Abstracting Craft: The Practiced Digital Hand [Paperback]

Malcolm McCullough (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 10, 1998

In this investigation of the possibility of craft in the digital realm, Malcolm McCullough observes that the emergence of computation as a medium, rather than just a set of tools, suggests a growing correspondence between digital work and traditional craft. McCullough builds a case for upholding humane traits and values during the formative stages of new practices in digital media. He covers the nature of hand-eye coordination, the working context of the image culture, aspects of tool usage and medium appreciation, uses and limitations of symbolic methods, issues in human-computer interaction, geometric constructions and abstract methods in design, the necessity of improvisation, and the personal worth of work.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

McCullough discusses what current-day digital craft people are doing with today's tools and software and how their actions fit within our larger intellectual history. He argues that there is little difference between traditional visual, tactile craft design as practiced throughout history and the current digital architecture undertaken with Photoshop and virtual reality modeling. The actions and mind sets are very similar. An excellent, thoughtful book on the meaning as well as practice of design, this is recommended for all academic and large public libraries.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Drawing from many traditions, McCullough carries the reader on a wonderful pendulum swing from hand craft to industrialization back to postindustrial craft in the computer age. With clever examples of practices, conscious and unconscious, he provides a real sense of what the new technology feels like, and why 'after two centuries of separation the conception and execution of everyday objects are once again in the same hands.' A technologically deep book, it is accessible and useful for both non- and anti- technologists."
—Danny Bobrow, Xerox PARC --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 329 pages
• Publisher: The MIT Press (July 10, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 026263189X
• ISBN-13: 978-0262631891
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #330,225 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent exploration on ideas of making, December 12, 2007

By 

C. HOUGHTON "contemporary artist" (Brooklyn, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Abstracting Craft: The Practiced Digital Hand (Paperback)

I was looking for concepts related to digital making, and how these techniques can derive from and be informed by traditional making practices(craft). This book delves into those ideas, though not in an intensely focussed manner. I recommend this for individuals interested in the intellectual/philosophical framing of such concepts, histories, and practices of making(craft).

5.0 out of 5 stars HCI meets craft, December 9, 2002

By 

Stephen J Luecking (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Abstracting Craft: The Practiced Digital Hand (Paperback)

One fear of digitizing art concerns the loss of craft needed to produce objects in physical media. McCullough may not set this fear to rest, but he does present a persuasive case that craft as we know it remains present in new media. He is able to define tools, tool use and tool systems so as to convince one that the tools of program interfaces are as much tools as their physical kin. The distinction between a tool and a machine and how both are represented in a graphic program's interface is especially intriguing. This book would be of interest to the many sculptors who have adopted digital methods into their work, but it may be of most use for human-computer interaction professionals designing 3D interfaces.

5 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Can real artists use technology?, July 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Abstracting Craft: The Practiced Digital Hand (Paperback)

A book which explores many issues around the role of the artist utilising new-media. This re-affirms the fact that in all art forms responsibility is upmost. Great read for artists considering using new technology, especially students.