The tourist, the parasite & the sound of hell: A case study on visual rewiring and encouraging novel pathways of thinking as a counterbalance to self-reinforcing text-and-algorithm-based thought
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School of Arts, Design and Architecture |
Master's thesis
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Authors
Date
2024
Department
Major/Subject
Visuaalinen kulttuuri, kuratointi ja nykytaide
Mcode
ARTS3040
Degree programme
Taiteen ja median maisteriohjelma
Language
en
Pages
62
Series
Abstract
This thesis documents a technique of rewiring based on Hiroki Azuma’s Philosophy of the Tourist, eventually resulting in an exhibition featuring paintings and some brief texts. The problem it aims to address is mainly that of the restrictive effects of preferential selection; Within the contemporary globalized world, societies and individuals have undergone an unforeseen degree of homogenization, in which preferential selection has been a major driver influencing the way we operate - compounded by the structure of the internet and social media algorithms that get humans as well as bots stuck in feedback loops. One of the issues that arises from this homogenization is that it causes a certain blindness to unexplored paths of information, making the logical fallacy that that which is most popular must consequentially be the most optimal. Due to preferen-tial selection having such a dominant effect on our information networks, poten-tial solutions to issues are overlooked by leaving large parts of our information network unexplored. Within the field of contemporary art, too, artists, curators and collectors are forced into a feedback loop of the already known, exacerbated by a focus on the same limited pool of popular classical academic texts, ultimately dulling the potential of art to serve as a catalyst of discussion and change, rather than effi-ciently and accessibly stimulating novel solutions. A potential pathway out of this restrictive paradigm was investigated through an artistic interpretation of Hiroki Azuma’s Philosophy of the Tourist, resulting in a small-scale exhibition on the Aalto University premises. For the exhibition, 3 paintings were produced, with the painting subjects being determined by combining a selection of fleeting interests. Painting materials were collected mainly through coincidental proximity. The exhibition text presented a series of stream-of-consciousness questions in everyday vernacular to provide a gentle thematic starting point for the visitors. In addition, an excerpt of the lyrics of a hip hop track by Lil Ugly Mane was printed, which questions art analysis, meaning and the role of text, to further provide thematic context for the visitor, while avoiding a too rigid imposition of ideas. Ultimately, the exhibition functioned as a branchpoint for further explorations on topics such as Azuma’s Philosophy of the Tourist, polarization, embodied knowledge and network theory.Description
Supervisor
Costantin, PattiThesis advisor
Ryynänen, MaxKeywords
aesthetics, tourism, rewiring, unlearning, network theory, globalism, artificial intelligence, embodied knowledge