The emergence of 'Maker Culture' and 'Maker Spaces' within formal (and informa l) learning enviro... more The emergence of 'Maker Culture' and 'Maker Spaces' within formal (and informa l) learning environments around the world can be seen as part of a wider shift in consciousnes s regarding the relationship between human and the material environment. This is reflected in theoretical and academic movements such as the 'material turn': where concepts such as Jane Bennett's 'vibrant matter' and Karen Barad's 'intra-activity' have begun to displace human intention as the exclusive centre of agency. In this article, an engagement with DiY (Do-it-Yourself) technologies is explored through an observation of the workshop environment of a single practitioner: uncovering strategies which allow material agency to re-function simple technologies into forms which would be difficult to reproduce using exclusively human intention. Deviating from the role of technology as an invisib ly functioning tool, material media is defined as an approach to technologies which incorporates materials as active agents in the creative process of making of cultural artefacts. Through the use of redundant and discarded materials, the DiY practitioner examined in this article is seen to follow a Techno-Animist approach to media technologies: acknowledging the qualities of 'vibrant matter' as an active component of agency; re-situating the human in relation to the material environment.
This paper is focused on the changes in authorship which have occurred within the comparatively r... more This paper is focused on the changes in authorship which have occurred within the comparatively recent developments of Web 2.0 and the emergence of interactive WikiMedia. The mode of authorship within a Read/Write culture, compared to that of a Read/Only tradition, is that the role of the audience has become merged with the author, and as such, represents new functions and attributes. Modes of multi-authorship, demonstrated in the use of the pseudonyms Alan Smithee and Karen Eliot, represent declarative authors whose names signify multiple origins, whilst concurrently indicating a distinct body of work. The function of these names forms an important context to this study, which forms the preparatory stages of the construction of an experimental mode of multi-authorship utilising WikiMedia technology and the creation of a collective multi-author pseudonym Karen Karnak.
The art of the Alchemist seems lost in the deep haze of history, usually it is explained away as ... more The art of the Alchemist seems lost in the deep haze of history, usually it is explained away as superstition or simply the forbearer of modern chemistry, however, it is still alive in modern society; although its methods, terminology and aims have adapted and evolved. This is an attempt to trace some of the manifestations of the Alchemist’s Art in the modern world; through an examination of the origins of the various disciplines contained within this ancient science.
The emergence of 'Maker Culture' and 'Maker Spaces' within formal (and informa l) learning enviro... more The emergence of 'Maker Culture' and 'Maker Spaces' within formal (and informa l) learning environments around the world can be seen as part of a wider shift in consciousnes s regarding the relationship between human and the material environment. This is reflected in theoretical and academic movements such as the 'material turn': where concepts such as Jane Bennett's 'vibrant matter' and Karen Barad's 'intra-activity' have begun to displace human intention as the exclusive centre of agency. In this article, an engagement with DiY (Do-it-Yourself) technologies is explored through an observation of the workshop environment of a single practitioner: uncovering strategies which allow material agency to re-function simple technologies into forms which would be difficult to reproduce using exclusively human intention. Deviating from the role of technology as an invisib ly functioning tool, material media is defined as an approach to technologies which incorporates materials as active agents in the creative process of making of cultural artefacts. Through the use of redundant and discarded materials, the DiY practitioner examined in this article is seen to follow a Techno-Animist approach to media technologies: acknowledging the qualities of 'vibrant matter' as an active component of agency; re-situating the human in relation to the material environment.
This paper is focused on the changes in authorship which have occurred within the comparatively r... more This paper is focused on the changes in authorship which have occurred within the comparatively recent developments of Web 2.0 and the emergence of interactive WikiMedia. The mode of authorship within a Read/Write culture, compared to that of a Read/Only tradition, is that the role of the audience has become merged with the author, and as such, represents new functions and attributes. Modes of multi-authorship, demonstrated in the use of the pseudonyms Alan Smithee and Karen Eliot, represent declarative authors whose names signify multiple origins, whilst concurrently indicating a distinct body of work. The function of these names forms an important context to this study, which forms the preparatory stages of the construction of an experimental mode of multi-authorship utilising WikiMedia technology and the creation of a collective multi-author pseudonym Karen Karnak.
The art of the Alchemist seems lost in the deep haze of history, usually it is explained away as ... more The art of the Alchemist seems lost in the deep haze of history, usually it is explained away as superstition or simply the forbearer of modern chemistry, however, it is still alive in modern society; although its methods, terminology and aims have adapted and evolved. This is an attempt to trace some of the manifestations of the Alchemist’s Art in the modern world; through an examination of the origins of the various disciplines contained within this ancient science.
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