Michelle Kasprzak | Hogeschool Rotterdam (original) (raw)

Books by Michelle Kasprzak

This eBook comprises seventeen haiku capturing the essential insights from The Hydra Syndrome wor... more This eBook comprises seventeen haiku capturing the essential insights from The Hydra Syndrome workshop, which was convened in June 2014 by the Risk Science Center at the University of Michigan in cooperation with V2_.

This eBook, the sixth in the se­ries of Blowup Read­ers re­leased by V2_, ex­plores the sig­nif­i... more This eBook, the sixth in the se­ries of Blowup Read­ers re­leased by V2_, ex­plores the sig­nif­icance of the re­cent philo­soph­ic move­ments known as Ob­ject-​Ori­ent­ed On­tol­ogy and Spec­ula­tive Re­al­ism for the vi­su­al and me­dia arts. The ebook was edited in connection to the Speculative Realities exhibition.

Two artists and one col­lab­ora­tive duo were com­mis­sioned to make new art­works re­flect­ing broad­ly on con­cepts with­in Ob­ject-​Ori­ent­ed On­tol­ogy and Spec­ula­tive Re­al­ism. The artists were Tu­ur van Balen & Re­vi­tal Co­hen, Cheryl Field, and Karoli­na Sobec­ka.

To sup­ple­ment the de­scrip­tions of the works and brief in­ter­views with the artists in this eBook, three new in­ter­views were com­mis­sioned. Sven Lüttick­en was in­ter­viewed by Rachel O’Reil­ly, Jus­si Parik­ka was in­ter­viewed by Michael Di­eter, and Rick Dol­phi­jn was in­ter­viewed by Michelle Kasprzak.

The ex­hi­bi­tion took place from De­cem­ber 8, 2012 un­til Jan­uary 11, 2013 at Rood­kap­je, Meent 133, Rot­ter­dam.

The New Aesthetic was a design concept and netculture phenomenon launched into the world by Londo... more The New Aesthetic was a design concept and netculture phenomenon launched into the world by London designer James Bridle in 2011. It continues to attract the attention of media art, and throw up associations to a variety of situated practices, including speculative design, net criticism, hacking, free and open source software development, locative media, sustainable hardware and so on. This is how we have considered the New Aesthetic: as an opportunity to rethink the relations between these contexts in the emergent episteme of computationality. There is a desperate need to confront the political pressures of neoliberalism manifested in these infrastructures. Indeed, these are risky, dangerous and problematic times; a period when critique should thrive. But here we need to forge new alliances, invent and discover problems of the common that nevertheless do not eliminate the fundamental differences in this ecology of practices. In this book, perhaps provocatively, we believe a great deal could be learned from the development of the New Aesthetic not only as a mood, but as a topic and fix for collective feeling, that temporarily mobilizes networks. Is it possible to sustain and capture these atmospheres of debate and discussion beyond knee-jerk reactions and opportunistic self-promotion? These are crucial questions that the New Aesthetic invites us to consider, if only to keep a critical network culture in place.

Papers by Michelle Kasprzak

C&C ’23: Proceedings of the 15th Conference on Creativity and Cognition, 2023

AI is rapidly becoming enmeshed in our professional and private lives. The ubiquity of such techn... more AI is rapidly becoming enmeshed in our professional and private lives. The ubiquity of such technologies raises a host of ethical questions, value clashes, and unforeseen consequences that must be confronted. Developments such as Ai-Da and DALL-E 2 are exciting in that they present robust new capabilities in AI and creativity. However, the futures such technologies unlock are also unpredictable. Given the speed with which such technologies are emerging and becoming adopted, the need to engage target audiences to weigh in on possible AI futures is critical. Our pilot project, Artistic Process Futures and AI, seeks to explore the role and potential implications of AI technologies with artists. In this paper, we show how participatory speculative design processes might be channeled into a public statement, or manifesto, regarding possible and preferable AI futures for supporting the artistic process, and how our workshop exposed uncertainty at the core of such deliberation.

Balance/UnBalance Conference Proceedings, 2018

The concept of digital inclusion as a toolbox of strategies to combat the digital divide is curre... more The concept of digital inclusion as a toolbox of strategies to combat the digital divide is currently an idea with traction in Europe. For example, Portugal recently drew up an ambitious plan for digital inclusion due to complete by 2030. In a country noted to have good digital infrastructure, it is also true that 26% of Portuguese have never been online (a high figure compared to Finland at 4% and the entire EU at 12%). This paper will examine elements of the digital inclusion agenda alongside specific concerns and examples drawn from fieldwork currently in progress. While the benefits of online participation and digital literacy are many, what are the embedded social values in the tools introducing new users to technology? The consequences of implementing this agenda in rural Portugal, driven by a desire to maintain pace with the rest of Europe, will be addressed through a discussion of relevant literature in STS and adjacent fields and fieldwork findings.

