Artist Gretchen Andrew Manipulates Search Algorithms to Challenge Art World Hierarchies

Gretchen Andrew, a rule-based artist and former Google employee, creates digital interventions by optimizing her work to appear prominently in Google search results for art-related terms like 'cover of Artforum' and 'Frieze Los Angeles.' Her practice, which she terms 'search engine art' and 'Internet imperialism,' involves crafting mixed-media collages and vision boards with extensive metadata to exploit algorithmic logic. Andrew's work critiques how online platforms arbitrate truth and influence perception, highlighting artificial intelligence's inability to distinguish between fact and desire. She has exhibited internationally, with recent acquisitions including the Monterey Museum of Art, and aligns with net art practitioners such as Cory Arcangel and Constant Dullaart.