Friday, March 7, 2008

Secure Beneath the Watchful Eyes

Since I can't invite everyone who reads this blog to visit my office (though I'd love to) I just had to share a photo of the newest addition to my workspace, a framed print of the infamous "Secure Beneath the Watchful Eyes" poster produced by Transport for London a year after the September 11th attacks. In this effort to sell the value of a surveillance society to an understandably frightened public, the designer managed to create an oddly (maybe even purposefully) Orwellian image, complete with all-seeing eyes composed both of flesh and technology.

As you'd imagine, a number of friends (and strangers on the bus when I was delivering the poster to my office) exclaimed, "Cool! 1984!" I then had the pleasure of announcing, "Nope, this is the real thing." I'd read somewhere that William Gibson labeled this poster "madly hip." I admit it: I had to have it immediately thereafter. I visited the TFL museum store online, but found no joy. Lots and lots of other posters, but none of this image. Undeterred, I emailed them a follow-up query and found, delightfully, that they do indeed have a few of these laying around. I had to ask Jenny to phone them with my credit card info (they wouldn't accept my digits online for some reason) and within days I received my own copy in a durable mailing tube. Now, thanks to TFL, my office is more secure!

Want this poster? Here's where I got my copy: London Transport Museum Shop

5 comments:

deckard3 said...

Where can I get one of these posters? I'm very jealous.

highway163 said...

I got my poster by calling +44 207 3796344 (10am - 6pm London time). I can't recall the exact price, but it seemed reasonable, and the shipping was in a good tube.

Crystal said...

This really is fantastic. I also want one. I'll probably just settle for printing out my own though. :(

Anonymous said...

Wow I'm phoning them tomorrow! They really should have produced them for sale.

yeah said...

How do i Buy one?, i'm from Australia, we haven't got the taste to produce such a stunning peice of artwork! or the inclination.