Disruptive Cultures: Affect and Effects of Social Media

Disruptive Cultures: Affect and Effects of Social Media explores how social media can provoke strong emotional reactions in users and has significant cultural and social implications. The exhibition features artists who reflect on, question, critique and utilize the power of social media. Many of these artists take advantage of key characteristics of social media, such as interface design and A.I. algorithms, to enhance engagement and evoke emotional responses from viewers. While most artists focus on existing commercial platforms, some create new forms of engagement to encourage viewers to consider the impact of these platforms. The artists included in the exhibition are Lauren Lee McCarthy & Kyle McDonald, Jennifer Gradecki & Derek Curry, Casey Kauffmann, Maya Man, Sarah Rothberg and Ben Grosser. 

Symposium, opening reception and admission are open and free to the public.

The symposium is at CAC Colloquium Room 3201.

Register for Symposium and/or Reception

A.I. Symposium
Moderated by David Familian, Artistic Director and Curator
Chaired by Zebulon Zang, Assistant Curator

Program:

Keynote Speakers: James Owen Weatherall and Cailin O’Connor, Chancellor's Professors of Logic & Philosophy of Science, School of Social Sciences

Discussants: Athina Markopoulou, Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Samueli School of Engineering and Dorothy R. Santos, Assistant Professor of Teaching; Art, Justice, and Digital, UC Santa Cruz

Respondents: Jennifer Gradecki & Derek Curry, Ben Grosser, Casey Kaufmann, Maya Man and Sarah Rothberg.

The exhibition opening will be accompanied by a symposium featuring participating artists, along with discussants discussions from diverse fields including engineering and the philosophy of science. The symposium offers insight into the artists’ interests and working processes, while also addressing the broader impacts and consequences raised by the exhibition’s themes.