter J. Cohen, 2019.632

Anonymous snapshot, Gift of Peter J. Cohen, 2019.650

Anonymous snapshot, Gift of Peter J. Cohen, 2019.651

And where there is voyeurism, exhibitionism is not far behind. Individuals who bend over and present their “ends” to be photographed revel in these ambiguous boundaries. Many who raise their rumps for the camera simultaneously peer through their legs, catching and exposing all of us for the voyeurs that we are.

Anonymous snapshot, Gift of Peter J. Cohen, 2019.646

Anonymous snapshot, Gift of Peter J. Cohen, 2019.633

Anonymous snapshot, Gift of Peter J. Cohen, 2019.201

Anonymous snapshot, Gift of Peter J. Cohen, 2019.647

Anonymous snapshot, Gift of Peter J. Cohen, 2019.634

Anonymous snapshot, Gift of Peter J. Cohen, 2019.789