College Honors Program

Constructing the Social Self: Painting with Data

Date of Creation

5-31-2023

Document Type

Campus Access Only

First Advisor

Cristi Rinklin

Second Advisor

Kevin Walsh

Abstract

In today’s heightened digital age, the collection and availability of data has surpassed any level encountered before. With this increase in information comes the importance of how it is both distributed and displayed to audiences, especially considering the widespread presence of social media. Utilizing image search code and personal data sets from social networking platforms, this exhibition of paintings explores the relationship between visual design and systems of data. Through recurrent themes exposed in the compilation of reports, three distinct series of location, app activity, and connections emerged in the work. As a whole, these sets unite to provide a revealing look into the volume of personal data captured on the internet as well as how these statistics can be reclaimed into aesthetic representations of the self. The investigation of the synergy linking the artistic and digital fields opens a view into how data can influence the creative process and if through adopting this innovative lens, the presented information can take a more humanized form. This study leaves the mind to wonder, can artificial data truly capture a cohesive and authentic image of an individual?

To access the complete Constructing the Social Self website, please visit bebail23.github.io.

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