Data Primitives

MASS Gallery presents: Data Primitives

Data is the life-blood of modern society — a currency, an arbiter of value and meaning, a way of making sense of a chaotic world, and a potent tool for control and liberation. The transformation of data into meaning is ancient, but new ways of shaping data into forms that are more tactile, tangible, and aesthetic are emerging, with artists at the forefront. In computer science, “data primitives” refer to fundamental data types that cannot be broken down into simpler structures. In the context of the show, it also locates the present as an early stage in an increasingly data-driven world and in the movement by artists to use data to express and shed light on the hidden dynamics of this world. Using public dataset, machine learning algorithms, and digital tools as their raw material, the artists in the exhibition seek to make the invisible coded world palpable.

Founded in 2006, MASS is a collectively run nonprofit gallery and project space based in Austin, Texas. Consisting of a cast culled from Austin’s rich community of artists, writers, musicians, and educators, MASS members jointly contribute to the daily operations and strategic planning of exhibitions, programming and events. MASS Gallery impacts the creative culture of Austin by cultivating a physical space for open engagement with a multiplicity of interests and acts of art making.