2 2 138-50 2016

Terminal value: Building the alternative Bloomberg

Christopher Wood, Alasdair King, Ruth Catlow, Brett Scott

Abstract


In this essay we propose a reframing of the Bloomberg Terminal, an interface used to track financial trades and values, by using it as a creative, critical and curatorial device to explore the relationship between the art and finance. To contextualise this approach, we offer a history of the Bloomberg Terminal alongside an analysis of the power of interfaces to shape both the user and the represented information. We use the terminal as a way to critique the relationship between art acquisition and financial trading companies. We then describe some outcomes of a series of workshops themed around the idea of ‘building an alternative Bloomberg’. We conclude by offering some potential applications of a re-framed Bloomberg Terminal as an open and modular interface for engaging with issues around art and finance, both in terms of content and curation.

Keywords


Curation, interfaces, art market, open-source, representation, value

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References


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DOI: https://doi.org/10.2218/finsoc.v2i2.1727

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