Memetics
Research on art, labor, and institutional power in the age of AI.
Research
Paper
The Legitimation Economy: What $15 Billion in Arts Funding Optimizes For
There have always been more artists than institutions willing to support them. Three structural parameters—proximity, relationship capital, institutional endorsement—govern which institutions survive. The artists are downstream. 384,543 grants, $15B, 2019–2024.
Interactive Tool
Network Explorer — explore 384,543 grants interactively
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Paper · In Progress
Where Art Lives: Income, Geography, and the Distribution of Arts Infrastructure
Does arts infrastructure concentrate in wealthy areas? How does institution type vary by income? What does the physical landscape of the selection apparatus look like? 60,000 organizations, mapped.
Interactive Tool
Arts Infrastructure Map — explore 60,000 institutions by location
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Preliminary Findings
Do Rationalists Dream of Electric Art? Relocated Scarcity and Discourse Legitimation
A sociohistorical paper about cheapening intelligence, selective art legibility, and rival regimes of judgment across alignment-adjacent and arts-critical discourse.