Doug send me a link to this editorial over at the Rhizome site the other day, and I just got around to reading it. Based on a comment by author Kenneth Goldsmith, the writer of the editorial (Greg J. Smith) sets out to examine the practices of “shifting content” around between various containers: image editing programs, computer clipboards, inboxes, and the cels of spreadsheets. Smith poses the central problem of his editorial as such:
An important question: How might we appropriate this daily activity of “shifting content between containers” as a site (rather than a means) of artistic production? This article will consider the aesthetics of the spreadsheet, and act as the first installment of a series that will engage projects that explore the documents, software, interior architecture and politics of the contemporary workplace.
The whole piece is short and worth reading. What it brought to mind for me was the prominent role of spreadsheets and other ‘productivity’ software within the arts and culture sector. Whether you are managing budgets, collections, constituent lists, or project tasks, there is a good chance that basic spreadsheet technology drives the effort (technology that Smith notes emerged in the 1960s, were codified in the early 1980s, and have changed little since). What are the aesthetics of a budget? What kinds of ‘art’ might be hidden in the daily or routine tasks of shuffling data around—and displaying it in a readable-yet-engaging format?
