This summer I’ll be giving a couple of workshops on techno-diagrammatics—an art-research approach whose origin I explain here—for the Fluss Lab art residency program. This residency focuses on a trans-disciplinary approach to the art-science-technology compound, so I’m offering them a workshop that invites the residents to explore the technological modeling of capitalism through the making of circuits. Using a digital platform (Tinkercad), we begin by introducing the basics of electrical components for then move on to modeling elemental notions of Marx’s Capital with them. As the model becomes more complex, the participants are able to reflect on Marx’s theories on an emergent, hands-on way. Also, given that the platform allows us to simulate the behavior of the circuits, the techno-informational nature of the model—and perhaps of our current societies—becomes apparent. So, the workshop closes with a collective, creatively informed reflection on our techno-capitalistic present.
Both the image on the header and the one below is a diagram by David Harvey—you can check the text in which he explains it here. I’m using this diagram because this workshop—which is in turn a byproduct of the art-research component of my dissertation—is giving me the opportunity to reflect on how to model surplus value and thus how to improve my modeling technique. I hope to have an update on this soon.
