Intellect Books, IQ Magazine: Spring 2007 (Read in "Fullscreen")

8/14/2019 Intellect Books, IQ Magazine: Spring 2007 (Read in "Fullscreen")

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media&democracyCOMPUTERS AND THE HISTORY OF ART

VIDEOGAME ARTjos mara rodrguez mndezPOST-SOVIET FILMPLUS BOOK REVIEWS AND AUTHOR INTERVIEWS

Intellect Quarterly no. 5 / thinking in colour / spring 2007

www.intellectbooks.com

IQ

In this issue:


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The best way to havea good idea is to havelots of ideas.

intellect. Publishers of original thinking.

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Publisher/EditorMasoud YazdaniAssociate EditorMay YaoSub EditorSamantha KingArt DirectorGabriel Solomons

Intellect Ltd.PO Box 862Bristol BS99 1DETel: 0117 9589910www.intellectbooks.com

IQ / intellect quarterlyISSN 1478-7350

2007 Intellect Ltd. Nopart of this publicationmay be reproduced,copied, transmitted inany form or by any meanswithout permission of thepublisher. Intellect acceptno responsibility for viewsexpressed by contributorsto IQ; or for unsolictedmanuscripts, photographs oillustrations; or for errors inarticles or advertisements.

Intellect Quarterly

IQ06 Videogame ArtChallenging and Provocative

10 Jos Mara Rodrguez MndezTroubling Postcards from the Past

12 The Visual in CommunicationSome Hidden Dimensions

16 Televisions New EngineThe Principle of the TV Format

21 Indexed LightsComputers and the History of Art

25 Media and DemocracyA Strange Paradox

25 Pride and PanicRussian Imagination of the West in Post-Soviet Film

contents spring 2007

Q&A 04 May Yao | 19 Graeme Harper | 26 Robert W. Lawler| 28 Book Reviews

Intellectpublishes booksand journals by authors andeditors with original thinkingthey strongly believe in. Ourintention is to produce books

and journals that have presenccreate impact and are affordabfor readers. We commissionregardless of whether thereis an established readershipfor the ideas: we support ourauthors comprehensively inarticulating their thoughts andthen bring them to as widea readership as possible. Wechoose authors and editorswho in backing their ideas,are willing to be part of ourpublishing process by investingtheir energy and resources asneeded in co-operation with uswww.intellectbooks.com

Intellect Quarterly / www.intellectbooks.com


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Q&AiQuote Sometimes Ive believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast. Lewis Carroll

4 | Intellect Quarterly

How did you come to choose

publishing as a career?

Ive always been interested in theprocess of communicating anddisseminating ideas. The publish-ing industry has a considerableresponsibility both to informand entertain, and I was drawn

to the idea of having a career thatmight be able to combine culturewith commerce. Publishing isa constantly evolving industry especially in the current climateof increasingly rapid technologicalinnovation, and there are alwaysexciting opportunities and newdevelopments which make it agreat challenge! I love the varietyof work that publishing offers, aswell as the satisfaction of seeing afinished book.

What attracted you specifically

to join Intellect?I liked the idea of publishing onthe merit of ideas rather than sales,and being able to publish booksthat other publishers might not bewilling to take on due to the finan-cial risk involved. I felt that Intel-

lect was trying to do somethingvery different from other publish-ers campaigning for the authorrather than producing a book orjournal to fill a gap in the market.The tension between Intellectsmission and commercial pressurescreates a great dichotomy which isIntellects greatest challenge, butalso its greatest strength!What kind of books do you

publish at Intellect?

We aim to publish books which

exemplify our mission as publish-ers of original thinking. We like towork with authors who can clearlyidentify with their book and aremotivated to support it throughall its stages of development. Wehave found that there is a realdemand from authors and edi-tors to get their original materialpublished and to get their ideasheard. The focus of our publishing

programme covers topics relatedto creative media: art, film, televi-sion, design and internationalculture. Books that are multidisci-plinary within our range of topicsare preferred.Who are your intended authors

and their readership?

We publish for university andcollege academics and postgrads.However, an Intellect book goesbeyond the specialist in a givenfield to appeal to others who have

a multi-disciplinary interest in thetopic. Intellect does notpublishtextbooks aimed at undergradu-ates. Such books contain very littleoriginal thinking and are mostlytutorial and survey material.Intellect books are notaimed atthe educated reader at large. Oneof our biggest editorial mistakesin the past has been to attemptto publish books simultaneouslyaimed at the specialist academic,the undergraduate and the general

reader. However, such books rarelysucceed to satisfy any of thesecommunities, as their needs arevery different.How do you differ in your edito-

rial policy from other publishers?

Our strategy is to publish authorswho have new ideas, new ways ofexpressing their ideas, or covernew topics not established withinacademia. These ideas may not beappreciated by mainstream aca-demic publishers whose focus is

on established topics along university departmental boundaries andtextbooks for specific courses.

Although we may give an authoreditorial guidance, we dont com-mission authors to write books forus. Overall, we have very little edi-torial intervention in comparisonto other publishers. We representthe author rather than the readerin the editorial process, which

means that the authors message iauthentically articulated. Howeverbecause our books are not cateredto the reader, they probably willnot be as widely read. Our role is tosupport the author by making eachbook as strong and as professionaas possible, while staying true tothe authors voice.What stages does a book go

through before it reaches the

readers?

The main production stages are

peer review, copyediting and type-setting. The cover design, imagesand index must also be negotiatedduring the production process.As we are an academic publisher,all our books are peer-reviewed.This process is intended to ensurea level of academic quality aswell as providing feedback to theauthor on how the book might beimproved. We try to involve theauthor in every stage of the pro-duction process, from copyediting

through to cover design.How do you market your books?

Intellects primary strategy isrelationship marketing, which isfocused and cost-effective. Leafletsand catalogues are sent directlyto targeted potential readers whohave an interest in our subjectareas. In addition to direct mail,we use our website, e-communi-ties, e-newsletters and e-flyers toreach potential readers, as well asattending or getting involved in

May YaoAn interview with Intellects book publisher

Photo Gabriel Solomons


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May YaoAn artists career always begins tomorrow. J. Whistler

relevant conferences and events.We also regularly participate

in advertising campaigns in anattempt to widen our customerbase. In addition, we have foundthat by introducing an authorsideas to potential readers throughthe publication of related articlesin IQ magazine, our authors gainincreased exposure and publicity,which in turn helps to increasebook sales.Who are your partners and what

do they do for you?

Our aim is always to support our

authors by bringing their ideas toas wide a readership as possible,and we continuously strive to findnew and innovative ways of achiev-ing this. From 2007, we are pleasedthat our titles will be marketed anddistributed by the University ofChicago Press in all regions of theworld except for the UK, Europe,Australia and New Zealand. Wealso have a similar arrangementwith the University of New SouthWales Press in Australia and New

Zealand. In Europe, we work withDurnell Marketing, who representus to booksellers in the region. Weare also working relentlessly to en-

sure that our books are made avail-able through the latest electronic

distribution methods, as well asthrough the more conventionalroutes. We are working closelywith several e-book distributorsincluding NetLibrary, Ebrary andMyiLibrary, as well as Google BookSearch and Amazon.How should authors prepare their

proposals so they succeed?

