Internet Core. Aesthetics of digital disaster
By Ezequiel Soriano, Diana Millán and Geert Lovink
With the participation of Santa Mònica and Hangar
Activity promoted by Institute of Network Cultures (Amsterdam)
Within the context of contemporary art, and more specifically Internet art, we can question what stage we are going through at the present time and what are the challenges to be faced as agents of culture. The category of ‘post-Internet art’ initially proposed a paradigm shift, in which the Internet became an omnipresent element in artistic practice. Over time, this approach drove the commodification of certain works and the consolidation of a specific group of artists in the art market. Now, under platform capitalism and activity on the Clearnet we crave a shift in the ways in which we as artists relate to each other within the infrastructures of the Internet.
The label ‘core’ emerges on the Internet on platforms such as TikTok and Tumblr, and is part of the trend of ‘aesthetic movements’ with a deeper engagement with pressing global concerns. Aesthetics are a visual expression of a particular identity or culture in relation to platforms. This constant artistic practice of archiving images to build the core is where we want to focus our attention.
The ‘Internet Core’ would be the condition in which art defends aesthetics as forms of anti-capitalist critique and resistance to the system, and encourages a digital artistic exodus to smaller virtual communities (such as Mastodon, Signal, Telegram, Discord or Substack), marking a divergence from the post-internet era, which was driven by influencers and wider public exposure.
In this conference we will address this condition through lectures, conversations, actions and projections by different artists and researchers.
The conference will take place on 3 April from 16:00 to 20:00 at Santa Mònica and on 4 April from 16:00 to 20:00 at Hangar.
Programme 3rd April
16:00 – Opening by Diana Millán: The Internet Core condition.
16:30 – Blanca Martínez: A vision of the ‘core’ from visual studies.
16:55 – Marc Villanueva: Neither alive nor dead. Rethinking aesthetics from the biological metaphor and the alien invasion.
17:20 – Bani Brusadin: In conversation with Jordi Mininn.
17:45 – ¥€$Si PERSE: On the trajectory of the SiegedSec group, its dissolution and legacy in the Trump 2.0 era.
18:10 – Break.
18:30 – Doctor Andergraund: On the end of subcultures.
18:55 – Roundtable with Daniel Moreno, Proyecto Una and Ezequiel Soriano: On memetic tactics, platform migrations and the limitations and political possibilities of shitposting.
19:35 – Geert Lovink: On Platform Brutality.
