:)

And then I read something else.

So, now, Manovich seems to be confirming many of the things that Hansen was saying. Sure, the death of the artifact, the reality of representation, etc. etc.

However, what seems to be emerging, (and this is rightously creepy) is the death of the mediator, rather than the medium. What Manovich's analysis proposes, I think, is that in a post-symbolic world, mediation will not be necessary. But it is this mediation that creates human subjects, right? So what we're really talking about here is the (edit: potential) death of the human subject?

The kind of interactivity allowed by new media is such that it takes us further and further away from our bodies, while telling our brains that the digital objects that we interact with are the same as analog objects. At what point do we leave the analog bodies behind for digital ones?

Ahh, I don't know. It all sounds a bit too William Gibson to me. Still, it's kinda scary.

posted by Sue @ 4:39 PM