Digital Currents: Art in the Electronic Age [Hardcover]

Margot Lovejoy (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Delineates the relationship between today's electronic technologies and cultural change, thereby formulating a comprehensive and forceful social philosophy of our technical civilization."

Dr Joseph Nechvatal, School of Visual Arts

"...provides a much needed analysis of the art-historical roots and the larger cultural and social context for understanding art in the electronic age."

Christiane Paul, Whitney Museum of American Art

"Provides a strong overview of electronic media artists, as well as images from the projects. Its mix of visual documentation and clear writing about the works in suitable depth is a great aid in providing a foundation for understanding digital art. Indeed, it could be called 'the bible' of electronic art."

Mary Flanagan, Hunter College, CUNY

Product Description

Digital Currents explores the growing impact of digital technologies on aesthetic experience and examines the major changes taking place in the role of the artist as social communicator. Just as the rise of photographic techniques in the mid 1800s shattered traditional views about representation, so too have contemporary electronic tools catalyzed new perspectives on art, affecting the way artists see, think, and work, and the ways in which their productions are distributed and communicated.

Margot Lovejoy recounts the early histories of electronic media for art making - video, computer, the internet - in the new edition of this richly illustrated book. She provides a context for the works of major artists in each media, describes their projects, and discusses the issues and theoretical implications of each to create a foundation for understanding this developing field.

Digital Currents fills a major gap in our understanding of the relationship between art and technology, and the exciting new cultural conditions we are experiencing.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 376 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 3 edition (May 10, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415307805
• ISBN-13: 978-0415307802
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 6.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #5,221,529 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Digital Currents, December 11, 2009

By	Leslie Sutcliffe (San Luis Obispo, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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This review is from: Digital Currents: Art in the Electronic Age (Paperback)

An excellent discussion of issues related to technology and its effect on culture. I found myself underlining things and writing in the margins. She is at her best when framing philosophical issues and making generalizations about the future of art and technology, a little weaker when addressing actual artists and their work. She uses Platonic and Aristotelian philosophy to explain two ways artists approach technology and yet the book is refreshingly free of tech or art jargon. A great companion book would be Charles Acland's Residual Media.Residual Media