Institute for New Feeling: The Redirectory
Title:
- The Redirectory
Artist(s) and People Involved:
Exhibiting Artist(s):
Symposium:
Creation Year:
- 2016
Medium:
- Digital artwork
Artist Statement:
How far can you go with a simple search engine query?
The Redirectory questions the logic of referencing information on the internet by playing fully with the aesthetics of the hyperlink, the basis for online research. The work is composed of two exploration spaces: an assembly of web windows and a lexicon of 50 terms, including several neologisms, operating modes and dissonant organizations of web content. Through the gestures of scrolling, clicking and moving, one can browse the lexicon, either through an intuitive analysis of the windows, or in the organized mode of a list of definitions.
The Redirectory instills doubt in the reliability of information delivered through search engine queries and examines the relevance of this research method. The artwork’s critical significance comes from a collage that seems chaotic at first glance. Through use, however, it becomes clear that the artwork functions as a mirror, revealing the warped logic of web information referencing logic subject to the capitalist system and to various ideological and commercial pressures. As a collaborative piece, the artwork also encourages the online community to convey neologisms, which reveal the opportunistic strategies at the heart of the online research economy.