The best way to submit a proposalto us is by completing our authorquestionnaire as thoroughly as pos-sible. The questionnaire requests

information about the content andstructure of the proposed book,as well as marketing informa-tion and biographic informationabout the author. Potential authorsshould bear in mind that we donot publish Ph.D. theses, althoughsuch research can, of course, be anexcellent starting point for a book.We publish original material, sosurveys or collections of previ-ously published material are notfor us. In essence, we are looking

for authors presenting new ideasthat dont yet have an establishedmarket or readership and are keento get their ideas heard!{

The tension between Intellectsmission and commercial pressurescreates a great dichotomy which isIntellects greatest challenge, but alsoits greatest strength!

books/journals/ideas...www.intellectbooks.com


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intellectBook Focus


Art & DesigniQuote The holy grail is to spend less time making the picture than it takes people to look at it. Banksy

Although a comparatively newmedium, videogames haverapidly emerged to become

an established cultural form, takingtheir place alongside television andfilm. Yet while television and filmare now, for the most part, accept-able to all, videogames retain an airof danger and degeneracy and arefrequently vilified in public debatesabout the state of society.

Given this mix of popularity andcontroversy, it is inevitable that

artists have looked to videogamesas both their inspiration and theirsource material. Using the iconogra-phy of videogames in artworks is asold as videogames themselves, but agrowing number of artists are usingthe videogames themselves as theirartistic medium.

Some do this through writing artvideogames from scratch (such asThompson and CraigheadsTriggerHappy); others hack videogamehardware such as Game Boy consoles

(for example, Paul Cataneses SuperIchthyologist Advance); yet others takeexisting games usually FPS (first-person shooter) games such asQuake, Unreal or Half Life and modifythese. This latter type of work, cre-ated by modifying existing games, isusually referred to as mod art and isthe most visible form of videogameart. The reasons for this are easy tounderstand: FPS games provide theartist with a formidable set of fea-tures including a real-time 3-D ren-

dering engine with equally realistic3-D surround sound and a powerfulscripting language, and the applica-tions used to modify the games arerelatively easy to master.

Mod art has sometimes beendescribed, derogatively, as para-sitical as it relies on commercialvideogames, but this descriptionignores both the practicalities andaesthetics of digital art in general.It, too, is reliant upon proprietaryapplications (such as Flash or Pho-

toshop) and likewise has elementsof appropriation (with or withoutmanipulation) which although theyhave been around since Duchamp if not earlier have come into theirown with digital technologies. Digi-tal art presents inherent problemsif judged by traditional aestheticcriteria (particularly those whichemphasize originality, uniquenessand the hand of the artist). Thisdoes not mean, however, that digitalart is invalid; instead, it means that

the criteria of assessment need to bere-thought when applied to digitalworks (including videogame art).

So rather than regard mod art asparasitical, we feel it is more correctto describe it as a virus that producesmutations in its host. Mod artistshave found ways to subvert and mod-ify every aspect of the game. Theyhave placed themselves in the game(as in Feng Mengbos Q4U); theyhave turned games into abstract pat-terns (Jodis Untitled Game series) or

musical instruments (Julian OliversQTO); they have created virtual galler-ies (Fuchs and EckermannsVirtualKnowledge Space) and recreated realgalleries (Bernstrup and TorssonsMuseum Meltdown series).

But it is not just the diversity ofthe works produced that makesvideogame art so interesting. Everyexample of videogame art is a liminalwork as it lies by definition at theborder between the commercial vid-eogame and the artistic world. This

introduces a creative and intellectualtension within the works which is of-ten lacking in other forms of digitalart production.

Videogame artists routinely usetheir work to critique the gamesthat they use both as medium andraw material and to provocatively

BelowEscape from Woomera

by Julian Oliver and others

Museum Meltdown

by Tobias Bernstrup and Palle Torsso

Bottom

Marios Furniture (2003)

by Hillary Mushkin and S. E. Barnet

Videogame ArtChallenging and ProvocativeBy Grethe Mitchell and Andy Clarke


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intellectBook Focus


Theatre & PerformanceiQuote I think theatre should always be somewhat suspect. Vaclav Havel

Spaniards have been travelling to the past obsessively and un-comfortably in recent years in search of justice, reparation, rec-onciliation and, above all, their own collective identity. The civil

war of 1936 to 1939 resulted in a bloody annexation of national historyand identity by the right-wing forces led by Francisco Franco, whose re-gime occupied the territory and strictly controlled access to it for almost40 years. The transition to democracy after 1975 was founded upon aseries of difficult compromises made possible by a pacto del olvido anagreement to forget not only the pain and the blame but also the factthat there were precedents for the new values of liberty and democracyin that region of the past which was the Spanish Republic. It is onlyrecently that demands for the recuperation of historical memory havecome to the forefront of political debate, public opinion and media at-

tention, fed by the identification of large numbers of collective gravesof the victims of Francoist repression, legal claims for reparations anda stream of previously untold testimonies of suffering, injustice andheroism. A bill presented by the Government in 2006 incorporatingvarious measures intended to providerecognition and reparation to victimsand redress the commemorative imbal-ance left over from Francoism has beenfiercely resisted by conservatives reluc-tant to cast light on the skeletons litter-ing the landscape of the past, as well asby those who feel that the proposed leg-islation does not go far enough.

Historians, creative writers and film-makers, however, have for some timebeen rediscovering and re-mappingSpains past, including the dark cornersof the civil war and the dictatorship.Jos Mara Rodrguez Mndez (born in1925) is a playwright, journalist, essayistand novelist who has insistently madeSpanishness in the past and the presentthe core of his work. My bookPerformingSpanishness: History, Cultural Identity and

Censorship in the Theatre of Jos Mara Ro-

drguez Mndez is a comprehensive study of his theatre from the 1950sto the present, focusing particularly on his history plays and on hisrepresentations of cultural identity. He was one of the first dramatiststo challenge the Franco regimes dogmatic, chauvinistic definitionsof national history and identity, proposing instead a dynamic view ocollective identities emerging from the everyday social performancesof popular culture in resistance to official ideologies. In an essay ontraditional popular culture published in 1971, Rodrguez Mndez usethe term machismo espaol to sum up this process of identity construction in a surprising but ultimately productive way that acknowledgesthe negative gender implications of the conventional meaning ofmachismo but absorbs them into a broader and more positive concept ocollective creativity and rebellion. His plays show communities and in

dividuals (men and women, straight and gay, influential and marginalized) at various moments in Spanish history acting out the spirit omachismo espaol as a marker of community identity, an enabler of indi

vidual self-expression and a means of resistance to the ideological and

Jos MaraRodrguezMndez wasone of the firstdramatists tochallenge theFranco regimesdogmatic,chauvinisticdefinitions ofnational historyand identity...

Troubling Postcards from the PastThe past may be a foreign country, as L. P. Hartley suggested in The Go-Between,but it is never far from home. By Michael Thompson

Rodrguez Mndez in Barcelona / Photograph courtesy of J.M. Rodrguez Mndez


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Performing SpanishnessiQuote Good teaching is one-fourth preparation and three-fourths pure theatre. Gail Godw

cultural control exercised by the state and by dominant social groups.The other side of the coin is that Rodrguez Mndez offers a bleak pic-ture of contemporary society (since the civil war), in which the par-ticipative creativity enabled by traditional forms of popular culture hasbeen eroded by industrialization, political control and the spread ofthe mass media. This outlook becomes a cynical, sometimes simplis-tic or reactionary, view of post-Franco Spain which has ensured that heremains as difficult and unorthodox a figure in the liberal, democraticpresent as he was under the dictatorship. The past in his theatre is aforeign country that is, paradoxically, more Spanish; they do thingsmore colourfully and creatively there.

