Do Not Research

Do Not Research is a multidisciplinary publication exploring contemporary issues through art, essays, and analyses. It covers internet culture, digital and political art, technology's impact on society, and the evolving relationship between humans and digital media. Themes include the critique of consumer culture, digital legacy, and speculative futures.

Internet Culture Digital Art Technology and Society Consumerism Mental Health Political Art Digital Legacy Speculative Futures Environmental Impact of Technology Human-Computer Interaction

The hottest Substack posts of Do Not Research

And their main takeaways

Most Dismal Swamp: MUSH

39 implied HN points • 16 Oct 22
🎨 Art & Illustration Speculation Fiction Performance
  1. The term MUSH (Multi-User Shared Hallucination) originated in online text-based role-playing games. It reflects communal investment and social codes that create an immersive virtual space distinct from the real world.
  2. Most Dismal Swamp explores community-building in online and offline spaces, delving into encrypted cultures and the challenges of maintaining communities in digitally mediated environments.
  3. Most Dismal Swamp is a diverse art project operating as a model for collaborative speculation. It uses the concept of swamps to navigate the complexities and blurred boundaries of our mixed reality paradigm.

Spencer Longo: TIME

39 implied HN points • 16 Oct 22
🎨 Art & Illustration Visual art Folklore Conspiracy Religion Cults
  1. The 'TIME' body of work by Spencer Longo visualizes millenarian anxieties through unconventional juxtapositions of text and images on old Time magazine spreads, reflecting on modern conspiratorial mindsets.
  2. The Sovereign Citizen movement includes groups like Moorish Sovereign Citizens, who reject US citizenship for alternative beliefs and create customized legal documentation with a Middle Eastern aesthetic.
  3. Cult systems like the Heaven's Gate utilized control tactics such as strict diets to maintain power over followers, leading to drastic actions like mass suicide in pursuit of spiritual ascension.

Joe Iovino: Rivelino Hyper-Vigilance Apparatus

39 implied HN points • 15 Oct 22
🎨 Art & Illustration Design
  1. The Rivelino Hyper-Vigilance Apparatus provides real-time information on your stance angle, indicating strength or weakness.
  2. The apparatus uses an LED strip and accelerometer to communicate your stance's security to friends.
  3. There is no need for post-processing green lines with this cumbersome but effective invention.

The Manic American Humanist Show, Press Release by Abbey Pusz

19 implied HN points • 25 Feb 23
🎨 Art & Illustration Exhibition Contemporary Art Internet Art Political art
  1. The exhibition 'The Manic American Humanist Show' features work from four core contributors to Do Not Research, showcasing an exploration of niche politics and post-Internet art.
  2. The artists in the exhibition address themes of cultural and political shifts in America post-2011, reflecting on movements like Occupy, Trump's election, and Bernie Sanders' campaigns.
  3. The exhibition aims to break from the nihilism in contemporary fine art and millennial politics, focusing on human agency, spiritual liberation, and self-reflection.

Do Not Research: Random Forest: A Reading Room

19 implied HN points • 16 Oct 22
🎨 Art & Illustration Exhibition Artists Installation Literature Collage
  1. ISTANBUL’74 presents _Random Forest_ (A Reading Room) by Jonah Freeman & Justin Lowe with Boo-Hooray
  2. The exhibition in Istanbul includes a site-specific reading room inspired by William S. Burroughs’ _The Electronic Revolution_
  3. The artists focus on language, words, and books as foundations for artistic methods like cut-up, collage, and disruption
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xleepy fay: femcel z-dolls and the memetic urge surfing of their irl compulsive insanity

19 implied HN points • 16 Oct 22
🎭️ Culture Generation Z Online Culture Social Issues Youth culture Internet culture
  1. The current generational gap leads to a crisis where older governing systems clash with the beliefs and needs of the younger generation, especially Gen Z.
  2. Femcel z-dolls navigate a digital world filled with information overload, developing a keen eye for discerning truth from propaganda.
  3. Online communities provide an outlet for femcel z-dolls to fulfill their urge for transgressive behavior in a memetic way, seeking relief and connection in a futureless reality.

