Disintegrator Hito Steyerl & Simon Denny on Exocapitalism
10 snips
Nov 17, 2025 
Simon Denny, a contemporary artist known for exploring tech's political economy, joins Hito Steyerl, a renowned artist and writer, to dissect the concept of EXO capitalism. They discuss the disconnect between artistic labor and market value, and how NFTs have revolutionized art circulation and production. The duo debates the implications of pricing as a medium and the idea of 'becoming boring' as resistance to capitalism. Their thought-provoking insights delve into the relationship between art, algorithms, and the shifting dynamics of value in contemporary culture.
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Labor And Art Value Disconnect
- Artists observe zero correlation between labor hours and market value of artworks.
- Hito Steyerl frames that gap as volatility where price emerges independent of effort.
Outrage As Value Generator
- Both scandal and moral outrage produce the same volatility value.
- Hito Steyerl urges formalist analysis of art as volatility-producing form rather than content.
NFTs Made Price The Work
- Simon Denny recounts his NFT experience where price became the primary metric of quality.
- He notes many artists treated volatility as controllable but were subject to external market actors.