Despite the fact that Rodrguez Mndezs work never explicitlyexpressed political opposition to Francoism, he was one of the play-

wrights whose career was most severely damaged by the strict censor-ship maintained throughout the life of the regime. His plays providefascinating case studies of the unpredictable nature and stifling effect ofcensorship on theatre in Spain in the 1960s and 70s. The censors tended

to be uncertain about how to evaluate them, perceiving something their profound cultural dissidence often puzzlingly at odds with aapparently innocuous tone or conventional form but unable to agron exactly what made them dangerous. In a sense, Francos censopaid Rodrguez Mndez an unwelcome backhanded compliment, feaing his work to be more powerful and subversive than he could hahoped for. In the process, they repeatedly confirmed the political ancultural importance of history and the unsettling power of theatre make the past simultaneously more foreign and more immediate. {

FURTHER READINGPerforming Spanishness:History, Cultural Identity andCensorship in the Theatre of

Jos Mara Rodrguez MndezBy Michael Thompson | 19.95, $40

ISBN 978-1-84150-134-5

Performing Spanishness delves into the theatreof Spanish dramatist Jos Mara RodrguezMndez, one of the most significant Spanishplaywrights of the twentieth century and anacerbic cultural commentator.

This book traces the development ofRodrguez Mndezs work from the hardtimes of the Franco dictatorship through theuncertainties of the transition to democracy.Rodrguez Mndezs theatre is saturated by

the socially explosive concept of Spanishness,dramatized as a dazzling range of popularperformances of cultural identity in variousperiods from the middle ages to the present.The author locates this impression in RodrguezMndezs interpretation of machismo espaolas a volatile, universal articulation of Spanishidentity charged with the dissident voice ofpopular resistance to constraining political andideological structures.

The analysis of Rodrguez Mndezs workfrom the late 1950s to the mid-70s is enriched bydetailed evidence from censors reports, provid-ing fascinating case studies of the unpredictabil-ity of censorship under a dictatorial regime.

In a sense, Francos censorspaid Rodrguez Mndez anunwelcome backhandedcompliment, fearing his workto be more powerful andsubversive than he could havehoped for. In the process,they repeatedly confirmed thepolitical and cultural importanceof history and the unsettlingpower of theatre to make thepast simultaneously moreforeign and more immediate.

RightLos inocentes de la Moncloa, Teatro Cmico (Madrid),January 1964 / Photograph by Manuel Martnez Muoz

Far RightLa marca del fuego, Real Coliseo Carlos III (San Lorenzode El Escorial), November 1986 / Photograph by Chicho,courtesy of Centro de Documentacin Teatral, Madrid

BelowEl pjaro solitario, CEU San Pablo (Valencia), 1998 /Photograph courtesy of J.M. Rodrguez Mndez


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intellectBook Focus


Art & DesigniQuote The true work of art is but a shadow of the divine perfection. Michelangelo

The visual as an agent in the com-munication process has grownin importance as the means or

media through which it is transmitted hasexpanded, but it is rarely explored withthe same rigour as that shown for the ver-bal, as, for example, in linguistics. Thisstate of affairs could be accounted for byits apparent surface level innocence, itsengagement with the senses and, thus,it appears closer to the natural order ofthings. In terms of measurement, its ex-istence as analogue means that it is based

upon a continuous scale, upon degreesof difference, rather than the discretesteps accorded to the digital. Even in thecase of half-tones in print and electroni-cally generated images, the digitalizedis perceived perceptually as analogue, ascontinuous, not composed from separateelements, such as dots and pixels. Whencast in the register of language, a provinceof the digital, the visual undergoes loss,the loss, for example, of the subtle grada-tions that the eye can detect in colour andwords cannot explain. Likewise, there

is an inability to give full expression inlanguage to an aesthetic experience, forexample, the feelings engendered whenviewing mountain scenery. To these con-ditions we can also add the insufficiencyof words to express adequately the nu-ances of visually perceived cues in socialencounters, which are echoed in film andtelevision. Be that as it may, on closerinspection it will be seen that a properunderstanding of the implications of thevisual as a medium in the communicationprocess calls for an awareness that goes

beyond the obvious, beyond its place as

a medium given to sight. It calls upon asearch for connections and influencesthat play a part additional to that givento the eye. Thus we are led into fields asdiverse as those of, for example, psychol-ogy, semiology, information theory andaesthetics. Here we may find a rich sourceof established research and writing whichcan be drawn upon and used to uncoverthe hidden dimensions that lie behindthe whole enterprise that we call visualcommunication. At its base it is an intel-lectual activity, a search for relationships

and an awareness of the influence they

exert upon the observable surface of thevisual in communication.

While at the practical/physical level,visual media has undergone significantdevelopments, from print to photogra-phy, including moving images and morerecently to computer-generated images,and while its uses and abuses for politicaland other purposes are raised in mediacourses, the factors at work within theindividual viewer which coalesce to pro-duce visual awareness and visual knowingare rarely brought to the fore. Generally

The Visual in CommunicationSome Hidden Dimensions. By Harry Jamieson

Near Capel Curig, North Wales by B.W. Leader, Walker Art Gallery


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speaking, the medium itself becomes thefocus of attention, the wizardry of techni-cal innovations casts its spell, the visualassumes its pre-eminence as a carrier ofillusions.

The power of the visual in communi-cation relies upon its involvement withperception, the raw perception of beingin the world of the senses, and, thus, itmay be said that it is closer to nature than

other media which are not so clearly iden-tified. This raises a paradox that while itcarries this potential, its engagement withmedia introduces an arbitrary element,one that is shaped by social and culturalcodes and conditioning. Taken to ex-tremes the medium itself can appear to bereality, if only momentarily, for examplethe illusion of reality that film and televi-sion is able to generate, and, likewise,the illusion of reality that static imagesknown as trompe loeil can create.

Apart from the illusions which it can

generate, visual perception is, by itsnature, given to seeing things in contexts;its engagement with the world is alwayswith settings. This attribute, with itscloseness to the natural state of things,provides a significant clue not only tothe way in which inference or meaning isconstructed, but also to the feeling engen-dered by the form of the visual image, itsaesthetic. In both cases it is the relation-ships between the parts, their spatialproximity, that provides the significantclue to the way in which information is

inferred and aesthetic sensibility is felt.However, although the viewer of im-ages is presented with things in spatialproximity, natural in direct perceptionand artefactual in indirect, mediatedperception, it is only an offering of parts;in both instances it calls upon the mindto fuse the parts. The media creator offersparts in juxtaposition, the viewer is calledupon to integrate them. It is a dynamicact echoing visual perception itself, it isindividual. The fusion that takes placebecomes the meaning to that person, or

in the case of aesthetics, the feeling oremotion. Film and television in their rolas image generators are perfect exampleof this state of things, they are given onscreens; things, people and events areportrayed in spatial contexts. The contexmay change serially, over time, as in moving images, but there is always a given oan implied relationship which the viewehas to complete from his or her repertoi

of mental connections, it is a search ofmind which may be conscious or sub-conscious. Likewise, in abstract paint-ings the viewer is called upon to searchfor relationships between parts which,when made, may evoke feelings withoutany necessary recourse to verbalization oconceptualization; this we refer to as anaesthetic experience.