Sam Stewart: I Love it When the Images, When the Images Wash Over Me

19 implied HN points • 16 Oct 22
🎨 Art & Illustration Instagram Deepfake
  1. The film 'I Love it When the Images, When the Images Wash Over Me' shares the story of the creator's time on Instagram and their meme account from a young age.
  2. The film reflects on the various ways memes have influenced the creator's formative years and their relationship with images on the platform.
  3. The sharing of personal experiences on Instagram through the meme account is relatable to many young people who have similar online experiences.

Jan Berger: Compressed Time — Final Fantasy VIII as a Model of Our World

19 implied HN points • 16 Oct 22
🎭️ Culture Video Games Capitalism Politics Time History
  1. Final Fantasy VIII is used as a model to explore political and cultural conditions of our current times.
  2. The game's narrative reflects capitalist ideologies and the characters' struggles to bring about change.
  3. Time compression in the game is linked to speculative realism and the idea that the future influences and organizes the present.

Aidan Walker: Gossip Girl Memes And Elizabethan Court Poetry

19 implied HN points • 15 Oct 22
🎭️ Culture Poetry Memes Social media Literature Art
  1. Gossip Girl Title Remixes meme trend began during the early weeks of the first coronavirus lockdown spring of 2020, sparking various creative iterations while following a set of formal rules.
  2. Both memes and Elizabethan court poetry relied on informal (non-monetary) modes of content transmission, like copying manuscripts or circulating poems in commonplace books, reflecting a similar shared need for clout or influence over money.
  3. Memes, like the Gossip Girl Title Remixes, thrive when adhering to established formal rules and patterns but risk degradation and decline when creativity strays too far, emphasizing the importance of consistency for survival.

Sean Jewell: The A͎C͎T͎I͎V͎E͎ ͎A͎R͎T͎I͎S͎T͎ and The ᴱᵀᴱᴿᴺᴬᴸ 𖣘 ᴿᴱᵀᵁᴿᴺ

19 implied HN points • 15 Oct 22
🎨 Art & Illustration Artist Creativity Inspiration Expression Imagination
  1. The concept of the Active Artist and Eternal Return highlights the perpetual journey of growth and creation in the world of art.
  2. The artist must transcend constraints to achieve Active Art, creating newness and pushing boundaries against societal norms.
  3. Active Artists face challenges from conventional society, but through their continuous creation and adaptation, they contribute to a constant cycle of renewal and liberation.

Nick Bird: I will Not Rest Until Every Coal Car in America is Covered with Politigram Memes.

19 implied HN points • 15 Oct 22
🎭️ Culture Art Internet culture Social media Ideas Subcultures
  1. Graffiti writers aim for maximum visibility through strategic location choice and sheer quantity, with a focus on covering freight cars due to their mobility across the continent.
  2. In the world of online memes, clout is more beneficial for front-end distributors than producers, highlighting the importance of influencing influencers and remaining small to avoid competition.
  3. Meme producers, like graffiti writers, engage in a lifestyle of creating semi-anonymous content that aims to convey, generate, or negate specific ideas intentionally, ultimately shaping the online marketplace of ideas.

Twee Whistler: Conspiracy Advertisement Campaign

19 implied HN points • 11 Oct 22
🎭️ Culture Conspiracy Art Society Politics Capitalism
  1. The art installations based on the #Pizzagate conspiracy theory are a blend of fake-news ads and product placement, reflecting the nature of capitalism seeking profits.
  2. The images serve as projections of contemporary anxieties surrounding gender policies, child exploitation, immigration, and environmental issues.
  3. While conspiracy theories should not be condemned, addressing the root issues behind them can help prevent individuals from resorting to extreme actions out of feelings of powerlessness.

Nate Sloan: The Tradition of Posting

59 implied HN points • 20 Apr 21
🎨 Art & Illustration Architecture Aesthetics Social media History Critique
  1. Reactionary social media accounts are embracing 'tradition' without irony, advocating for a return to traditional art and architecture.
  2. Some accounts use anachronism to juxtapose historical periods and styles, challenging modernist aesthetics.
  3. Critique of contemporary architectural aesthetics includes a call for a clearer relationship between form and function, pointing out flaws and pitfalls in modern design.

Dana Greenleaf: Areyouwinningson?

