In Dr. Sherry Mayo's article, "The Prelude to the Millennium: The Backstory of Digital Aesthetics" on the early influences and foundations of digital culture, I was surprised to read that she traced the foundations to the 1960's. Living as we do in the age of Digital Convergence, perhaps some researchers choose to look no farther than mid-20th century or to narrowly define the underpinnings of digital culture to that which was "born digital". This approach omits Joseph Cornell, an self-taught artist who was working in the area of mixed media, visual cross referencing, film, and image appropriation, and who began showing his work at New York galleries and museums in the 1930's. Any serious discussion of image repurposing, visual metaphor in multimedia, or an art historical context for digital media would have to include Cornell. He was both a visual poet, and the artist as "a type of Merlin- a trickster magician" figure that she alludes to. The link provided is to an online exhibit presented by the Peabody Essex Museum and the Smithsonian Institute from the exquisite 2007 exhibition called "Joseph Cornell: Navigating The Imagination." I will never forget it.
Untitled (Cockatoo with Watch Faces), c. 1949
Box construction with inoperative music box
16 1/4 x 17 x 4 7/16 inches (41.3 x 43.2 x 11.3 cm)
The Lindy and Edwin Bergman Collection
Photograph by Michael Tropea, Chicago
© The Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation/Licensed by VAGA, New York, New York
Box construction with inoperative music box
16 1/4 x 17 x 4 7/16 inches (41.3 x 43.2 x 11.3 cm)
The Lindy and Edwin Bergman Collection
Photograph by Michael Tropea, Chicago
© The Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation/Licensed by VAGA, New York, New York
1 comment:
I think the essay actually does not intend to explore every precedent of media, but only those who directly prefigured digital media, which Manovich defines as the “digital material itself, its material and logical organization.”
She is referring to a paradigm shift where the New Media empowers the viewer or the participant in ways that were inconceivable before. This “digital material" because of its nature (which we will discuss later)lends the ability to "communicate and socially organize in new ways that subverts previous
models of information distribution and social control".
This media, and its direct technological ascendants, differ from all other media by allowing participation and the ability to select, transmit and receive information (because everything and anything digital is in fact a database)
This act of selection through an interactive interface is what shifted the balance of power.
Remember also that she is talking about the technological antecedents (prelude) to the Media in question. Most importantly as illustrated by the "spheres of influence", is the confluence of events, artists and scientists or technologists, as exemplified by E.A.T. which caused the paradigm shift, not so much isolated cases of artists working in multimedial experiments, of which there are many examples, Cornell being one.
I recommend everyone look at the art of Stefan and Franciszka Themerson who in the early 30's prefigured with uncanny precision our present media experience both conceptually and technologically.
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