In all cases, when viewing images,static or moving, the same principle ap-plies; the mind is called upon to perceiveor search for relationships, to jump the

gaps between parts, to join that whichis proximal. The outcome of the searchdepends not only upon the motivation tocarry out the task but the preparednessof the mind that is carrying out the task.The in-forming the form that the mintakes as a result of the search, and theconnections it makes, is to that personthe meaning or, in the case of the aes-thetic, the feeling. The maker of imagesmoving or static, provides a spatial con-text in which he or she has placed (or haarranged to be placed) specific elements

with the intention that, when fused, theviewer will be informed (in-formed) in thway intended.

To the importance of spatial proximitywe must add another term that is relevanto the study of visual communication,namely, the place of the icon. Here wemove into the shaded territory of theverbal, and here the proximity factorthat we saw as a spatial entity shifts toan ideational one. The ground is openedfor symbolism, for the icon to be readas metaphor. Thus the relationship that

Intellect Quarterly |

Visual CommunicationiQuote The idea of a mass audience was really an invention of the Industrial Revolution. David Cronenbe

The power of the visualin communication reliesupon its involvementwith perception, the rawperception of being in theworld of the senses, and,

thus, it may be said that it iscloser to nature than othermedia which are not soclearly identified.

Highway, USA


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intellectBook Focus

we discussed earlier, the one of spatialproximity, is extended to incorporate afurther dimension which may be termedideational proximity. The physicality ofthe spatial is replaced by the space of themind, a search for connections in an-other mode, in another set, the icon actsas metaphor, standing for something elsewhich has to be drawn from another poolpresent only in the mind.

On the grounds put forward here, weare now in a position to posit a connec-tion with linguistics. The spatial proxim-ity factor and the relationships observedin images is known in linguistics asmetonymy, whereas when the image isemployed as icon it takes on the mantleof metaphor. The importance of the visualimage in this scheme of things is that itcan take upon itself, in one image, eachof these roles. For example, it can displayfeatures that, by their physical proxim-ity within a frame, suggest a particular

meaning; it can arouse feelings throughthe arrangement of the form withoutconcern for meaning; and, it can, asicon, represent an idea, bring to mindsomething which is not observed but onlysuggested. However, in all cases, thereis a relationship issue. When employedas metonymy, the clue is found in spatialrelationships, whereas when employed asmetaphor, as icon, the relationship is notthere before the eye but in the recessesof the mind. In the first place, that ofmetonymy, there is a physical presence,

in the second, that of metaphor, the pres-ence is one of thought.

In this article, some of the unobserv-able dimensions surrounding the visualin communication have been brought tolight, it could be extended to include manyothers; for example, the tacit dimension,the covert visual cues which inform andgovern so much of human intercourse andtheir employment in moving images. Whatbecomes obvious is that the surface levelof the visual hides much deeper strata. {


Art & DesigniQuote To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong. Joseph Chilton Pearce

Above Print by Derrick Hawker, 1975

Right Sibylla Palmifera by D.G.

Rosetti, Lady Lever Art Gallery

Visual Communication:More Than Meets the EyeBy Harry Jamieson | 14.95, $30 ISBN 978-1-84150-141-3

We exist in a visual culture. The im-portance of reading and interpreting

signs has become a rapidly increasingconcern in recent years. This book

offers an intricate theoretical per-spective regarding the study of visual

communication and expands theacademic arena for debate concern-

ing the visual.Veering away from normative

approaches, the author advances

with original strides into new ways ofunderstanding the visual experi-

ence. Departing from aesthetic andgraphic-based directions, the book

employs information and languagetheory to support an enquiry into

the connection between percep-tion and linguistics. In dealing with

ideas, rather than solutions, the bookresonates with a philosophical tenor.

However, the author is effective inproviding a practical basis for many

of the issues discussed alongsidethis theoretical stance. This book is

targeted at a wide range of interdis-

ciplinary readers including media,cultural and communication studies

and particularly those with interestsin visual theory.F

urtherre

ading

...I think the wholedigital revolutionhas fostered atolerence for error.In turn this toleranceis producing ageneration of lazybutton pushers.


15/32

New for 2007/8

Intellect JournalsPublishers of original thinking / www.intellectbooks.com

Creative IndustriesJournal3 Numbers/Volume 1

ISSN 1751-0694


The Creative Industries

Journal studies talent and thepotential for wealth creation

in advertising, architecture,

the art & antiques market,

crafts, design, fashion, film,

interactive leisure software,

music, the performing arts,

publishing, television and

radio. The journal provides aforum to challenge definitional

assumptions, advance the

social, economic, cultural, and

political understanding andengagement with the creative

industries at local, national and

transnational levels.

Northern Lights1 Number/Volume 6

ISSN 1601-829X


Northern Lights: Film andMedia Studies Yearbook

has an emphasis on film,television and new media. The

publication takes the form of

a book-length anthology of

articles related to a specific

theme, incorporating somedeviations to add diversity of

content. Northern Lights was

first published in 2002 and

acquired by Intellect in 2006

as an excellent companion to

their film studies titles.

The Soundtrack3 Numbers/Volume 1ISSN 1751-4193


The Soundtrackfocuses itsattention on the aural elements

which combine with moving

images. It regards the sounds

which accompany the visuals

not as a combination of dispa-

rate disciplines, but as a unifiedand coherent entity. In addition

to the scholarly contribution ofacademics, the journal will give

voice to the development of

professional practice.

Journal of Adaptationin Film & Performance3 Numbers/Volume 1

ISSN 1753-5190


Adaptation in the form of the

conversion of oral, historicalor fictional narratives into

stage drama has been common

practice for centuries. In our

own time the processes of

cross-generic transformation

continue to be extremely

important in theatre as well

as in the film and other media

industries. Adaptation and the

related areas of translation and

intertextuality continue to have

a central place in our culture

with a profound resonance

across our civilisation.

Journal of Arab andMuslim Research

3 Numbers/Volume 1

ISSN 1751-9411


TheJournal of Arab and MuslimMedia Research will reviewunprecedented developments

in Arab and Muslim media

during the last ten years. Theemergence of satellite TV, the

internet and digital technology

have dramatically changed

the way audiences receive

information and interact withthe media. The sudden success

of Al-Jazeera channel and other

Arab broadcasters have altered

the way the Arab world narrates

itself and reports news from the

region to the rest of the world.