19 implied HN points • 15 Feb 22
🎭️ Culture Film Internet culture Art
  1. The post is about a short film that turns a chat-room in a porn-forum into a techno-feudal court.
  2. The film seems to have an intriguing concept of blending different elements like technology, history, and adult entertainment.
  3. Dana Greenleaf is likely the creator or a key figure behind this film.

Chris Mansour: Notes on Cryptofash

19 implied HN points • 15 Feb 22
🚌 Education Marxism Political Discourse Historical Analysis
  1. Cryptofash argues that Marxism is contrary to the history of the Left, emphasizing class antagonisms over ideological struggles like those on the Left.
  2. The Left/Right political distinction became prominent during the French monarchy's crisis in the 1810s, shaping modern political landscapes, but according to Cryptofash, perpetuates bourgeois parameters.
  3. Cryptofash distinguishes Marxism from the Left, criticizing the Left for failing to understand class dynamics and revolutionary potential, emphasizing the importance of the proletariat as a revolutionary agent.

Abby Orler: Investigating the Instagram Infographic Industrial Complex

19 implied HN points • 15 Feb 22
🎭️ Culture Social Issues Design Media Critique Activism Consumer behavior
  1. During the surge of infographic media on platforms like Instagram after George Floyd's murder, questions arose about credibility, design origin, and content impact.
  2. Critiques of Instagram Infographics include oversimplification, spreading misinformation, and a shift towards performative activism.
  3. Designers should reevaluate their role in social justice, focusing on accountability within the realm of infographic creation and content dissemination.

Alexander Quiquero: Critique of Josh

19 implied HN points • 15 Feb 22
🎭️ Culture Internet Sociology Critique Ethics Youth
  1. Critique of Josh Citarella's writing approach, labeling it as academic, colonialist, and lacking true understanding of internet dynamics.
  2. Emphasizes the importance of handling sociological subjects delicately, considering the complexities of internet realms and the interplay between the internet and reality.
  3. Advocates for a more nuanced and comprehensive approach to documenting internet history, stressing the need for an 'ectoplasmic understanding' to capture the true essence of online interactions.

Jak Ritger: The Parasocial Spiral

19 implied HN points • 15 Sep 21
🕹 Technology Internet Social media Streaming
  1. As language connects to consciousness, it blooms in the brain like a flower, regardless of one's native language.
  2. Complex networked conversations lead to a meta-consciousness forming in cyberspace, revealing a meta-language that shapes the digital landscape.
  3. Visualizations like the Eddy Model, Conspiracy Corkscrew, and Parasocial Spiral offer insights into how narrative, data, and capital flow through digital systems, impacting political agency and online communities.

Ross Simonini: Say No

19 implied HN points • 15 Sep 21
🎶 Music Song Artist Collaborations Video
  1. Ross Simonini's "Say No" challenges traditional notions of success through music.
  2. The EP Standards volume 2 questions conventional genres like pop, country, and jazz tunes.
  3. The music video for "Say No" reflects on animals in a human world, disinterested in human pursuits.

Harris Rosenblum: Craft/Acc

19 implied HN points • 15 Sep 21
🎨 Art & Illustration Craft Industrialization Intellectual Property Materialism
  1. Craft is facing a crisis, with a shift towards individualism and commodification diminishing its original aesthetic and productive value.
  2. Neoliberal market dynamics and platform capitalism have further degraded craft, leading to algorithmic outputs and a focus on short-term gains.
  3. Craft has the potential to reclaim intellectual property, promote material engagement, and build a community-driven future with agency in a post-work world.

Joshua Citarella: Memetic Tactics: The Slow Red Pill

19 implied HN points • 14 Jul 21
🕹 Technology Social media Content Strategy Digital Platforms Internet culture
  1. The 'slow red-pill' strategy involves gradually exposing an audience to extremist content by mixing in radical posts with popular conservative content on social media.
  2. Online radicalization tactics are not limited to the American far-right but have been used globally, like in Myanmar by the military to spread propaganda.
  3. Fighting online radicalization requires addressing the societal roots of the problem rather than just relying on content moderation by big tech companies.