The 'Social Tech Ecosystems in sub-Saharan Africa’ report is a broad survey of the opportunities ... more The 'Social Tech Ecosystems in sub-Saharan Africa’ report is a broad survey of the opportunities and challenges of using technology for social good. It was commissioned by a partnership of three UK foundations working in the fields of social tech and international development: Comic Relief, Indigo Trust and the Nominet Trust. Madeira Interactive Technologies Institute (M-ITI) led the study. The report draws upon a combination of desk research, participant observation and semi-structured interviews with 116 individuals in 32 countries, conducted in English, French or Portuguese. Findings cover the arrival and spread of tech hubs in sub-Saharan Africa; interactions with Silicon Valley models of innovation; the power of the telcos; the impact of social bundles and the 'WTF' internet; and implicit bias against Africans and racism in funding.

HCI researchers work within spaces of possibility for potential designs of technology. New method... more HCI researchers work within spaces of possibility for potential designs of technology. New methods (for example, user centrism); expected types of interaction (user with device); and potential applications (urban navigation) can extend the boundaries of these possibilities. However, structural and systemic factors can also foreclose them. A recent wide and shallow survey of over 116 individuals involved in technology development across 26 countries in sub-Saharan Africa reveals how factors of political economy significantly impact upon technological possibilities. Monopolies, international power dynamics, race, and access to capital open or constrain technological possibilities at least as much as device-centric or user-focused constraints do. Though their thrust may have been anticipated by reference to political economic trends, the structural constraints we found were underestimated by technologists even a decade ago. We discuss the implications for technology development in Africa and beyond.

Artists and designers working with scientists or science–related topics in their work often work ... more Artists and designers working with scientists or science–related topics in their work often work in ways which partially mirror the science communicator. In this paper I demonstrate that artists working on long–term investigative projects with science have a unique role to play which adds more nuance to the overall ‘straight’ science communication offering. I examine three case studies: Paper Moon, a multimedia installation by designer Ilona Gaynor; The International Space Orchestra, an ongoing performance project by designer Nelly Ben Hayoun; and Cloud Maker, an experimental object by artist Karolina Sobecka. My paper will describe the unusual merits of these three cases as science communication in addition to their status as art objects, from my perspective of having worked closely with the artists on the works as commissioning curator.

This article discusses the ramifications of open design for “author-driven” contexts in the curri... more This article discusses the ramifications of open design for “author-driven” contexts in the curriculum of the Open Design program (profile: Social Practice) at the Willem de Kooning Academy, University of Applied Sciences, Rotterdam, as a primary case study. We intend to question the supposed juxtaposition between the principles of open design (sharing, participation) and traditional notions of authorship (exclusivity) by investigating “open authorship”. Moreover, how could the aesthetic dimension contribute to a socially or individually relevant “afterlife” of the design for the user? Open design is defined as design whose creators allow it to be freely distributed and documented and condone modifications and derivations of it (Abel, Bas van, and R. Klaassen, 2011). It mainly borrows from two traditions: open-source technology (accessible digital fabrication) and participatory design (social involvement and relevance). These perspectives secure the “afterlife” of a design the user iterations. Besides these user-driven domains, we can also witness the emergence of open design in ‘author driven’ design fields. Besides open source software and online sharing, the visual language and open-ended structure of Jens Dyvik’s Layer Chair (2012), for example, provokes user iteration. In its afterlife, his chair becomes an object in flux. This open form of authorship questions the author’s exclusivity, embodying a paradigm shift in authorship. This paper also explores the notion of “open authorship” through examples from the Open Design program of the Willem de Kooning Academy, University of Applied Sciences, Rotterdam. One of the objectives is to investigate the as yet underexposed aesthetic tradition of open design and its possible relevance for art and design education. This is embodied as “open form”, a (historical) perspective on openness from an author’s point of view (Wölfflin 1929, Eco 1962, Hansen 1959, Raaijmakers 1988-92). We discuss how a series of open-design methods and working with “non-expert expert” communities have encouraged new design approaches to aesthetics and participation. The results show that an aesthetic is not necessarily about beauty, but more importantly functions as evidence of a process that allows for flaws to become a part of a product. We believe these are the hallmarks of an emerging “open design aesthetic”.