INTELLECT OFFERn

For a print sample issue for 10 or a free electronic copy contact: Intellect. PO Box 862. Bristol BS99 1DE, UK

Tel: 44 (0)117 958 9910 / Fax: 44 (0)117 958 9911 / E-mail: [email protected] / www.intellectbooks.com

NEW2008TITLESWWW.INTELLECTBOOKS.COM


16/32

intellectBook Focus


Media & CultureiQuote Dont hate the media, become the media. Jello Biafra

Television is all shook up!In the post-broadcastingpresent of television, new

structures, finances, technolo-gies and players dominate theglobal mediaspace. One of themost important of these newengines is the new worldwidesystem for the distribution andproduction of programmingbased on the principle of the TVformat. All television programs like all other human arte-

facts can be variously copied,imitated, cloned, adapted,counterfeited, parodied and soon quite irrespective of what onethinks of the results. The TVformat principle, then, simplyincreases the adaptability of aprogram from place to placeand from time to time. It doesthis by systematically gatheringtogether into a total package theset of knowledges, skills, infor-mation and other data which

will make it easier to produceanother version of the program.Hence, one homely way in whichthe international TV industrythinks about formats is as akinto cooking recipes out of whichattractive and engaging concoc-tions can be prepared. A muchmore useful way of understand-ing the TV format is in terms ofbeing a franchising service thatproducers prepare for licenseesin other television territories. A

franchise from MacDonalds of-fers much more than tips on howto prepare hamburgers and fries.Hence, a TV program formatfranchise is a complex and com-prehensive body of knowledgethat not only offers a lot of adviceon how to make a particular pro-gram but also carries significantinformation and advice in suchareas as financing, program-ming, scheduling, promotion,marketing and so on.

However, the full significanceof this extension to parts of theservice industry of franchis-ing cannot be confined to thephenomenon of worldwidecirculation of such formattedprograms as Big Brother, Pop Idoland Changing Rooms. Instead, theformat principle has acted asTrojan Horse to two highly sig-nificant developments in the areaof international programmingdistribution and production.

For franchising is, primarily, ameans of distributing a serviceon a large, international scale

where the franchise becomesa means of drawing a series ofsmall geographically dispersedcompanies in the areas of pro-duction and transmission intorelationship with a centralizedbody which is in the businessof franchising out to nationallylocal companies. In turn, it is

with the latter, often working in

conjunction with an experiencedvisiting producer provided bythe licensor, who actually bringsthe German or the Australian

version of Dancing with the Starsinto existence. Because much ofthe latter processes have beentemplated, it is best to think

of this latter set of processesas manufacturing rather thanproducing. Hence, a secondsignificant effect of the globalTV format is to fracture programproduction into creative work onthe one hand and manufacture

work on the other and to alsodespatialize them in the process.

Altogether, it is high time thatthis new engine of internationaltelevision was better understoodand investigated. {

...one homelyway in which theinternational TVindustry thinksabout formats is

as akin to cookingrecipes out ofwhich attractiveand engagingconcoctions canbe prepared.

Televisions New EngineThe Principle of the TV Format. By Albert Moran

Eddie McGuire in Australias Who Wants to be a Millionaire!



Televisions New EngineiQuote The advertisements are the most truthful part of a newspaper. Thomas Jefferso

FURTHER READINGUnderstanding theGlobal TV FormatBy Albert Moran with Justin Malbon19.95, $40 / ISBN 978-1-84150-132-1

In this concise and well-researched

study, the authors examine the global

television format as an entity in itself

and monitor the developmental stages

from conception to distribution.

The book charters the exceptional

success of such shows as Big Brother

and Who Wants to be a Millionaire and

in turn the powerful influence these

programmes have commanded in

shaping the global television industry.

Focusing on the marketing of culturaldemand, the TV format is shown to

have evolved into a commodity blue-

print, which is then imitated, marketed

and sold for mass consumption.

Understanding the Global TV Format

addresses the different stages and is-

sues of the broadcasting business. The

book tracks the steps whereby formats

are devised, developed and distributed.

Major companies are profiled, as are

the international markets and festivals

at which trade occurs.

RT and the Globalisation of Irish TelevisionBy Farrel Corcoran / 14.95, $30 / ISBN 978-1-84150-090-4

For about 40 years, RTEs radio and television channels have played an enormorole in shaping Irish social and cultural life. As the national publicly owned afunded broadcaster, RTE is the biggest cinema, school, sports stadium, marksquare, performance stage, town crier and concert hall in Ireland. It sets the ageda for the national conversation that drives modern Ireland.

This work is a study of the structural transformations now taking place in Iribroadcasting. The book will focus on the broadcasting section generally, but pmarily on RTE, as it adjusts to a number of radical changes in the field of forc

whose impact began to accelerate in the mid-1990s. The book will take the forma critical history of the present and an investigation of the future of broadcastiin Ireland. Its analytical framework will be situated within the broader contextcontemporary European media policy and trends in the global structure of the ctural industries as they adjust to the deployment of digital compression technoogy, increasing conglomeration in the media industry worldwide and new regutory regimes profoundly influenced by the ideology of market liberalism.

RTEs work is frequently shrouded in secrecy and mystique, which means thconspiracy theories abound about how it is governed and how it relates to variopower centres in Irish life. This book is firmly aimed at increasing the transparenthat should characterise public broadcasting and demystifying this national instution that plays such an enormous role in the cultural and political life of IrelanThere is a huge appetite for such a book because of the general high level of curioity about the institutional life of the national broadcaster and because no serious

analytical book on RTE has appeared on the market for over twenty years.

Sensing the City through Television:Urban identities in fictional dramaBy Peter Billingham / 14.95, $30 / ISBN 978-1-84150-842-9

An investigation of the fictional representations of the city in contemporary Britiand American television drama, assessing their political, sociological and cultuimplications. The book draws on the following five key case studies for specific adetailed analysis: Queer as Folk Armistead Maupins Tales of the City The CopHomicide - Life on the Street Holding On.

Each is discussed in terms of structure, content, characterisation and narrativand placed within its specific ideological context. The case studies represent interesting range of British and American cities and city sub-cultures. The authextends his analysis to investigate the intrinsic issues related to the implicatioof popular and high drama and culture. Featuring excerpts of exclusive interviewith Tony Garnett and members of the production team of The Cops and ToMarchant and David Snodin ofHolding On.

As one of the first substantial investigations of the city in television drama, thbook reflects a growing general interest in the politics of representation. It is aldesigned for accommodation into the very popular academic courses on dramand in film and media studies: as a textbook and for supplementary reading.

TO ORDER THE BOOKS ABOVE, GO TO WWW.INTELLECTBOOKS.COM

MORE BOOKSOF INTERESTn


18/32

Spring

Books

intellect books| Film Studies / Theatre & Performance / Art & Design / Media & Culture

Film, Drama and theBreak-Up of BritainBy Steve Blandford

19.95 / $40.00

ISBN 978-1-84150-150-5

Paperback, 230 x 174mm

This book engages with ideas that are

highly topical and relevant: nationalism,

nationhood and national identity as well

as the relationship of these to post-co-

lonialism. However, it does so within

the broad field of drama. Examining the

debates around the relationship between

culture and national identity, the book

documents the contributions of actual

dramatists and film-makers to the chron-

icling of an important historical moment.

Breaking down what have been tra-

ditional barriers between theatre, film

and television studies, the text takes into

consideration the very broad range ofways in which the creators of dramatic

fictions are telling us stories about our-

selves at a time when the idea of being

British is increasingly problematic. A

very wide range of material is discussed

in the book, ranging from box-office hits

such as The Full Montyto community-

based theatre in Scotland and Wales.