Screening + Q&A: Jane Schoenbrun: We're All Going to the World's Fair (2021) w/ Tomi Faison

0 implied HN points • 16 Oct 22
🎨 Art & Illustration Film Internet culture Creative Process Visual storytelling
  1. The film 'We're All Going to the World's Fair' directed by Jane Schoenbrun is about a young girl's experience on the internet, reflecting the personal relationship many people have with online communities.
  2. Jane Schoenbrun's approach to filmmaking involves collaboration and exploring personal experiences through creative expression, showcasing a style that blends personal storytelling with the online world.
  3. The interview touches on themes of hierarchical structures in the film industry, the intersection of online culture with loneliness, and the potential for artists to create meaningful work by understanding and utilizing different mediums.

Arverne Cinema: Do Not Research in Rockaway

0 implied HN points • 07 Jul 22
🎨 Art & Illustration Film Internet culture Experimental
  1. The event 'Do Not Research' presented video works exploring internet subcultures like queer furry militias, UFOs, and conspiracy theories.
  2. Various artists were featured in the program, including Dorian Electra, Dana Greenleaf, David Noel, and Nick Vyssotsky.
  3. The screening was followed by a Q&A session with Tomi Faison and directors Dana Greenleaf & Nick Vyssotsky.

Screening + Q&A: Jon Rafman: Punctured Sky (2021) w/ Filip Kostic

0 implied HN points • 16 Oct 22
🎨 Art & Illustration Film Storytelling Visual Arts Digital Art Cultural critique
  1. A key theme discussed is the exploration of lost truth and memory in the protagonist's search for meaning in Jon Rafman's film _Punctured Sky_.
  2. Rafman highlights the importance of constructed narratives in understanding self-identity and consciousness, especially in a world where reality and history are increasingly complex and fragmented.
  3. The conversation touches on the significance of using free apps and hacks to create art in a way that embraces playfulness and transparency in showcasing the process of image splicing and storytelling.

Jak Ritger: The MLM Project Log 1: What is Multi-level Marketing?

0 implied HN points • 19 Mar 21
💼 Business Marketing Capitalism Entrepreneurship Policy Critique
  1. Multi-level Marketing (MLM) relies on a non-salaried workforce to sell products and often results in financial troubles for participants.
  2. Studying MLMs can help critique capitalist structures and push for anti-capitalist actions beyond elitist perspectives.
  3. The aim is to create an off-ramp from MLMs and work towards abolishing this pyramid-shaped industry.

Artist Profile: Simon Denny, by Toniann Fernandez

0 implied HN points • 23 Feb 23
🎨 Art & Illustration Visual Arts Contemporary Art
  1. When you buy space in the Metaverse, you get a token as proof of ownership, which is like a snapshot of a map.
  2. Simon Denny's Metaverse Landscape Paintings explore the connection between traditional landscape art and ownership in the digital space.
  3. Denny plans to exhibit his unique landscape paintings at various galleries, incorporating different realms of the Metaverse in his work.

Kayla Drzewicki: Cursor Series

0 implied HN points • 15 Oct 22
🎨 Art & Illustration Digital Art Performance art
  1. Kayla Drzewicki explores the potential of virtual spaces and objects to be performative, focusing on hierarchical relationships within digital environments.
  2. She examines the blurring of relationships like user-programmer, screensaver-video, and fine art-non-art, to create new media and net art works.
  3. Drzewicki uses simple software as a foundation for her performances, emphasizing accessibility and inclusivity in her art.

Anthony Discenza: Computational Infrastructures

0 implied HN points • 15 Oct 22
🎨 Art & Illustration Visual Arts Technology Culture Environment
  1. Experimenting with text-to-image generators like Dream, NeuralBlender, and others helps blend textual and visual forms in art.
  2. Generative image models like Dream and NeuralBlender are increasingly used in multiple industries, urging us to consider their implications.
  3. Computing technologies are not immaterial, but rely on physical infrastructures consuming energy and resources, and have global environmental impacts.

Dylan Serventi: Reality Shifting

0 implied HN points • 15 Oct 22
🎨 Art & Illustration Conceptual Art Internet Art
  1. The series 'Reality Shifting' explores the concept of aspirational escapism during planetary collapse and consumer culture.
  2. The art project features light boxes with portraits representing internet subcultures and their users in a state of suspension.
  3. Reality shifting, a trendy mental activity emerged post-COVID-19 pandemic, involves transcending physical confines to visit fictional universes.