The topics of repair, care, and maintenance, which were featured across tracks at 4S/EASST, also ... more The topics of repair, care, and maintenance, which were featured across tracks at 4S/EASST, also presented a rejection the notion of the hero. This development might seem an inevitable result, given that narrative aggrandizement appears in this community as unscholarly. In STS we often question who gets to perform science, or seek to understand larger structures and groups of people who enabled certain innovations and inventions. However, casting light on previously-unsung members of a larger team also runs the risk of heroicising them. In this article, I reflect on two papers which indicated a sensitivity to this danger and hinted at an anti-heroic turn.

... Product Scotland: Bringing Designers, Anthropologists, Artists and Engineers Together. Paul R... more ... Product Scotland: Bringing Designers, Anthropologists, Artists and Engineers Together. Paul Rodgers, Jon Rogers, Mike Anusas, Alex Milton, Jon Pengelly, Craig Whittet, John Marshall, Will Titley, Angus Colvin, Michael Smyth, Cezanne Charles and Michelle Kasprzak • 2008. ...

What Use Are Other People? is a curatorial text for an exhibition at the Kasseler Kunstverein ent... more What Use Are Other People? is a curatorial text for an exhibition at the Kasseler Kunstverein entitled No Limit, comprising new works by UBERMORGEN. The exhibition deals with narcissism and psychopathy in our contemporary capitalist culture.

Workshop Proposal Paper

URL: http://www.urban-atmospheres.net/UbiComp2004/ UbiComp in the Urban Frontier is a one day wor... more URL: http://www.urban-atmospheres.net/UbiComp2004/ UbiComp in the Urban Frontier is a one day workshop to be held at the 6th Annual Ubiquitous Computing Conference in Nottingham, England. This workshop will be focused on understand how the rapidly emerging fabric of mobile and wireless computing will influence, disrupt, expand, and be integrated into the social patterns existent within our public urban landscapes.

Ciel variable: Art, photo, médias, culture, Jan 1, 2007

Tourisme culturel L'industrie du tourisme a créé une importante structure culturelle qui oriente ... more Tourisme culturel L'industrie du tourisme a créé une importante structure culturelle qui oriente le regard. S'attardant tant à des constructions politico-culturelles telle la Biennale de Venise qu'à des sites et institutions qui jouissent d'une reconnaissance officielle, les travaux que nous vous présentons abordent différents aspects de cette structure et offrent de nouvelles perspectives sur un phénomène désormais mondial.

New Aesthetic New Anxieties is the result of a five day Book Sprint organized by Michelle Kasprza... more New Aesthetic New Anxieties is the result of a five day Book Sprint organized by Michelle Kasprzak and led by Adam Hyde at V2_ from June 17–21, 2012.

You can download the e-book as an EPUB, MOBI, or PDF.

EPUB: http://www.v2.nl/files/new-aesthetic-new-anxieties-epub

MOBI: http://www.v2.nl/files/new-aesthetic-new-anxieties-mobi

PDF: http://www.v2.nl/files/new-aesthetic-new-anxieties-pdf

Annotatable online version: http://www.booki.cc/new-aesthetic-new-anxieties/_draft/_v/1.0/preface/

The New Aesthetic was a design concept and netculture phenomenon launched into the world by London designer James Bridle in 2011. It continues to attract the attention of media art, and throw up associations to a variety of situated practices, including speculative design, net criticism, hacking, free and open source software development, locative media, sustainable hardware and so on. This is how we have considered the New Aesthetic: as an opportunity to rethink the relations between these contexts in the emergent episteme of computationality. There is a desperate need to confront the political pressures of neoliberalism manifested in these infrastructures. Indeed, these are risky, dangerous and problematic times; a period when critique should thrive. But here we need to forge new alliances, invent and discover problems of the common that nevertheless do not eliminate the fundamental differences in this ecology of practices. In this book, perhaps provocatively, we believe a great deal could be learned from the development of the New Aesthetic not only as a mood, but as a topic and fix for collective feeling, that temporarily mobilizes networks. Is it possible to sustain and capture these atmospheres of debate and discussion beyond knee-jerk reactions and opportunistic self-promotion? These are crucial questions that the New Aesthetic invites us to consider, if only to keep a critical network culture in place.