Film Studies

Reclaiming the MediaEdited by Bart Cammaertsand Nico Carpentier

19.95 / $40.00

ISBN 978-1-84150-163-5

Paperback, 230 x 174mm

It hardly goes uncontested anymore that

media organizations play an importantrole in democracy. The main questions

have now become whether the contem-

porary media conjuncture offers enough

to our democracies, how their democratic

investment can be deepened and how our

communication rights can be expanded.

This book looks at four thematic areas

that structure the opportunities for

democratizing (media) democracy.

Section one is devoted to citizenship

and the public spheres, giving special

attention to the general theme of com-

munication rights. Section two elaborates

further on a notion central to communica-tion rights, namely that of participation.

Section three returns to the traditional

representational role in relation to de-

mocracy and citizenship, scrutinizing and

criticizing the democratic efforts of con-

temporary journalism. Section four moves

outside of the (traditional) media system,

and deals with the diversity of media and

communication strategies of activists.

Media & Culture

One for the Girls: ThePleasures and Practices ofReading Womens PornByClarissa Smith

29.95 / $55.00

ISBN 978-1-84150-164-2

Hardback, 230 x 174mm

Against the claims of the increasing

sexualization of culture, one truism is

constantly rehearsed that women have

little taste for pornography. In One for

the Girls!, a new basis for understanding

womens pleasures in sexually explicit

materials is offered, focusing on the

production and consumption ofFor

Women magazine. This thought-provok-

ing book argues that theories of harm and

womens subordination have deflected

attention away from the lived experi-

ences and practices of pornography.

The book examines the ways in which

pornography has become a favouredrepository of social fears and debunks

the myth of the evil pornographer

producing images of objectified women

for troubled male viewers. By focusing

on an individual publication, this book il-

luminates the ways in which pornography

is a social product and subject to a range

of institutional practices which influence

its styles and presentations.

Media & Culture

Order from www.intellectbooks.com



Q&AiQuote There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you its going to be a butterfly. Buckminster Full

Practice-led research is getting a lot of attention

lately in the Arts, Film and Media around universitie

in Britain? What does it mean?

Thats the question on everyones lips! The Arts and Humanities Rsearch Council (AHRC) is currently investigating what the variosubject communities mean by practice-led research. Subject assocations from Architecture, Fine Art, Art and Design, Dance and DramMusic and Creative Writing, among others, are considering this, ana national Steering Committee has been set up by the AHRC, and w

report back in early 2007. Without preempting what the AHRC Committee and Subject Associations might say my definition would be rsearch undertaken through creative practice, most often resulting the production of an original piece of creative work.So practice-led research means creative practice?To a large extent. However... ! Many practice-led research projecalso incorporate some record or element of critical analysis. I call tha piece of responsive critical understanding. That is, something thshows the creative practitioner understands their own practice anthe practice of others, within context, and is able to respond to thand show that understanding. This is also important in a universienvironment because universities need to show that, through teacing and research, they have enhanced a body of knowledge, and th

practitioners critical response assists in articulating that knowledggain in such things, say, as postgraduate research degrees in filmmaking or creative writing or digital media production or drama.Doesnt that make such postgraduate degrees almost two degreeThats something that can happen, if the thing is done badly. Its im

portant to see the creative practice anthe critical understanding as a complepackage, not as two separate things.But dont you think this kind of rsearch can have a negative effect: thit might make creative practice acdemic rather than about the creatinof something in its own right?

Thats an interesting angle to consideFirstly, we have to remember that Higer Education has always involved highlearning in creative practice. AlwayFrom Platos Academy onward and els

where, beyond the western world, plaes of higher learning have been placof advanced creative practice. Second

we have to wonder why the explicatioand examination of practice in the crative industries subjects still concersome people its as if somehow Rmantic ideas about creative genius pr

Practice-Led ResearchQ&A with Graeme Harper, editor ofThe Journal of Creative Industries

So we argue that the questionshould no longer be do themedia cause violence? butwhat factors may be importantin adding to the potential of themedia to cause (harm/offence)among a range of factors?

Video Conference Glass Cube, CAST (Bangor) / Photo: GH


20/32

vail and are undermined by close consideration of creative practice.They dont and, anyway, theyre not! What does undermine creativepractice, I believe, is a failure to give it university kudos; that is, a fail-ure to recognize its importance in and around universities. That lackof kudos we have to work on and counter by promoting universities asplaces of creative teaching and creative practice research.What kinds of things have you seen going on in practice-led research?The list is not as endless as it might be! Certainly areas of thematicstudy: someone producing a film or a novel or a set of paintings basedon a theme, and then investigating that theme as a cultural phenom-

enon. Areas also of structural and form-based research: practice-ledresearchers attempting to evolve an established creative form and,then, investigating in their critical responses the historical context andthen contemporary difficulty of moving that particular form on. Also,areas of research involving the links between self and society throughcreative works whether new media, drama, film, music or otherwise.Sometimes the latter focuses on looking at other individual practitio-ners and their contributions, modes of working, or life histories andthen producing original work that reflects on the links between thatcreative and working life and the practice-led researchers own cre-ative work. At present what limits the range of practice-led researchgoing on is perhaps not so much a lack of ideas. If that were the casewed be in trouble! What limits the range is a lack of a set of practice-

led research definitions, theories and models in our fields and, thus, alack of confidence that such research will be supported by universitiesand research councils.So that is what the AHRC is currently considering?Yes. The importance of current national discussions on practice-ledresearch cannot be overem-phasized. Creative practice isa mode of engaging with theWorld, and it is a mode of ex-amining the things and ideasin and around us, investigatingthem, exchanging ideas aboutthem, advancing our engage-

ment with, and understandingof, them. The range of practice-led research in Britain is alreadycutting edge in many ways, butas yet it is not as well recognizedand internationally known as itcould be. The new Creative In-dustries interest from govern-ments worldwide has helped toraise questions about practice-led research that should havebeen asked some time ago. Butthats fine we can ask them

now. And make inroads into answering them!What kind of questions?Quite basic, but fundamental, ones. Such as: where is practice-led research taking place? What activities does practice-led research coverWho is doing practice-led research? Who financially supports practice-led research currently at least? How is practice-led researchacknowledged? Those kinds of things. Questions about the researchitself, but also about its cultural, economic and societal importance.So the future of practice-led research, then?Is very exciting, for starters! Its full of possibilities around the idea

of exploring ideas, subjects and themes through the production ooriginal creative work. Fantastic possibilities! Once better acknowl-edgement is given to this type of activity as a way of investigating, ex-amining and responding to questions then more opportunities ariseto create collaborative work, to link up creative practitioners with critical specialists in order to investigate modes of human understandingto support cutting-edge creative projects that might reveal more abouourselves and our World, as well as enhance the dimensions of culture. Similarly, cross-cultural work, work between arts and sciencesthoughts about technologies and their impact on creative practiceThis is just a small cross section of the probable future. Much of thisis happening already, but it is often poorly supported financially, andsometimes poorly supported politically, within universities. The future

is about recognizing the university as a creative place and a place of excellence in learning, and making more of the wonderful link betweenthose two important things.{


Media & CultureiQuote Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties. Erich Fromm

The range of prac-tice-led research inBritain is alreadycutting edge in

many ways, but asyet it is not as wellrecognized and in-ternationally knownas it could be.

