Course MCM 0230: Digital Media

I really enjoyed the analogy made in the Post Digital piece by Cramer about how post digital could be seen as hybrids of “old” and “new” media. Cramer describes how in an art school, he has seen young artists “choose media for their own particular material aesthetic qualities, regardless of whether these are a result of analog material properties or of digital processing”. The inevitable imperfections within this hybrid are seen as an exploration of the materials. The aesthetic quality of the mixing is what the artists strive for. This he compares to the attitude of a “post-digital hacker taking systems apart and using them in ways which subvert the original intention of the design”. These two examples of hybridism in very different areas show that the world we live in today really is embracing innovation and creativity in a large way- creating new things, while holding on to the old. Outside of the art or digital world, too- for example, how did this hipster movement come about and take hold? People who will bring their typewriter to the park, but check their email on their iPhone. Perhaps there is some innate nostalgia within our society that just can’t let go of our history.