Mihai Băcăran

Unpublished writing

Experimental essay on AI Data Work (2025): Every Shift is A Work of Art: Infrathin Imaginary Artworks in Audio Transcription for AI Projects

Experimental book (draft): Specta(c)torship in Net Art^(?): Individuation After Simondon

Published writing:

* for ethical reasons, I am committed to publishing exclusively open-access

In peer reviewed journals

Băcăran, Mihai. “On Being a Robot: Aisthesis and Sense in Audio Transcription for AI Projects” in Journal of Science and Technology of the Arts, forthcoming.

Băcăran, Mihai. “Reading and Living the (Im)Material Movement of Sense: Jonathan Basile’s The Library of Babel and Xin Liu’s A Book of Mine” in Ex-Position Journal, Issue 52, 2024. Open access at: https://ex-position.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/05.-Mihai-Băcăran.pdf

Băcăran, Mihai. “The Mark of the Brief Night: Imminent Loss and Responsibility” in Transformations: Journal of Media, Culture & Technology, Issue 37, 2024. Open access at: http://www.transformationsjournal.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Trans37_01_Bacaran.pdf

dalpofzs (Băcăran, Mihai, Darie Nemeș-Bota, Bogdan Dumitrescu, Alexandra Dumitrescu). “Dynamics of Sensemaking” in TECMERIN, Issue 13, No. 1, 2024. Open access at: https://tecmerin.uc3m.es/project/dynamics-of-sensemaking-2/?lang=en

Băcăran, Mihai. “(Dis)Orientation in Net Art: Disrupting the Feedback Loop of Cybernetic Subjectivities” in NECSUS_European Journal of Media Studies, Vol. 12, No. 2, 2023. Open access at: https://necsus-ejms.org/disorientation-in-net-art-disrupting-the-feedback-loop-of-cybernetic-subjectivities/

Băcăran, Mihai. “The Problematic of Embodiment in Online Specta(c)torship” in In Medias Res: International Scientific Journal for the Philosophy of Media, Vol. 12, No. 22, 2023, pp. 3609-3625. Download PDF

Băcăran, Mihai. “Revisiting 'Genesis': living as misspelling” in Revista humanidades, Vol. 13, No. 1, 2023. Open access at: https://revistas.ucr.ac.cr/index.php/humanidades/article/view/52598

Băcăran, Mihai. “Imaginary gestures of specta(c)torship: Darie Nemeș Bota’s 'Urban Seashell'” in Revista Muzica, Vol.XXXIII, No.2, 2022, pp. 38-55. Invited reprint of an earlier article, with further edits. Open access at: Download PDF here

Băcăran, Mihai. “Imaginary gestures of specta(c)torship: Darie Nemeș Bota’s 'Urban Seashell'” in Trivium. A multidisciplinary journal of humanities of Chandernagore College, Vol. 5, Issue 1, 2021, pp. 24-39. Open access at: https://trivium-journal.in/article.php?article=e9236cebe0b8130defbd1969d75a17b5

Băcăran, Mihai. “The Han Dynasty Tombs at Mawangdui. Image Analysis” in Buletinul Cercurilor Ştiinţifice Studenţeşti, No. 19, 2013, pp. 35-49. (in Romanian) Open access at: Download PDF here

Conference proceedings

Băcăran, Mihai. “Rethinking Embodiment at the Intersection of Art and Technology: The Argument For a Misosophy of Phenomenogenesis” in conference proceedings e-book Taboo-Transgression-Transcendence in Art and Science 2023, edited by Dalila Honorato, Margerita Pulè, Andreas Giannakoulopoulos, Clive Zammit, Adnan Hadziselimovic and Gabriel Zammit. Ionian University Publications, 2025, pp. 325-337. The e-book can be downloaded open access at: https://avarts.ionio.gr/ttt/2023/en/proceedings/

Băcăran, Mihai. “Snowflakes: The Individuation of Melting Memories” in conference proceedings e-book Taboo-Transgression-Transcendence in Art and Science 2020, edited by Dalila Honorato, María Antonia Gonzáles Valerio, Ingeborg Reichle and Andreas Giannakoulopoulos. Ionian University Publications, 2022, pp. 323-332. The e-book can be downloaded open access at: https://avarts.ionio.gr/ttt/2020/en/proceedings/

Other publications

Băcăran, Mihai. “It Is As If You Were Doing Work — A (Mis)Reading” in Hz Journal, No.21, 2019. Open access at: http://hz-journal.org/n21/bacaran.html

Băcăran, Mihai. “'Well, well! What an unenviable job judging must be!' — dissenting reports from the 1947 Travelling Scholarship and Art School Prizes”, article on the blog of University of Melbourne Archives, 8 October 2018. Open access at: https://blogs.unimelb.edu.au/librarycollections/2018/10/08/well-well-what-an-unenviable-job-judging-must-be-dissenting-reports-from-the-1947-travelling-scholarship-and-art-school-prizes/

Băcăran, Mihai. “Alternatives” in Arhitext, No.4, 2013. Download the PDF here

Conference presentations and other talks

“An Argument for the Opaque: Specta(c)torship and AI Data Work”, at Beyond the Audience: Rethinking Participation and Power in the Age of Data Capitalism, IULM University, Rome, January 2026.

“Every Shift is a Work of Art: Notes On Audio Transcription for AI Projects”, at Taboo Transgression Transcendence in Art and Science, Kino Šiška, Ljubljana, September 2025.

“Rethinking embodiment at the intersection of art and technology: the argument for a misosophy of phenomenogenesis”, at Taboo Transgression Transcendence in Art and Science, Malta Society of Arts, Valletta, 2023.

“Rethinking the Archive: 'Networks of Care' in Net Art” at the European Network for Cinema and Media Studies Conference, National University for Theatre and Film 'I.L. Caragiale', Bucharest, June 2022.

“Differenciations: reading and living the (im)material movement of sense” at English and American Literature Association of Taiwan Conference, online, 2021.

“'Networks of Care': Archival Practices in Net Art” part of the panel “Anarchival Tendencies: Performance in/as/of archives” chaired by Prof. Rachel Fensham, English and Theatre Studies Seminar Series, University of Melbourne, online, October 2021.

“Snowflakes. The Individuation of Melting Memories” at Taboo Transgression Transcendence in Art and Science, University of Applied Arts, Vienna/online, 2020.

“The Question of Spectatorship: a Critical Reading of Gilbert Simondon” at AAANZ Conference, University of Auckland, 2019.

“Intelligent Bodies: Who Wrote this Paper?” at Bodies of Work, Postgraduate Conference, University of Sydney, 2019.

“The case for a ~~human~~ body” at Quite Frankly: It’s a Monster Conference, SymbioticA, University Of Western Australia, 2018.

“The Han Dynasty Tombs at Mawangdui. Image Analysis” at The National Session for students and PhD students – Archaeology – History – Museology, 20th edition, the University 1 December Alba Iulia , Alba Iulia, 2012.