James Bridle's Tumblr site: http://new-aesthetic.tumblr.com/

This eBook comprises seventeen haiku capturing the essential insights from The Hydra Syndrome wor... more This eBook comprises seventeen haiku capturing the essential insights from The Hydra Syndrome workshop, which was convened in June 2014 by the Risk Science Center at the University of Michigan in cooperation with V2_.

This eBook, the sixth in the se­ries of Blowup Read­ers re­leased by V2_, ex­plores the sig­nif­i... more This eBook, the sixth in the se­ries of Blowup Read­ers re­leased by V2_, ex­plores the sig­nif­icance of the re­cent philo­soph­ic move­ments known as Ob­ject-​Ori­ent­ed On­tol­ogy and Spec­ula­tive Re­al­ism for the vi­su­al and me­dia arts. The ebook was edited in connection to the Speculative Realities exhibition.

Two artists and one col­lab­ora­tive duo were com­mis­sioned to make new art­works re­flect­ing broad­ly on con­cepts with­in Ob­ject-​Ori­ent­ed On­tol­ogy and Spec­ula­tive Re­al­ism. The artists were Tu­ur van Balen & Re­vi­tal Co­hen, Cheryl Field, and Karoli­na Sobec­ka.

To sup­ple­ment the de­scrip­tions of the works and brief in­ter­views with the artists in this eBook, three new in­ter­views were com­mis­sioned. Sven Lüttick­en was in­ter­viewed by Rachel O’Reil­ly, Jus­si Parik­ka was in­ter­viewed by Michael Di­eter, and Rick Dol­phi­jn was in­ter­viewed by Michelle Kasprzak.

The ex­hi­bi­tion took place from De­cem­ber 8, 2012 un­til Jan­uary 11, 2013 at Rood­kap­je, Meent 133, Rot­ter­dam.

The New Aesthetic was a design concept and netculture phenomenon launched into the world by Londo... more The New Aesthetic was a design concept and netculture phenomenon launched into the world by London designer James Bridle in 2011. It continues to attract the attention of media art, and throw up associations to a variety of situated practices, including speculative design, net criticism, hacking, free and open source software development, locative media, sustainable hardware and so on. This is how we have considered the New Aesthetic: as an opportunity to rethink the relations between these contexts in the emergent episteme of computationality. There is a desperate need to confront the political pressures of neoliberalism manifested in these infrastructures. Indeed, these are risky, dangerous and problematic times; a period when critique should thrive. But here we need to forge new alliances, invent and discover problems of the common that nevertheless do not eliminate the fundamental differences in this ecology of practices. In this book, perhaps provocatively, we believe a great deal could be learned from the development of the New Aesthetic not only as a mood, but as a topic and fix for collective feeling, that temporarily mobilizes networks. Is it possible to sustain and capture these atmospheres of debate and discussion beyond knee-jerk reactions and opportunistic self-promotion? These are crucial questions that the New Aesthetic invites us to consider, if only to keep a critical network culture in place.

C&C ’23: Proceedings of the 15th Conference on Creativity and Cognition, 2023

AI is rapidly becoming enmeshed in our professional and private lives. The ubiquity of such techn... more AI is rapidly becoming enmeshed in our professional and private lives. The ubiquity of such technologies raises a host of ethical questions, value clashes, and unforeseen consequences that must be confronted. Developments such as Ai-Da and DALL-E 2 are exciting in that they present robust new capabilities in AI and creativity. However, the futures such technologies unlock are also unpredictable. Given the speed with which such technologies are emerging and becoming adopted, the need to engage target audiences to weigh in on possible AI futures is critical. Our pilot project, Artistic Process Futures and AI, seeks to explore the role and potential implications of AI technologies with artists. In this paper, we show how participatory speculative design processes might be channeled into a public statement, or manifesto, regarding possible and preferable AI futures for supporting the artistic process, and how our workshop exposed uncertainty at the core of such deliberation.

Balance/UnBalance Conference Proceedings, 2018

The concept of digital inclusion as a toolbox of strategies to combat the digital divide is curre... more The concept of digital inclusion as a toolbox of strategies to combat the digital divide is currently an idea with traction in Europe. For example, Portugal recently drew up an ambitious plan for digital inclusion due to complete by 2030. In a country noted to have good digital infrastructure, it is also true that 26% of Portuguese have never been online (a high figure compared to Finland at 4% and the entire EU at 12%). This paper will examine elements of the digital inclusion agenda alongside specific concerns and examples drawn from fieldwork currently in progress. While the benefits of online participation and digital literacy are many, what are the embedded social values in the tools introducing new users to technology? The consequences of implementing this agenda in rural Portugal, driven by a desire to maintain pace with the rest of Europe, will be addressed through a discussion of relevant literature in STS and adjacent fields and fieldwork findings.

