The digital dialectic : new essays on new media

321 Pages·1999·4.371 MB·English

by  Lunenfeld, Peter

P E T E R L U N E N F E L D P E T E R L U N E N F E L D
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Computers linked to networks have created the first Y
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Y broadly used systems that allow individuals to create,
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S distribute, and receive audiovisual content with the N
same box. They challenge theorists of digital culture to N
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develop interaction-based models to replace the more E
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primitive models that allow only passive use.

N The Digital Dialecticis an interdisciplinary jam ses- M
“Lunenfeld has collected some of the best, most rea- The MIT Press L E sion about our visual and intellectual cultures as the E
U computer recodes technologies, media, and art forms. D
soned thinkers about the unfinished project of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology W
N Unlike purely academic texts on new media, the book I
Information Age and has let them loose to sketch ideas Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142 A
E includes contributions by scholars, artists, and entre-
that give at once a clear assessment of our current sit- http://mitpress.mit.edu
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preneurs, who combine theoretical investigations with
uation and astute predictions of what is to come.”
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hands-on analysis of the possibilities (and limitations)
Mark Pesce, Chair, Interactive Media Program, LUNDH 0-262-12213-8 E E
of new technology. The key concept is the digital
University of Southern California School of Cinema- L D
Television Cover image:Adam Ross, Untitled (AT 7), 1998 D dialectic: a method to ground the insights of theory in
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oil and alkyd on wood, 36” x 72” , the constraints of practice. The essays move beyond
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journalistic reportage and hype into serious but acces-
“The Digital Dialectic is a moveable feast bringing e
d sible discussion of new technologies, new media, and
together eleven essays offering tantalizing food for
i
thought about computational media. Unusual in giving t new cultural forms.
o Peter Lunenfeld teaches in the Graduate Program
the pros and cons of new technology, this exciting book r
in Communication and New Media Design, Art Center
skillfully weaves together the Unabomber’s Luddite
College of Design, Pasadena, California. His column,
manifesto, hyertext, CD-ROM games, cybernetics, and
“User,” appears in art/text.
digital cinema. A screen-grab of thoughtful delights.”
,!7IA2G2-bccbdj!:t;K;k;K;k
Barbara Maria Stafford, William B. Ogden Distinguished
A Leonardo Book
Service Professor, University of Chicago
The Digital Dialectic
Leonardo
RogerF.Malina,serieseditor
DesigningInformationTechnology,editedbyRichardCoyne,1995
TheVisualMind,editedbyMicheleEmmer,1994
LeonardoAlmanac,editedbyCraigHarris,1994
ArtandInnovation:TheXeroxPARCArtist-in-ResidenceProgram,editedbyCraig
Harris,1999
TheDigitalDialectic:NewEssaysonNewMedia,editedbyPeterLunenfeld,1999
ImmersedinTechnology:ArtandVirtualEnvironments,editedbyMaryAnneMoser
withDouglasMacLeod,1996
The Digital Dialectic
New Essays on New Media
edited by Peter Lunenfeld
TheMITPress Cambridge,Massachusetts London,England
q1999 MassachusettsInstituteofTechnology
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybereproducedinanyformbyany
electronicormechanicalmeans(includingphotocopying,recording,orinformation
storageandretrieval)withoutpermissioninwritingfromthepublisher.
This book was set in Garamond 3 and Bell Gothic by Graphic Composition,
Inc.andwasprintedandboundintheUnitedStatesofAmerica.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Thedigitaldialectic:newessaysonnewmedia/editedbyPeterLunenfeld.
p. cm.—(Leonardo)
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN0-262-12213-8(hardcover:alk.paper)
1.Computersandcivilization. 2.Technology—Socialaspects.
3.Science—Socialaspects. 4.Newmediatheory. I.Lunenfeld,Peter.
