www.e ol ingci ies.o g
Limna and he Shi ing Epis emologies o A -Ma ke Value
D . Leande Gussmann, A x Science School o T ans o ma ion (JKU, Linz, Aus ia).
Con ex and Resea ch Ques ion
The Limna app o sma phones, ma ke ed as a “pocke a ad iso ,”
ep esen s a shi om connoisseu ial, expe -d i en alua ion owa d
da a-cen ic alida ion. T adi ional p icing elied on opaque, socially
nego ia ed “p i a e codes”. Limna ins ead d aws on A ac s’ knowledge
g aph o oughly 800,000 a is s and 1 million+ exhibi ions o p oduce
ins an p ima y-ma ke p ice bands (Limna, n.d.). This p ojec asks:
How does his hyb id epis emology, claiming objec i i y while d awing
on en enched hie a chies, ede ine epis emic alues and ans o m
e alua ion in oday’s a ma ke ? This s udy examines whe he
algo i hmic alua ions ans o m epis emic au ho i y o epackage
exis ing p es ige sys ems (B own, 2023; Vel huis, 2005).
I Say: A en ion as Cu ency
Tensions: Black Box Vs. Reali y
Algo i hmic alua ion ools demand c i ical da a li e acy: use s mus
in e oga e p oxy a iables ( o example, exhibi ion coun s as quali y
p oxies) and ecognise ha ankings a e oo ed in cu a ed social
ne wo ks a he han neu al obse a ion (B own, 2023; Espeland &
S e ens, 1998). These sys ems a e pe o ma i e; hei p ice bands can
shape ma ke expec a ions and ou comes. Fu u e esea ch should
ex end beyond in e ace analysis o e hnog aphic ieldwo k: in e iews
wi h de elope s, galle ies and collec o s could e eal how p ice
es ima es a e in e p e ed and whe he hey empowe newcome s o
en ench “a en ion eli es”. Compa a i e s udies o di e en pla o ms
and mic o-cases o speci ic a is s would illumina e how algo i hmic
ools edis ibu e epis emic au ho i y in a ma ke s.
Me hod: The “Sociological Scanne ”
I econs uc Limna’s pipeline using public documen a ion and in e ace
analysis. A ac s manually cu a es and e i ies exhibi ion da a be o e
assigning “a en ion poin s” o each e en . Limna hen eeds hese
sco es, along wi h a wo k dimensions and sales his o y, in o a
machine-lea ning model. This collec ion o da a and he
mul idimensional embedding a e classic examples o commensu a ion,
in which he e ogeneous ca ee e en s a e ans o med in o compa able
numbe s (Espeland & S e ens, 1998). Empi ical esea ch on machine-
lea ning p ice-p edic ion models shows ha social me ada a
(ins i u ional ies, auc ion eco ds, p io sales) can explain abou 73 %
o p ice a iance. In con as , isual ea u es accoun o only 5.5 %
(Lee, Pa k, Go ee, C andall, & Ahn, 2024), a ha dly su p ising gap.
Limna hus ope a es as a sociological scanne , much as a -ma ke
p o essionals usually do, heu is ically scanning a en ion capi al a he
han assessing in insic o aes he ic quali ies.
They Say: The P omise o Accu acy
Limna’s ma ke ing p omises anspa ency and educed isk o
newcome s. I s FAQ s a es ha unde 20 % o p ice es ima es di e ge
om Limna’s ma ke ing p omises anspa ency and isk educ ion o
no ices. The FAQ claims ha ewe han 20% o i s es ima es di e
om galle y p ices, posi ioning he model as a eliable p oxy o
p ima y-ma ke alues (Limna, n.d.). P ess ma e ials s a e co e age o
800,000 a is s, 1 million+ exhibi ions, and 16,000 galle ies. Founde s
and p omo ional ex s p esen Limna as cla i ying he “basic
mechanisms” o a p icing and democ a ising ma ke knowledge,
building on A ac s’ ea lie claims o make epu a ion-building e en s
measu able (Claassen, 2012; de A aújo, 2019). By isualising ca ee
ajec o ies, he app claims o challenge opaque e alua ion and
ansac ion his o ies and open he ma ke o new buye s, in a push o
p ice anspa ency and ai ness. quo es. P omo ional ma e ial ci es
co e age o hund eds o housands o a is s, o e a million exhibi ions,
and six een housand galle ies. Founde s ame he app as cla i ying
he “basic mechanisms” o a p icing and democ a ising ma ke
knowledge, implying ha isualised ca ee ajec o ies can challenge
he opaci y o p i a e p icing.
In e ace Disco e
Con ac In o ma ion
D . Leande Gussmann (he/him)
A x Science School o T ans o ma ion
Johannes Keple Uni e si ä Linz
Al enbe ge s aße 69, 4040 Linz, Aus ia
leande [email protected]
jku.a /a -x-science-school- o - ans o ma ion
A gap exis s be ween pla o m he o ic and pe o mance. A A Basel
2021, epo e s obse ed ha Limna alued a Conny Maie pain ing a
€4 500, while he galle y’s asking p ice was mo e han h ee imes ha .
Such disc epancies a e now p obably less equen , bu hey s ill e eal
he limi s o models ained on his o ical da a; hey canno accoun o
hype o apid shi s (Seymou & Hickley, 2021). Because he sys em
p i ileges a is s ied o es ablished ins i u ions, i isks ep oducing
geog aphic and gende biases which a e baked in o ins i u ional
his o ies. Al hough Limna makes an e o o b ing o wa d new a is s,
wi h a ocus on esh ca ego ies o hem (e.g., “eme ging” s.
“es ablished”), he unde lying hie a chy s ill a ou s canonical enues.
Da a Li e acy & Fu u e Resea ch
Call o ac ion
Building on F anck’s economy o a en ion, I a gue ha Limna
quan i ies cu a o ial in es men and le e age. Museums, biennials and
galle ies ac as lende s o epu a ion; hei exhibi ions gene a e poin s
ha eed an “a is ac o ” and p oduce p ice bands (F anck, 2019). The
app hus unc ions as a judgmen de ice (Ka pik, 2010) and
pa icipa es in me ic go e nance: i does no disco e alue bu
no malises speci ic o ms o isibili y (Espeland & S e ens, 2008).
A is s a e aci ly incen i ised o op imise o measu able ins i u ional
ecogni ion (“momen um,” “cul u al ecogni ion sco es”) a he expense
o less quan i iable expe imen a ion. This eo ien s ca ee s owa d
ankings and ne wo k cen ali y.
T ea pla o ms like Limna as pe o ma i e judgmen de ices: ques ion
hei p oxies, ask who and wha hei da ase s lea e ou . Iinsis on
anspa en me ics and accoun able use when algo i hmic alua ions
in o m collec ing, cu a ing, o policy. T ea p ice bands as an epis emic
claim abou a , ask wha kind o “knowledge” i is, wha s anda ds o
jus i ica ion i elies on, which expe iences and judgmen s i excludes,
and how i edis ibu es epis emic au ho i y in he a ma ke .
In e ace App aisal
