Emotions Go to Work

By Zoe Beloff

Emotions Go To Work is an investigation into how technology is used to turn our feelings into valuable assets. One might call it the transformation of emotion into capital. It asks what is at stake in our relationship with the companions we call smart objects? What does the future hold in store for a world where people are treated more and more like things, while the billions of gadgets that make up the Internet of Things are increasingly anthropomorphized, granted agency?

Spanning an arc of time from the 18th century to 21st century and beyond, Emotions Go To Work traces the codification and instrumentalization emotional data in ways both playful and serious. It considers the role emojis play our mental life and their potential to evolve and grow monstrous. It suggests that anthropomorphized technological creatures from early cartoons might inspire a utopian society. Proposing that the first step to re-wiring our world is to picture possibilities in games and in play, in dreams and in far-fetched fictions, so that we can begin new conversations between people and things.

Hand printed 5 color Risograph artist book with two pullout pages, printed in a limited edition of 200 copies.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1570272301
• ISBN13: 9781570272301
• Release Date: April 2018
• Publisher: Minor Compositions
• Length: 64 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.4" x 9.1"