Between the White Box and Ethics: Social Knowledge and Ecological Communication in Three Participative Artworks by Salvatore Iaconesi and Oriana Persico

Abstract

This article proposes a reflection on the role of data-driven artworks in fostering interactive participation and social impact. It considers the production of HER, an independent research center founded by Salvatore Iaconesi and Oriana Persico, building on what the authors call datapoiesis and what I will explore with regard to the ethical implications of the white box. More specifically, the concept of the white box will be borrowed from computer science to focus on the code and its processing, where the relationship with the computational artwork encourages the emergence of active communities around the artwork. Esthetic features are employed to enhance the audience's awareness and agency in relation to social insights. Both perspectives emphasize those artworks that rely on computation to represent data and make it understandable, navigable, and perceptible. I will consider three case studies that highlight this open approach: Whether the work is based on data obtained from institutional sources – as in Obiettivo; whether data are provided by the local community – as in IAQOS; and whether data relate to the environment in which the work is exhibited – as in U-DATInos. Each case leads to different participatory perspectives with inherent limitations and potentials, where the artwork can serve as an information object or is explicitly designed to build a relational ecosystem that thrives through human engagement.