Description:
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.
Review Quotes:
'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 While new media inherently becomes outdated quickly (or, depending on one's viewpoint, new quickly), the thematic approach will be adaptable to future projects.'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