Minutiae is the antithesis of the modern social media experience

02 : 06 : 2017 Technology : Digital : Media

Los Angeles – The app encourages users to document the more mundane aspects of their everyday lives.

Minutiae app by Martin Adolfsson and Daniel J Wilson, Los Angeles Minutiae app by Martin Adolfsson and Daniel J Wilson, Los Angeles
Minutiae app by Martin Adolfsson and Daniel J Wilson, Los Angeles Minutiae app by Martin Adolfsson and Daniel J Wilson, Los Angeles
Minutiae app by Martin Adolfsson and Daniel J Wilson, Los Angeles Minutiae app by Martin Adolfsson and Daniel J Wilson, Los Angeles

Minutiae, a collaboration between photographer Martin Adolfsson and artist and neuroscientist Daniel J Wilson, is a 1,440-day participatory art project designed to celebrate the ‘the uncurated ordinary moments of life’. The app sends one alert each day to participants that prompts them to capture whatever happens to be in front of them.

Users are randomly assigned a partner and are able to scroll through their timeline of images for 60 seconds. After this time, the app shuts down and users cannot re-enter it until the next alert. At the end of the cycle, users can order a unique book of their photos.

According to Adolfsson and Wilson, the app aims to foster a unique connection between participants. ‘We see this as a means of freedom through constraint – there is no pressure to curate an interesting, dynamic version of yourself because the link between your photo and your person has been erased,’ says Wilson.

The Big Picture

  • As LS:N Global explored in our macrotrend The Focus Filter, brands are taking new approaches to keep consumers engaged in today’s attention economy
  • In a world of constant digital distraction, Minutiae taps into the mindfulness phenomenon to encourage people to focus on the small, seemingly insignificant moments of everyday life
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