David Noel: Loli No Knock

0 implied HN points • 20 Apr 21
🎨 Art & Illustration Visual art Narrative Digital Art
  1. David Noel is exploring an emergent warrior culture with a focus on firearms and tactical equipment through a visual narrative.
  2. He has been collecting thousands of images from online spaces to share on social media since 2018.
  3. The video 'UtopiaExit.mov' is a key part of his re-presentation of these images based on his experiences as a veteran and online gun community participant.

Breadtube Glossary

0 implied HN points • 18 Mar 21
🎭️ Culture Internet culture Media Analysis Influencers Political Commentary
  1. Breadtube emerged after the 2016 election and features video essays as a quick way to share key political ideas.
  2. There are various video essay types within Breadtube, including slideshows, theatrical videos, and streamed lectures.
  3. Breadtube personalities encompass characteristics like Theater Kid Energy, Cross-platform Influencers, and the process of Deradicalising.

Erik Simkins

0 implied HN points • 15 Sep 21
🎭️ Culture Art Social media Aesthetics Self-help Community
  1. Economic pressures, mismatched art institutions' values, and lack of political agency outlets can lead people to social media for expression.
  2. A posting style like STARSEED phenomenon can bypass platform moderation while conveying messages without direct political claims.
  3. Content encouraging gains-seeking can be redirected for community benefit, highlighting the importance of strength-building strategies in different contexts.

Dakotah Weeks Murphree: are you there God? It’s me, user @867778852908

0 implied HN points • 15 Oct 22
⛪ Faith & Spirituality Spirituality Beliefs Prayer Divine Religious practices
  1. The post explores the digital influence on spirituality and the search for divine connection amidst online distractions.
  2. The author reflects on the impact of their algorithm and digital interactions in shaping their spiritual journey.
  3. There is a blend of skepticism and openness towards spiritual guidance received through digital means.

DJ Meisner: LARPing as a Compassionate Boulder

0 implied HN points • 15 Oct 22
🎨 Art & Illustration Visual Arts Painting Creative Expression Mixed Media Artistic Process
  1. The artist uses painting as a form of escape from overthinking and its burdens, shifting from photography to abstract watercolor to quiet the mind.
  2. The art aims to evoke compassion and challenge societal perceptions, highlighting the need for critical thinking and understanding in a polarized world.
  3. Creation of art is a personal process, not just about sending a message, but about finding solace and respite amidst the noise of life.

Brandon Bandy: Selected Sculptures 2

0 implied HN points • 15 Oct 22
🎨 Art & Illustration Sculptures
  1. The artist devirtualizes image-objects, bringing them from a digital space into physical form, blurring the lines between the virtual and real world.
  2. The artwork explores the concept of memetic culture and questions how one can create art in a world where memes may overshadow traditional cultural significance.
  3. These sculptures exist in multiple forms and scales simultaneously, with the facsimile nature of the images sparking curiosity and reflection on the nature of reality and perception.

Transformers: Terminal (Trailer) by Tomi Faison & Miles Engel-Hawbecker

0 implied HN points • 10 Oct 22
🎨 Art & Illustration Animation Film
  1. The post shares a trailer for a project called Transformers: Terminal by Tomi Faison & Miles Engel-Hawbecker.
  2. The story seems to involve characters Aidan and Sierra navigating a virtual relationship as they work on filming a video series at Comic-Con.
  3. Aidan undergoes a transformation into a monstrous toy embodying Sierra's online persona after facing challenges and disasters in their journey.

Leo Elia Jung & Jae August: The Living Diamonds of Yakutia

0 implied HN points • 15 Oct 22
🔬 Science Climate change Genetic Engineering Biotechnology
  1. Geo-engineering is considered a solution to climate change by some, involving large-scale technological interventions in the earth's ecosystem for capital growth.
  2. Pleistocene Park in Siberia operates to restore pre-human ecosystems, countering climate change by reintroducing large animals like mammoths to reduce permafrost thawing.
  3. The collaboration between COLOSSAL, ALROSA, and GAZPROM has led to innovative ways of creating artificial diamonds using carbon from mammoth carcasses, addressing resource depletion and environmental concerns.