mediawork

The Mediawork project is an exercise in collaborative practice. As Editorial Director of the series, I wanted to create a transmedia system to explore art, literature, design, music, and architecture in the context of emergent technologies and rapid economic and social change.

Mediawork Pamphlets are “‘zines for grown-ups,” commingling word and image, enabling text to thrive in an increasingly visual culture. The pamphlets select texts from these discourses, distill insights and interventions from them, design a supportive visual context, and launch these hybrids out into a greater public. The Website and its Web Takes offer critically supportive, interactive “readings of the series, modeling discourse and continuing creative, collaborative practice. The Mediawork project is not intended to “replace” other forms of discussion – from books to journals to listservs to Web zines – but rather to create a new category of public visual intellectuals, and new categories of audience as well.

The Pamphlets incude:Shaping Things (2005) by Bruce Sterling, designed by Lorraine WildWeb Take: “Macroscopes” text by John Thackara, applet by Schoenerwissen/OfCDRhythm Science (2004) by Paul D. Miller aka Dj Spooky that Subliminal Kid, designed by COMA Amsterdam/New York.

Web Take: “Hypnotext” by Peter Halley & Casey ReasWriting Machines (2002), by N. Katherine Hayles, designed by Anne Burdick.Web Take: “Hollowbound Book,” interactive animation by Erik LoyerWeb Supplement: “WMWS” by Anne Burdick & Sean DonahueUtopian Entrepreneur (2001) by Brenda Laurel, designed by Denise Gonzales Crisp. Web Take: “Idea Tree,” an on-line comic by Scott McCloud.

The first Mediawork book is USER:InfoTechnoDemo (2005), with visuals by Mieke Gerritzen.