Skype lecture at the Regional State Archives in Gothenburg 4:30 PM – Pre Session 5 PM - Session

This talk will deal with the visually oriented and individually curated blog platform and social network Tumblr, still largely left unnoticed as a topic of investigation within the academic field. The aesthetic quality and design of Tumblr has been prominent since its launch in 2007, and subsequently, fashion and visual expression has been a particularly popular topic for bloggers, designers, mass media, as well as memory institutions. The shift from monologue to dialogue is imperative, and my aim is to investigate and discuss what impact Tumblr has had on a variety of categories; the consumer and agency, visual representations, creation and innovation, non-verbal communication, nostalgia and longing, individual space, memory, attention economy and, suggestively, a culture of curation. Arguably, some of these categories are blurred, some challenged, and some might even become obsolete. Why is this platform so fascinating, and what effects does these social and visual practices have on wider contemporary culture? As the Gawker blog wrote: “If coolness was legal tender, Tumblr would be wiping the floor with Google right now”. Lisa Ehlin is a PhD student in Fashion Studies, connected to a research school in Cultural History at Stockholm University. Her research centres on the process, practice and experience of the digital image in contemporary digital culture. She is currently focusing particularly on the role of the digital image as bridging the gaps between online and offline reality and focusing on mediation and process, suggesting that we are not separate from the things we interact with, but rather entangled with non-human entities, and they with us. She is also a freelance writer and blogger and has been published in SvD, Ord&Bild, Vestoj and others. She also contributed with a chapter on the myth of participatory culture and creativity in the anthology "Myten Om Internet" (Volante, 2012). Current work include Google Maps as cultural mediation, the ephemeral digital archive, and Tumblr as creative curation.

COMMUNICATING THE ARCHIVE: SESSIONS is a lecture series presented by the Regional State Archives in Gothenburg and the School of Design and Crafts, University of Gothenburg. Curated by Gluey-c.