Digitizing the Aura: A Systems Update for the Contemporary Art World

<p>During the digital tide of the last several decades, the material, metaphysical and economic properties of art have evolved in response to the ever-accelerating growth of cybernetics. The contemporary art ecosystem (CAE) has long been considered “the last unregulated financial market”; then cryptocurrency was invented. Now, blockchain technology has entered the cultural zeitgeist and could radically innovate numerous industries, including the art market. The CAE itself is a network, a system that operates within fundamental parameters and, in that sense, it shares much in common with the philosophies underlying computation, such as systems theory, complexity theory and emergent consensus mechanisms. However, as the venn diagram of art and tech converges on itself, certain philosophical and technical questions arise: What constitutes “value” when digital reproduction is a given? Can the aura be hacked? What are the new interfaces through which society can ethically and emotionally experience art, and how are these defined by bourgeois or avant-garde ideologies? By combining contemporary art market research with techno-cultural criticism and socioeconomic theory, this thesis will track the effects of the burgeoning digital renaissance on the art market and offer solutions to embolden a more equitable, sustainable and ethical art world.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

M.A.

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters Thesis

Year dc:date.available

2020

Author dc:creator

• Trice, Emilie

Contributors dc:contributor

• Rafael Fajardo
• Shimelis Assefa
• Timothy Weaver

• Art history
• Art market
• Blockchain
• Computational philosophy
• Cybernetics
• Networked cultures
• Art and Design
• Digital Humanities
• History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology
• Interdisciplinary Arts and Media
• Theory and Criticism

Statement dc:rights

• <p>Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.</p>

Language dc:language

en

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/1866

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.du.edu:etd-2851