Data, that non-representable object. An oblique and ironic insight from the philosophy of Graham Harman
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26807/cav.v11i21.695Keywords:
data, internet, object-oriented ontology, irony, digital artAbstract
This article addresses the issue of data representation in the context of contemporary art from the perspective of Graham Harman's object-oriented ontology (OOO). Starting from an interest in the artistic translation of the physical infrastructure of the internet, it analyzes various artistic practices that have attempted to allude to what is hidden in the flow of data through metaphorical strategies. Through various case studies, it examines how metaphor allows oblique access to entities that remain withdrawn on the ontological plane. The analysis finally focuses on Personal Photographs by Eva & Franco Mattes, a work that introduces a critical friction with OOO by turning withdrawal into a conscious and ironic aesthetic strategy. It is proposed that this instrumentalization of the inaccessible does not invalidate Harman's theory, but it does reveal its limits when withdrawal ceases to be an ontological condition and operates as an artistic procedure.
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References
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López López, M. (2017). Arte, vida y redes sociales de internet: el artista en los inicios del siglo XXI. Nuevos paradigmas. [Tesis doctoral]. Universidad de Vigo.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Francisco Villalobos Daza
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