Backstory: PIGS (Percussive Image Gestural System) is a live performance system I developed for, among other things, bringing some of the immediacy of the videos fly around culture to the performance of live visuals.
But the video compositions (content itself) didn't have much immediacy until recently. Though I'm usually relatively allergic to using live internet content in art projects for its own sake, for various reasons, it seemed like a moment to grasp the moment. So my latest vaguely anthropomorphic algorithmic friend emerged: the AlgoCurator. And the AlgoCurator discovered that the secret to the universe was in thwarting popularity algorithms. (Either that, or 42.)
http://amy-alexander.com/pigs#algocuratorhttp://amy-alexander.com/PIGS_Interview0618.pdfAs of Spring 2018, PIGS (Percussive Image Gestural System) compositions can be created using a pseudo/anti-artificial intelligence. A “curator” algorithm analyzes newly uploaded YouTube videos for specified characteristics. Loosely provoked by the provocation: “What if an algorithm attempted to convert YouTube into Stan VanDerBeek’s 1960s utopian vision of a networked ‘culture intercom,"* (awww, why would I drag poor Stan into this?) the AlgoCurator currently works against YouTube’s algorithms, which encourage posters to upload content intended for commercialization.
By deliberately pushing against biased “intelligent” algorithms that seek to tell us what’s important, the AlgoCurator hopes to find vestiges of real life among the universe. By navigating around popularity — which is often fueled by sensationalism — the AlgoCurator finds that the chorus of quieter voices sound a lot different than the amplified stars.The AlgoCurator made its live debut at ICLI in Porto, June 2018 with “Utopian Algorithm #1.” “Utopian Algorithm #1” was also used to curate the content in these videos:
It's planning to try some new things this fall.