Erik Anton Reinhardt
Erik Anton Reinhardt — NoSearchBar
Re-state, re-stage, re-enact (Short-term Project) — Winter 2021
A distinction can be made between specific and unspecific software-related data access. The specific access is reflected in the way we articulate ourselves through using a SearchBar. We find the answers to our needs and problems that are driven by an individual's desires. Nevertheless, the amount of data gathered on websites appears to be too large. A speculative form of sorting, categorization and curation is required - the unspecific access. Examples of unspecific access are categories, forecast and recommendation systems, which try to anticipate users’ desires, but often end up creating new ones.
By removing the SearchBar from every website, we are exposed to an dominant ideological software anticipation. We no longer have the opportunity to articulate our own needs and problems but are always torn between frustration and hope that the desired information could still appear.