II.Series:Leonardobooks.
QA76.9.C66D54 1998
303.48934—dc21 98-25750
CIP
ToGeraldO’Grady
forwhathebuilt
Contents
SeriesForeword viii
Acknowledgments ix
Contributors xi
Introduction
ScreenGrabs:TheDigitalDialecticandNewMediaTheory xiv
I TheRealandtheIdeal
1 UnfinishedBusiness,PeterLunenfeld 6
2 TheCyberspaceDialectic,MichaelHeim 24
3 TheEthicalLifeoftheDigitalAesthetic,CarolGigliotti 46
II TheBodyandtheMachine
4 TheConditionofVirtuality,N.KatherineHayles 68
5 FromCybernationtoInteraction:AContribution
toanArchaeologyofInteractivity,ErkkiHuhtamo 96
6 ReplacingPlace,WilliamJ.Mitchell 112
III TheMediumandtheMessage
7 TheMediumIstheMemory,FlorianBrody 130
8 HypertextasCollage-Writing,GeorgeP.Landow 150
9 WhatIsDigitalCinema?,LevManovich 172
IV TheWorldandtheScreen
10 “WeCouldBeBetterAncestorsThanThis”:Ethicsand
FirstPrinciplesfortheArtoftheDigitalAge,BobStein 198
11 MusingsonAmusementsinAmerica,orWhatIDid
onMySummerVacation,BrendaLaurel 214
Notes 236
RecommendedReadingsinNewMediaTheory 270
Index 284
Series Foreword
EditorialBoard:RogerF.Malina,DenisePenrose,and
PamGrantRyan.
Weliveinaworldinwhichthearts,sciences,andtechnologyarebecoming
inextricably integrated strands in a new emerging cultural fabric. Our
knowledgeofourselvesexpandswitheachdiscoveryinmolecularandneuro-
biology,psychology,and theothersciencesofliving organisms.Technolo-
giesnotonlyprovideuswithnewtoolsforcommunicationandexpression,
butalsoprovideanewsocialcontextforourdailyexistence.Wenowhave
tools and systems that allow us as a species to modify both our external
environment and our internal genetic blueprint. The new sciences and
technologiesofartificiallifeandroboticsofferpossibilitiesforsocietiesthat
areasynthesisofhumanandartificialbeings.Yettheseadvancesarebeing
carriedoutwithinacontextofincreasinginequityinthequalityoflifeand
inthefaceofahumanpopulationthatisplacingunsustainableburdenson
thebiosphere.
The Leonardo series, a collaboration between the MIT Press and Leo-
nardo/InternationalSocietyfortheArts,SciencesandTechnology(ISAST),
seeks to publish important texts by professional artists, researchers, and
scholarsinvolvedinLeonardo/ISASTanditssistersociety,AssociationLeo-
nardo.Ourpublicationsdiscussanddocumentthepromiseandproblemsof
theemergingculture.
Ourgoalistohelpmakevisibletheworkofartistsandotherswhointe-
gratethearts,sciences,andtechnology.Wedothisthroughprintandelec-
tronicpublications,prizesandawards,andpublicevents.
TofindmoreinformationaboutLeonardo/ISASTandtoorderourpub-
lications, go to the Leonardo Online Web site at ,http://www.mitpress.
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Acknowledgments
This collection grew out of “The Digital Dialectic: A Conference on the
ConvergenceofTechnology,Media,andTheory,”whichwasheldtheweek-
endofAugust5,1995,atArtCenterCollegeofDesigninPasadena,Califor-
¨
nia.AlloftheessayistsandtheinteractivearchitectChristianMollergave
presentations.Thebestconferenceshavethevalueofengagingthewholeof
thehumanbandwidth:thetalks,theimagery(fromslides,video,Websites,
CD-ROMs,hypertexts,anddigitalmovies),andthediscussionsthatgoon
before,during,andafterthepresentationsthemselves—anditisoftenhere
thattherealpleasureandedificationtakeplace.Forsupportingtheconfer-
ence,andtherebythisbook,IwouldliketothankDavidBrown,ArtCen-
ter’s president. Others at Art Center who deserve thanks include Linda
Norlen,SteveNowlin,SteveWeir,MaryMorris,WilliamCheeseborough,
MarkSalazar,DougSutton,andLuisValenzuela.MystudentsintheGradu-
ate Program in Communication & New Media Design at the time were
immensely helpful during the conference: Roshi Givechi, Sarah Anastasia
¨
Hahn,ThomasMuller,FredNymoen,andCarolynSherins.
The conference was an extension of my experience organizing
mediawork: The Southern California New Media Working Group, and
there was obvious an crossover effect: Michael Heim, Florian Brody, Lev
Manovich,andN.KatherineHaylesareallregularmediaworkparticipants.
Iwanttoacknowledgethehelpandadviceofothersfrommediaworkwho
havebecomeanessentialpartofmyintellectuallife:SteveMamber,Vivian
Sobchack, Carole Ann Klonarides, A. Michael Noll, Paul Harris, Jennifer
Steinkamp,CocoConn,SteveDiskin,andNormanKlein.Twomoreindi-
vidualsstandout,deservingspecialcreditfortheinteresttheyhaveshown