Data painting is an artistic practice that uses data as a basis for creative expression, and is the foundation of Portuguese media artist Rudolfo Quintas’ ‘News Feed 2022’, which will be presented at Sónar+D Lisboa. Addressing the relationship between news stories and mental health, the artwork questions the sustainability of news media practices as we enter an era of ‘infodemics’.

Using bespoke software developed by Quintas and Joan Sandoval since 2019, News Feed 2022 reads major news stories from around the world in real-time, and then ‘paints’ an impression on a screen. It’s a continuation of Quintas’ work, which uses interactive, generative and AI technologies to lay bare complexities and develop new perspectives, working with simple natural elements. In this case, an AI analyses the sentiment of each piece of news that is fed into the model and then uses this to generate a sentimental representation of the article’s tone, according to how positive or negative it is. It’s a way of visualizing the invisible, manipulative power of news media in the digital age.

This piece is supported by the Portuguese Ministry of Culture / DGartes in the context of the project “The Constellation of Consciousness” a research project on the impact of AI and Big Data in Social Psychology by Studio Rudolfo Quintas.

Hub Criativo do Beato
08.09.10
April 2022
Lisboa

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