Net Works: Case Studies in Web Art and Design

by xtine burrough

Overview

Net Works offers an inside look into the process of successfully developing thoughtful, innovative digital media. In many practice-based art texts and classrooms, technology is divorced from the socio-political concerns of those using it. Although there are many resources for media theorists, practice-based students sometimes find it difficult to engage with a text that fails to relate theoretical concerns to the act of creating. Net Works strives to fill that gap.

Using websites as case studies, each chapter introduces a different style of web project—from formalist play to social activism to data visualization—and then includes the artists' or entrepreneurs' reflections on the particular challenges and outcomes of developing that web project. Scholarly introductions to each section apply a theoretical frame for the projects. A companion website offers further resources for hands-on learning.

Combining practical skills for web authoring with critical perspectives on the web, Net Works is ideal for courses in new media design, art, communication, critical studies, media and technology, or popular digital/internet culture.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415882224
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	07/27/2011
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	264
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

xtine burrough is a media artist, educator, and co-author of Digital Foundations. She believes art shapes social experiences by mediating consumer culture and envisioning rebellious practices. As an educator at California State University, Fullerton, she bridges the gaps between art and design histories, theories, and practices. Her website is: www.missconceptions.net.

Table of Contents

List of Figures x

Acknowledgments xiii

List of Contributors xiv

Introduction to Net Works Xtine Burrough 1

Part I Formalism and Conceptual Art 3

Formalism and Conceptual Art, introduction Edward A. Shanken 3

1 Color Field Paintings (Browser) Michael Demers 7

2 YouTube as a Subject Constant Dullaart 16

Part II Collections and Communities 25

Virtual Communities: An Interview with Howard Rheingold Xtine Burrough Howard Rheingold 25

3 WTF?! Robert Nideffer 27

4 SF Garden Registry Amy Franceschini David Lu Myriel Milicevic 38

Part III Crowdsourcing and Participation 47

Cheaper by the Dozen: An Introduction to "Crowdsourcing" Trebor Scholz 47

5 Mechanical Olympics Xtine Burrough 55

6 Google Maps Road Trip Peter Baldes Marc Horowitz 66

Part IV Data Visualization 76

On Data Visualization 76

7 Superfund 365 Brooke Singer 79

8 Pastiche Christian Marc Schmidt 90

Part V Error and Noise 100

Seductive Errors: A Poetics of Noise, introduction Mark Nunes 100

9 Luscious Fernanda Viégas Martin Wattenberg 104

10 Tumbarumba Ethan Ham 111

Part VI Surveillance 121

Web 2.0 Surveillance and Art, introduction Christian Fuchs 121

11 F'Book: What My Friends Are Doing in Facebook Lee Walton 128

12 Traceblog Eduardo Navas 137

Part VII Tactical Media and Democracy 145

Tactical Media, Introduction Critical Art Ensemble 145

13 The Good Life/La Buena Vida Carlos Motta Eva Díaz Freckles Studio Stamatina Gregory 148

14 Oiligarchy Molleindustria/Paolo Pedercini 158

Part VIII Open Source 166

Open Source Creativity, introduction David M. Berry 166

15 The Real Costs Michael Mandiberg 170

16 Add-Art: Sharing, Freedom, and Beer Steve Lambert 179

Part IX Hacking and Remixing 189

Hacking and Remixing, introduction Stefan Sonvilla-Weiss 189

17 Pigeonblog Beatriz Da Costa 192

18 Joyce Walks Conor Mcgarrigle 200

Part X Performance and Analog Counterparts 210

Performance and Analog Counterparts, introduction Ken Goldberg 210

19 The Gandhi Complex: The Mahatma in Second Life Joseph Delappe 212

20 Alerting Infrastructure! Challenging the Temporality of Physical versus Virtual Environments Jonah Brucker-Cohen 221

Index 228

Editorial Reviews

"A fascinating look at net-based art and design, and a compelling read. What makes Net Works unique, and particularly useful, is the rigor and insight with which the contributors discuss their own projects. It will quickly appear on many syllabi, including my own."—Mark Tribe, Assistant Professor of Modern Culture and Media Studies, Brown University

'A fascinating look at net-based art and design, and a compelling read. What makes Net Works unique, and particularly useful, is the rigor and insight with which the contributors discuss their own projects. It will quickly appear on many syllabi, including my own.' - Mark Tribe, Assistant Professor of Modern Culture and Media Studies, Brown University

'The result is a lively and successful interplat that clearly relates theoretical constructs to the actual practice-based act of creating new media projects.' - Karie Hollerbach, Professor of Mass Media Studies, Southeast Missouri State University

'Recommended. Media artist and educator burrough succeeds in creating a text to support the teaching of new media from both practical and theoretical perspectives. Although the structure of the book (short essays divided by subheadings) mirrors the typical textbook, the projects included will appeal to a wider professional audience. While new media inherently becomes outdated quickly (or, depending on one's viewpoint, new quickly), the thematic approach will be adaptable to future projects.' –CHOICE, E.K. Mix, Butler University

From the Publisher