[NetBehaviour] New review on "Imagery in the 21st Century" in LEONARDO.

[info]

New review on "Imagery in the 21st Century" in LEONARDO.

Imagery in the 21st Century

by Oliver Grau, Editor; with Thomas Veigl
The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 2011
424 pp. illus. 132 b/w. Trade, $40
ISBN-10: 0262015722.

Reviewed by Amy Ione
Director, The Diatrope Institute
Berkeley, CA 94704 USA

As I began this review I began to think that the refrain “we are 
surrounded by images today” has lost its impact (despite my being among 
the guilty users of it). On the one hand, it seems that many of us 
notice the imagery. Yet, on the other hand, as we increasingly engage 
with our visual culture certain norms for our critical investigations 
are also developing. I’m not sure where this leaves us. To be sure, the 
nature and complexity of our image-abundant culture is extraordinary. 
Images are no longer sparse and highly treasured. Rather, we have visual 
social media, scientific imaging tools, and even static objects like 
paintings populate the ever-changing screens of our mobile and desktop 
devices. Even those among us who have resisted some of the broad 
spectrum of electronic options (think Flickr, Facebook, YouTube, 
thousands of television channels, digital games, and virtual worlds) 
cannot escape this new world. Posters and window displays offer 
smartcodes that invite us to connect with the Internet and learn more 
about whatever the sign is promoting. Always on, complete with sound, 
are television screens in airports, restaurants and the array of imaging 
devices that bring us news, sports, entertainment, whatever. Given the 
state of the “image” today, critical examination of channels of media 
and communication are needed. Imagery in the 21st Century, edited by 
Oliver Grau with Thomas Veigl, presents a number of perspectives on this 
theme, highlighting the inroads of media into art and science. It is a 
valuable contribution to the topic.

http://leonardo.info/reviews/apr2012/grau-ione.php#

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