The Rhetoric of the JPEG - 2018

I began with Roland Barthes' Rhetoric of the Image, learning how photographs disguise their cultural construction as natural presence. But when I encountered Daniel Palmer's The Rhetoric of the JPEG, I realized Barthes had only mapped half the problem. The cultural codes layered atop the image were only one layer. Palmer revealed the other: the computational codes embedded in the format itself. His insight that JPEG constitutes a "governmental scopic regime" that conditions how images circulate gave me permission to ask what if I could make those invisible algorithms visible? My 2019 project The Rhetoric of the JPEG does exactly that, applying scripted operations to expose the format's DCT blocks and compression artifacts as rhetorical acts, not technical flaws. Where Barthes deconstructed cultural meaning and Palmer mapped the format's governance, I inhabit both, treating JPEG's "hidden grid" as material for artistic expression. The result is that compression artifacts become brushstrokes, revealing how scientific images become charged with other meanings through algorithmic processing.

Abstract digital art with neon-like outlines and glowing white dots on a dark background, resembling a futuristic network or map. Digital Art. Generative Art

Digital illustration of a handgun in a circuit board style on a dark red background. Digital Art. Generative Art

Digital illustration of a man in mid-air, surrounded by debris, with a dark red background. Digital Art. Generative Art

A black background with a small, illuminated red circle in the center surrounded by white outline, abstract lines, and patterns. Digital Art. Generative Art

A digital schematic or blueprint of a mechanical or electronic component, with lines and shapes on a black background. Digital Art. Generative Art

Comparison of two black electronic chips with intricate white circuit patterns, labeled 'Before' and 'After'. Digital Art. Generative Art

Stylized digital outline of an L-shaped computer desk with a blue top and a black backdrop. Digital Art. Generative Art

A digital, stylized outline of the Eiffel Tower with colorful neon-like lines on a black background. Digital Art. Generative Art

An abstract digital image of a person with a red silhouette, outlined with neon-like lines, set against a black background with geometric shapes and intricate line patterns. Digital Art. Generative Art

Abstract digital pattern with neon-like white lines on a dark blue background. Digital Art. Generative Art

Abstract digital circuit design with glowing rectangles and lines in darker colors. Digital Art. Generative Art

Digital art of a woman's face with long hair, composed of neon-like lines and circuit board patterns in red and purple hues on a dark background. Digital Art. Generative Art

A neon outline of a family consisting of two adults and two children standing against a dark red background. Digital Art. Generative Art

Abstract digital image of Lake Victoria with digital overlays and neon lights, highlighting the outline of the lake and surrounding areas. Digital Art. Generative Art

They don’t like me - 2018

Single Channel Digital Video