Small Data is Beautiful

Abstract

Small Data is Beautiful investigates the conceptual, artistic, and computational qualities of small data. This original collection presents a challenge to discussions centred on big data – algorithms, surveillance and the datafication of human lives – by exploring the seditious and revelatory potential of radically rethinking data in creative research and practice. Taking inspiration from the ‘small is beautiful’ mantra of the 1970s, a counter-cultural pursuit of planetary survival, the book interrogates the scale of the digital age through narratives, intimacies, representations, and ecologies. It offers a rich interdisciplinary dialogue from perspectives including cultural history, sociology, visual art, performance studies, archaeology, musicology, literary studies, and data science. Show more