Transparency, Clip-O-Matic Eye 1969

Editor: This is Joe Tilson’s "Transparency, Clip-O-Matic Eye," made in 1969. It reminds me of Pop Art, and it’s quite unsettling. What do you see in this piece? Curator: The eye, framed by the filmstrip, is a potent symbol. Think of the all-seeing eye, a motif across cultures representing awareness, judgment, and even divine presence. Does this suggest a commentary on surveillance, perhaps, or the act of seeing itself? Editor: I hadn’t thought about the surveillance aspect. The title also suggests transparency, but the eye itself is so magnified. It is contradictory! Curator: Exactly! The juxtaposition invites us to question what is revealed and what remains hidden in our culture and within ourselves. Food for thought, isn't it? Editor: Definitely. I'm going to have to rethink my initial reaction.