Hope and Fear: Art, Photography, and Extraction
TUESDAY 1 MARCH / 11AM–1PM / BOOK HERE
Professor Ben Burbridge
Taking a single image uploaded onto Instagram as our starting point, we will ‘cognitively map’ a digital economy, particularly the different types of work on which it relies. We will think about a common the operational logic based on the minimisation of labour costs, maximisation of profit, and evasion of social responsibility. Our route into this discussion will be a series of contemporary art works that take the digital economy as a key focus. We will think carefully about the insights they provide, linked to the specific creative strategies used, while also considering the art world in which they circulate as a kind of secondary economy.
Core Reading
• Hito Steyerl, ‘Politics of Art: Contemporary Art and the Transition to Post-Democracy’, e-flux 21 (December 2010): http://www.e-flux.com/journal/21/67696/politics-of-art-contemporary-art-and-the-transition-to-post-democracy/ (Links to an external site.)(Links to an external site.)
• Christian Fuchs, ‘Introduction’ to Digital Labour and Karl Marx, MacMillan, 2013 (particularly pp. 1-8)
• Adrien Chen , ‘ The Laborers Who Keep the Dick Pics and Beheadings Out of Your Facebook Feed ’, Wired (23 October 2014 ): wired.com/2014/10/content- moderation/
TUESDAY 1 MARCH / 11AM–1PM / BOOK HERE
Professor Ben Burbridge
Taking a single image uploaded onto Instagram as our starting point, we will ‘cognitively map’ a digital economy, particularly the different types of work on which it relies. We will think about a common the operational logic based on the minimisation of labour costs, maximisation of profit, and evasion of social responsibility. Our route into this discussion will be a series of contemporary art works that take the digital economy as a key focus. We will think carefully about the insights they provide, linked to the specific creative strategies used, while also considering the art world in which they circulate as a kind of secondary economy.
Core Reading
• Hito Steyerl, ‘Politics of Art: Contemporary Art and the Transition to Post-Democracy’, e-flux 21 (December 2010): http://www.e-flux.com/journal/21/67696/politics-of-art-contemporary-art-and-the-transition-to-post-democracy/ (Links to an external site.)(Links to an external site.)
• Christian Fuchs, ‘Introduction’ to Digital Labour and Karl Marx, MacMillan, 2013 (particularly pp. 1-8)
• Adrien Chen , ‘ The Laborers Who Keep the Dick Pics and Beheadings Out of Your Facebook Feed ’, Wired (23 October 2014 ): wired.com/2014/10/content- moderation/