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Terminal value: Building the alternative Bloomberg

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 November 2023

Christopher Wood ,
Alasdair King ,
Ruth Catlow  and
Brett Scott
Christopher Wood*
Affiliation:
Queen Mary University of London, UK
Alasdair King
Affiliation:
Queen Mary University of London, UK
Ruth Catlow
Affiliation:
Furtherfield, London, UK
Brett Scott
Affiliation:
Independent, London, UK
*
Corresponding author: Christopher Wood, School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, UK. Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

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In this essay we propose a reframing of the Bloomberg Terminal, an interface used to track financial trades and values, by using it as a creative, critical and curatorial device to explore the relationship between the art and finance. To contextualise this approach, we offer a history of the Bloomberg Terminal alongside an analysis of the power of interfaces to shape both the user and the represented information. We use the terminal as a way to critique the relationship between art acquisition and financial trading companies. We then describe some outcomes of a series of workshops themed around the idea of ‘building an alternative Bloomberg’. We conclude by offering some potential applications of a re-framed Bloomberg Terminal as an open and modular interface for engaging with issues around art and finance, both in terms of content and curation.

Keywords

Curationinterfacesart marketopen-sourcerepresentationvalue
Type
Essay
Information
Finance and Society , Volume 2 , Issue 2: Art and finance , 2016 , pp. 138 - 150
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NCCreative Common License - ND
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits noncommercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.
Copyright
© 2016 The Author(s)

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