Sculpture, Centre for Advanced Software Technology (CAST) / Photo: GH


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NEW INTELLECT TITLE FUTURES PAST:30 YEARS OF ARTS COMPUTING n


Art & DesigniQuote The world is but a canvas to the imagination. Henry David Thorea

One of the most vivid modern metaphors for light is its allegoricembodiment of electricity. Although invisible, electricity is of-

ten represented by brightly coloured sparks and flashes. In thecollective consciousness light is the true substance of electricity. On acomputer, small flickering lights indicate an active hard drive or networkconnection. Many people are familiar with the image of HAL, the computerwhich played a leading role in Stanley Kubricks film 2001, A Space Odyssey.HALs physical presence was manifested by a visual sensor: a simple lenslit by an inner, reddish glow. Arthur C. Clark describes HAL as a simplespherical lens in his epic. The red glow was Kubricks addition; it allowed himto animate HAL with an inner fire givingHAL a disconcertingly human feel. Thisis directly linked with both metaphoricaland metaphysical aspects of light: since

the origin of humankind, light has rep-resented and embodied what is invisibleand intangible, as well as what has disap-peared.

Visual culture is here and now and its he-gemony within our cities no longer needsto be proved. Light, being the essence ofany visual communication, and new tech-nologies, as prevailing information vec-tors, have both played a leading role inthe hegemonic expansion of visuality inthe City. The proliferation of neon signs,plasma screens, and lighted shop windows are all symptomatic. The his-

tory of urbanism tells us that the City has always been the birthplace ofevery paroxysm: technological, social, cultural, artistic and economic.From this perspective, the City has, naturally, become the temple whereall forms of visual media are not just celebrated but even over-consumed.Cities have become the privileged scene of this complete and radical trans-formation of the rhythm of human society. A new architectural approachto light has become widespread: in the course of the last few years thenovelty of new architecture lies more in the way that it is illuminated thanin its outer design.

Architects and town planners have always obsessively sought to masterlight, but it has proved ever-elusive. The discovery of electricity and itslarge-scale generation provided the first true opportunity to push backthe night. From this perspective, light, which was initially used to make

our streets safer, has swiftly become a powerful tool which rationalizand signposts the City at nightfall. At night, a city is first announced fro

the distance to an approaching traveller by its diffused lights in the skHowever, owing to the development and democratization of new tecnologies, urban lighting schemes have entered a new age and, accompanying this, an alternative and oneiric approach to light has emergeThis has lead to a significant break with the traditional comprehensioof light in the City.

Two artists in particular have embraced this new approach to urbalighting: the French light designer YanKersal and the Japanese architect ToIto in collaboration with the engineer Koru Mende. Using very complex lightinsystems, made of sensors and computerthese artists can materialize and visua

ize environmental phenomena such noises, draughts, the current of a river aninvisible human activity on the buildinthemselves. Thereby they intend to mabuildings fit back into their historical ansocio-geographical environment.

This type of project is not exclusiveJapanese or French. When Jonathan Spe was asked in 1996 to design the lightiof the technical tower of Bridgewater Hin Manchester, he decided to turn it intoTower of Time. There are three different lig

indexations: the interior lighting changes according to the zodiac cycl

while light on the exterior reflects the time of year, starting with green fspring, and running through yellow, red and blue, denoting each subsquent season in a gradual wash of colour. Last but not least, lines of ligtubing delineate the eight storeys of the building and indicate the day the week. This complex abstract clock obviously echoes ancient observtories like Stonehenge and the ancient desire to adjust human activity natural cycles.

In 1997, James Turrell was commissioned to light the office buildinand computer centre for the natural gas industry, the Verbundnetz AG Leipzig. The building is totally self-sufficient in terms of energy due both its own gas-fuelled power station and to a system adjusting the heaing and air-circulating systems. The artist decided to index his lighting this autarchic technological world. The light colours vary according to t

The proper artistic response todigital technology is to embraceit as a new window on everything

thats eternally human, and touse it with passion, wisdom,fearlessness and joy.

ralph lombreglia

Indexed LightsText by Pierre Auboiron The artist is always engaged in writing a detailed history of the

future because he is the only person aware of the nature of the present. Wyndham Lewis


22/3222 | Intellect Quarterly

Indexed LightsiQuote All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once they grow up. P. Picasso

temperature that the energy supplier provides. According to Turrell, Lightshould be a material with which we build. This suggestion echoes amonglight designers throughout the last third of the twentieth century.

Thanks to the sensitive application of new technologies, these artistsmake concepts and aspects of our everyday life visible and more tangible.Thereby, they try to fight the decline in interpersonal communication intodays urban life which is one of the results of increasing visuality. Inthis instance, computers, associated with light, act like prostheses andcompensate for our inability to comprehend our environment in its en-tire complexity. They materialize phenomena we can no longer perceive

because we have developed our visual sense to the detriment of our othersenses. Here the artists work does not deal with creating something newbut with making existing things visible. Ito, Turrell, or Kersal, do notclaim to produce an aesthetic experience in their work. They do not uselight for its ability to mesmerize, but for its ability to embody the intan-

gible. They teach us how to lookagain at our direct environmenby looking beyond the static, aesthetic veneer which now coverand conceals all aspects of societyKaoru Mende commented that weare getting fewer opportunities toenjoy the sense of changing timePart of the reason is that we havebecome accustomed to lighting

environments which always staythe same. Thanks to this visuaexperience, people are becomingvisually aware of the complex andhighly interwoven societal systemin which we live. This concur

with the desire of contemporararchitects to incorporate light aa material in its own right as welas providing nocturnal visibilitywhen designing public buildingsFrom this perspective, they offer amore organic and intimate percep

tion of their buildings by depriving them of any precise outlinesand invading them with light.

We may now moderate the widespread notion that computers are synonymous with a coldand sanitized individuality. Foinstance, when Yann Kersal oToyo Ito tell the story of a particular building or district, they force

the viewer to gaze afresh at the world. The current association of lighand new technologies in large Light Festivals represents a new step intodays re-appropriation of our urban and technological environments

The City has become much more than a simple artistic subject, it is nowa large-scale location for societal experimentation. It seems that the lasgaps in dreams must be sought in the eye of the visual whirlwind itselfin other words, in the City itself. {

Pierre Auboiron is a Ph.D. student of Contemporary Art History at Pan-

thon-Sorbonne University in Paris. His research is concerned with light

as a material in current artistic practices, such as installations, videos,

projections, architecture and theatre. Drawing on his background in visual

electrophysiology and his interest in visual semiotics, he is currently writ-

ing a textbook of visual physiology for Art History students.

They teach us howto look again at ourdirect environmentby looking beyondthe static, aestheticveneer which

now covers andconceals all aspectsof society.