The 'Social Tech Ecosystems in sub-Saharan Africa’ report is a broad survey of the opportunities ... more The 'Social Tech Ecosystems in sub-Saharan Africa’ report is a broad survey of the opportunities and challenges of using technology for social good. It was commissioned by a partnership of three UK foundations working in the fields of social tech and international development: Comic Relief, Indigo Trust and the Nominet Trust. Madeira Interactive Technologies Institute (M-ITI) led the study. The report draws upon a combination of desk research, participant observation and semi-structured interviews with 116 individuals in 32 countries, conducted in English, French or Portuguese. Findings cover the arrival and spread of tech hubs in sub-Saharan Africa; interactions with Silicon Valley models of innovation; the power of the telcos; the impact of social bundles and the 'WTF' internet; and implicit bias against Africans and racism in funding.

HCI researchers work within spaces of possibility for potential designs of technology. New method... more HCI researchers work within spaces of possibility for potential designs of technology. New methods (for example, user centrism); expected types of interaction (user with device); and potential applications (urban navigation) can extend the boundaries of these possibilities. However, structural and systemic factors can also foreclose them. A recent wide and shallow survey of over 116 individuals involved in technology development across 26 countries in sub-Saharan Africa reveals how factors of political economy significantly impact upon technological possibilities. Monopolies, international power dynamics, race, and access to capital open or constrain technological possibilities at least as much as device-centric or user-focused constraints do. Though their thrust may have been anticipated by reference to political economic trends, the structural constraints we found were underestimated by technologists even a decade ago. We discuss the implications for technology development in Africa and beyond.

Artists and designers working with scientists or science–related topics in their work often work ... more Artists and designers working with scientists or science–related topics in their work often work in ways which partially mirror the science communicator. In this paper I demonstrate that artists working on long–term investigative projects with science have a unique role to play which adds more nuance to the overall ‘straight’ science communication offering. I examine three case studies: Paper Moon, a multimedia installation by designer Ilona Gaynor; The International Space Orchestra, an ongoing performance project by designer Nelly Ben Hayoun; and Cloud Maker, an experimental object by artist Karolina Sobecka. My paper will describe the unusual merits of these three cases as science communication in addition to their status as art objects, from my perspective of having worked closely with the artists on the works as commissioning curator.

This article discusses the ramifications of open design for “author-driven” contexts in the curri... more This article discusses the ramifications of open design for “author-driven” contexts in the curriculum of the Open Design program (profile: Social Practice) at the Willem de Kooning Academy, University of Applied Sciences, Rotterdam, as a primary case study. We intend to question the supposed juxtaposition between the principles of open design (sharing, participation) and traditional notions of authorship (exclusivity) by investigating “open authorship”. Moreover, how could the aesthetic dimension contribute to a socially or individually relevant “afterlife” of the design for the user? Open design is defined as design whose creators allow it to be freely distributed and documented and condone modifications and derivations of it (Abel, Bas van, and R. Klaassen, 2011). It mainly borrows from two traditions: open-source technology (accessible digital fabrication) and participatory design (social involvement and relevance). These perspectives secure the “afterlife” of a design the user iterations. Besides these user-driven domains, we can also witness the emergence of open design in ‘author driven’ design fields. Besides open source software and online sharing, the visual language and open-ended structure of Jens Dyvik’s Layer Chair (2012), for example, provokes user iteration. In its afterlife, his chair becomes an object in flux. This open form of authorship questions the author’s exclusivity, embodying a paradigm shift in authorship. This paper also explores the notion of “open authorship” through examples from the Open Design program of the Willem de Kooning Academy, University of Applied Sciences, Rotterdam. One of the objectives is to investigate the as yet underexposed aesthetic tradition of open design and its possible relevance for art and design education. This is embodied as “open form”, a (historical) perspective on openness from an author’s point of view (Wölfflin 1929, Eco 1962, Hansen 1959, Raaijmakers 1988-92). We discuss how a series of open-design methods and working with “non-expert expert” communities have encouraged new design approaches to aesthetics and participation. The results show that an aesthetic is not necessarily about beauty, but more importantly functions as evidence of a process that allows for flaws to become a part of a product. We believe these are the hallmarks of an emerging “open design aesthetic”.

