New York Photographer Displays and Sells Pictures He Took of His Neighbors (PHOTOS)

A New York artist's work has left some people furious. Arne Svenson, a New York photographer, took pictures of his neighbors in their apartment without them knowing. The photos, which are now being displayed- and sold- in a Manhattan gallery, depict his neighbors doing varying tasks throughout the day.

There's a picture of a mother sitting in a rocking chair with a teddy bear on her lap, a guy laying down for a nap, a woman on all fours appearing to be picking something up, a guy with his back pressed up against the window talking on the phone. In all the pictures the faces are obscured so the people are unidentifiable.

But the residents of the Zinc Building, a glass-walled luxury residential building which sits across the street from Svenson's apartment, had no idea they were being photographed and they never consented to being subjects for the works of art. Some of the residents are so unhappy they are seeking legal action against the artist.

"I don't feel it's a violation in a legal sense but in a New York, personal sense there was a line crossed," Michelle Sylvester, who lives in the building, told the Associated Press.

The building stands out among the others on the block with floor-to-ceiling windows. Svenson's apartment is directly across the street from the Zinc Building allowing him a clear view of his neighbors by simply looking out his window.

"I think there's an understanding that when you live here with glass windows, there will straying eyes but it feels different with someone who has a camera," Sylvester said.

Svenson's show, "The Neighbors," opened on May 9 at the Julie Saul Gallery in Chelsea, where about a dozen large prints are on sale for up to $7,500. His exhibit is drawing a lot of attention because of the way it was made.

"For my subjects there is no question of privacy; they are performing behind a transparent scrim on a stage of their own creation with the curtain raised high," Svenson said in gallery notes. "The Neighbors don't know they are being photographed; I carefully shoot from the shadows of my home into theirs."

Not all of the residents are upset about the art work.

"I'm not really upset about it because that's his job," said Linda Darcia, an exchange living with a family on the sixth floor. "But maybe he should have asked before the gallery opens."

Darcia said she wasn't sure if she was depicted but was anxious to find out.