The Politics of Big Data Aesthetics

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Written by Morten Søndergaard
Article: The Politics of Big Data Aesthetics

This read focused on investigating big data aesthetics as a relatively new concept; with the purpose of the article to investigate the theoretical complexes that might help describe and analyse big data aesthetics from different perspectives, these perspectives being:


  • Conceptualisations of control on the internet
  • Sensibilities in ubiquitous environments 
  • In art interventions
  • Conceptual beauty
As well as theoretical positions:

  • Media studies
  • Empirical analysis
  • Art studies 
  • Social constructives  
  • Media aesthetics or post-Kantian phenomenology 
The article then continues by discussing elements of big data that can be perceived as controversial culturally and socially; with things such as "surveillance, ubiquitous marketing and tracking, the environment, industry and globalisation". As such complexities lead people to believe that meditations of big data is "bypassing aesthetics", which would be an issue, but is not the case. Personally, through this read, I feel as though if big data were to be accepted as "bypassing aesthetics", the evolution of big data would halt, as aesthetically their would be too many limitations due to what would be culturally or socially acceptable.

What would be perceived as unacceptable socially would be how Facebook, or more accurately the code within a web-browser that powers Facebook saves unpublished status messages; known by Facebook as "self-censorship". Facebook still collects this data, proving that what users decide not to share is not entirely private.

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