The topics of repair, care, and maintenance, which were featured across tracks at 4S/EASST, also ... more The topics of repair, care, and maintenance, which were featured across tracks at 4S/EASST, also presented a rejection the notion of the hero. This development might seem an inevitable result, given that narrative aggrandizement appears in this community as unscholarly. In STS we often question who gets to perform science, or seek to understand larger structures and groups of people who enabled certain innovations and inventions. However, casting light on previously-unsung members of a larger team also runs the risk of heroicising them. In this article, I reflect on two papers which indicated a sensitivity to this danger and hinted at an anti-heroic turn.

... Product Scotland: Bringing Designers, Anthropologists, Artists and Engineers Together. Paul R... more ... Product Scotland: Bringing Designers, Anthropologists, Artists and Engineers Together. Paul Rodgers, Jon Rogers, Mike Anusas, Alex Milton, Jon Pengelly, Craig Whittet, John Marshall, Will Titley, Angus Colvin, Michael Smyth, Cezanne Charles and Michelle Kasprzak • 2008. ...

What Use Are Other People? is a curatorial text for an exhibition at the Kasseler Kunstverein ent... more What Use Are Other People? is a curatorial text for an exhibition at the Kasseler Kunstverein entitled No Limit, comprising new works by UBERMORGEN. The exhibition deals with narcissism and psychopathy in our contemporary capitalist culture.

Workshop Proposal Paper

URL: http://www.urban-atmospheres.net/UbiComp2004/ UbiComp in the Urban Frontier is a one day wor... more URL: http://www.urban-atmospheres.net/UbiComp2004/ UbiComp in the Urban Frontier is a one day workshop to be held at the 6th Annual Ubiquitous Computing Conference in Nottingham, England. This workshop will be focused on understand how the rapidly emerging fabric of mobile and wireless computing will influence, disrupt, expand, and be integrated into the social patterns existent within our public urban landscapes.

Ciel variable: Art, photo, médias, culture, Jan 1, 2007

Tourisme culturel L'industrie du tourisme a créé une importante structure culturelle qui oriente ... more Tourisme culturel L'industrie du tourisme a créé une importante structure culturelle qui oriente le regard. S'attardant tant à des constructions politico-culturelles telle la Biennale de Venise qu'à des sites et institutions qui jouissent d'une reconnaissance officielle, les travaux que nous vous présentons abordent différents aspects de cette structure et offrent de nouvelles perspectives sur un phénomène désormais mondial.

New Aesthetic New Anxieties is the result of a five day Book Sprint organized by Michelle Kasprza... more New Aesthetic New Anxieties is the result of a five day Book Sprint organized by Michelle Kasprzak and led by Adam Hyde at V2_ from June 17–21, 2012.

You can download the e-book as an EPUB, MOBI, or PDF.

EPUB: http://www.v2.nl/files/new-aesthetic-new-anxieties-epub

MOBI: http://www.v2.nl/files/new-aesthetic-new-anxieties-mobi

PDF: http://www.v2.nl/files/new-aesthetic-new-anxieties-pdf

Annotatable online version: http://www.booki.cc/new-aesthetic-new-anxieties/_draft/_v/1.0/preface/

The New Aesthetic was a design concept and netculture phenomenon launched into the world by London designer James Bridle in 2011. It continues to attract the attention of media art, and throw up associations to a variety of situated practices, including speculative design, net criticism, hacking, free and open source software development, locative media, sustainable hardware and so on. This is how we have considered the New Aesthetic: as an opportunity to rethink the relations between these contexts in the emergent episteme of computationality. There is a desperate need to confront the political pressures of neoliberalism manifested in these infrastructures. Indeed, these are risky, dangerous and problematic times; a period when critique should thrive. But here we need to forge new alliances, invent and discover problems of the common that nevertheless do not eliminate the fundamental differences in this ecology of practices. In this book, perhaps provocatively, we believe a great deal could be learned from the development of the New Aesthetic not only as a mood, but as a topic and fix for collective feeling, that temporarily mobilizes networks. Is it possible to sustain and capture these atmospheres of debate and discussion beyond knee-jerk reactions and opportunistic self-promotion? These are crucial questions that the New Aesthetic invites us to consider, if only to keep a critical network culture in place.

James Bridle's Tumblr site: http://new-aesthetic.tumblr.com/