Mohammad Salemy and Cécile Malaspina: On Curating & Filtering | Ringvorlesung #NoFilter

Using #nofilter on social media platforms like Instagram often signals authenticity by highlighting an absence of manipulation, a more genuine and unmediated experience. At the root of this is a contradictory desire: at the same time that we want genuine experiences we can relate to, we want to receive these in the most seamless way possible by the algorithm of these networks. For instance, when we receive influencers' "daily routine" in front of a well-placed tripod, they use authenticity as an aesthetic, portraying the "real" experience of living elsewhere, going to the gym, or eating in a particular restaurant. In this presentation, I will formulate a quick history of the evolution of curating side by side with curatorial algorithms in Social Media, arguing that the role of curatorial texts can be seen as interpretative filters that parallel the contemporary search for a non-curated "authenticity" in digital culture.