The ‘dizziness’ of accumulation: how digital collecting is undermining the very meaning of collection

Abstract

Much of the previous research on collecting focuses on the resemantization of the object/item when inserted into a series that ‘releases’ it from its functionality and makes it an extension of the subject (Baudrillard 1968; Leone 2015). Digital collecting, however, essentially undermines the relationship between the collector and their collection, especially with the potentially endless accumulation allowed by the digital medium and the possibility it provides to gather items without actually owning them. The criterion of scarcity/rarity that used to prevail in traditional collecting is now replaced by a principle of abundance (Denegri-Knott et al. 2012), potentially opening new forms of ephemerality and meaninglessness. More specifically, these latter arise in connection to feelings of dispossession and uncontrollability that many collectors experience concerning their digital possessions, especially when stored online (Odom et al. 2012). And yet, new collecting practices can emerge, driven by the desire to share the content and with greater attention to its curation. Reframing these practices within a culture characterized by hyper-archivability (Brown and Hoskins 2010) and the fluid time of micro-archives (Pogačar 2016), the present contribution tries to shed some light on (some of) the contemporary trends in collecting, revealing all their ambiguity and the eventual return of the specter of illegality.