Left and Below Le thtre-temps (1993)

Yann Kersal AIK

Above La ville-fleuve (19911998)

Yann Kersal AIK


23/32

FURTHER READING

Futures Past: Thirty Years of

Arts Computing| Computers &the History of Art Series Vol. 2

Edited by Anna Bentkowska-Kafel,Trish Cashen and Hazel Gardiner19.95, $40.00 / ISBN 978-1-84150-168-0

Eleven contributors to this volume reflect upon the unprecedented ways inwhich digital media have been transforming art practice, study and educa-

tion. The authors researchers, teachers, custodians of art collections

and picture libraries, and an artist cover a wide range of issues, arguingfor a more profound understanding of digital culture. With the benefit ofhindsight it is now possible to look at futures past and assess the dispari-

ties between earlier visions of the future and reality. Frank accounts aregiven of projects which had promised great advances but failed to deliver,

and others that have not only survived but continue to flourish. Anotheraccount demonstrates how an individual can make a difference to stu-

dents learning by applying new technologies in a very pragmatic way. One

of the most exciting advancements hinted at in this volume are the waysin which communities of interest are developing shared resources and cul-

tivating a richer use of common vocabulary and standards to transmit anabundance of knowledge and experience. A look forward to the Semantic

Web promises an even wider sharing of knowledge.

FURTHER READING

Digital Art History | Computers& the History of Art Series Vol. 1

Edited by Anna Bentkowska-Kafel,Trish Cashen and Hazel Gardiner19.95, $40.00 / ISBN 978-1-84150-116-1

This collection of papers represents the variety, innovation and richness

of significant presentations made at the CHArt Conferences of 2001 and

2002. Some show new methods of teaching being employed, making

clear in particular the huge advantages that IT can provide for engaging

students in learning and interactive discussion. It also shows how muchis to be gained from the flexibility of the digital image or could be gained

if the road block of copyright is finally overcome. Some papers here show

how it also offers the opportunity of exploring the structure of images and

dealing with the fascinating possibilities offered by digitisation for visual

analysis, searching and reconstruction. Another challenging aspect cov-

ered here are the possibilities offered by digital media for new art forms.

One point that emerges is that digital art is not some discreet practice,

separated from other art forms. It is rather an approach that can involve

all manner of association with both other art practices and with other

forms of presentation and enquiry, demonstrating that we are witnessing

a revolution that affects all our activities and not one that simply leads to

the establishment of a new discipline to set alongside others.

FREEBIESPREVIEWSDISCOUNTSPRIZESwww.intellectbooks.com


Art & DesigniQuote You come to nature with all her theories, and she knocks them all flat. Reno

ESTABLISHED IN 1985, Computers and the History of Art(CHArt) isan independent, international group of academics, students andprofessionals. CHArt looks at the transformation that Arts and ArtHistory are undergoing through engagement with digital technology.

CHArts original, largely university-based, membership wasaugmented over the years by members from museums and artgalleries, as well as individuals involved in the management of visualand textual archives and libraries. More recently CHArt has become a

forum for the exchange of ideas concerned with all aspects of visualculture. CHArt continues to promote this activity in a number of ways.

CHArt publications draw from the CHArt annual, two-dayconference, which focuses on topical issues and current developmentsin the field. Papers and a newsletter are published online atwww.chart.ac.uk. Papers also appear in the CHArt Yearbook, which has beenpublished by Intellect Books since 2005.


24/32

024 filmfeatureexclusive interview living alone

FURTHER READINGBroadcasters andCitizens in EuropeEdited by Paolo Baldi & Uwe Hasebrink29.95, $55 / ISBN 978-1-84150-160-4

In this book, five authors present

the main results of an extensive

programme of research that wasfinanced by the European Com-

mission. The study was conducted

in 29 European countries and

each author analyses European

trends from different but com-

plementary perspectives: from

the broadcasters side (media

accountability and responsibility,

including the key role of Public

Service Broadcasting); from the

citizens side (viewers participa-

tion mechanisms) and from the

regulatory side (legal instrumentswhich protect viewers rights).


Media & CultureiQuote All media exist to invest our lives with artificial perceptions and arbitrary values. M. McLuhan

FEW PEOPLE would disagreewith the idea that broadcasting isone of the most important facilita-tors of the democratic process.European citizens are constantlyasked to express their views andopinions on increasingly complexissues: consequently they havedeveloped legitimate expecta-tions regarding the broadcastingoutput, notably to providing the

cultural resources required for afull and modern citizenship. Fromthe Iraq conflict to the Europeanelections (including the vote onthe EU Constitution); from thereforms of educational or pensionfunding systems to the debate onthe climate or nutrition changes,European citizens need to be ap-propriately involved by the media.They need extensive coverage,accurate treatment and editorialindependence. Beyond news, citi-

zens expect knowledge orientedprogramming. The very conceptsof democracy and welfare arebased on such simple but vitalprovision of civic services.

Everybody agrees on that. Butif we look at the (recent) im-poverishment of the televisionprogramming and in parallel at the difficulties that nationalgovernments and media authori-ties encounter in regulating (thatis, improving) the broadcasting

output we discover a real paradox:a discrepancy between declaredpolitical objectives and the avail-able television output. As a matterof fact, broadcasters (including thepublic service broadcasters) areprobably the most reluctant insti-tutions and here is the paradox in accepting to be accountable tosociety. In other sectors of activity like the financial one socialresponsibility, corporate gover-nance, accountability and trans-

parency have recently acquiredthe status of serious issues to beurgently addressed: in all sectorsexcept in what is unanimouslycalled the most important one:the broadcasting sector.

This situation has its socialcosts. Inferior programmingcannot be considered simply asa bad show that people are notobliged to watch. The growingpresence of poor programming inthe European schedules prevents

any other type of programmingreaching viewers. Too many andtoo important are the sectors ofthe society health, employment,environment, education, etc. that are damaged by poor pro-gramming. In short, beyond themoralistic attitude that demonizestrash or cheap television, thereis a more simple and urgent issueof knowledge availability.

The multiplication of the digitalplatforms (Internet, broadband,

mobile phone, etc.) does notchange the nature of the problemand its political urgency. Televi-sion is still playing a centralrole in our lives as we are stillspending an important part ofour time watching what few andincreasingly concentrated mediacorporations produce and dis-seminate via the classic platforms(cable, satellite and terrestrial) orthe new digital ones.As a matterof fact, the broadcasting output

in all its variety of genres (news,sports, movies, cartoons, events,etc.) is still the golden contentthat all the platform operatorsin all the countries are fightingfor. In short, television program-ming is and will be regardlessthe platform that we will use orthe screen we will watch theprimary source of information

that people have at their disposalfor shaping their opinions andfor participating, therefore, in thedemocratic process.{

From the Iraq conflict to the Europeanelections... from the reforms ofeducational or pension funding systemsto the debate on the climate or nutritionchanges, European citizens need to beappropriately involved by the media.

Media and DemocracyA Strange ParadoxBy Paolo Baldi and Uwe Hasebrink


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intellectBook Focus

Storozhevas The Frenchman


Film StudiesiQuote Everyone has a photographic memory. Some dont have film. Unknow

PRIDE AND PANIC: Russian

Imagination of the West in Post-So-

viet Film examines film images,characters and themes in order toinvestigate how Russia has reactedand adjusted to the expansionof western capital and culture inRussia itself. My analysis fo-cuses generally on Russian filmsproduced after the collapse of theSoviet Union, paying special atten-

tion to those made during the lastfive to six years a period in whichthe Russian film industry began torevive and became more market-oriented, fully reflecting socialangst. In drawing on film imagery,I address a number of compellingquestions: How is the image ofthe other constructed in recentRussian film? Is it possible toembrace a foreign culture and besimultaneously afraid of it? Howdoes this fear affect the perception

of self and other in an ever-chang-ing identity formation? What arethe fantasies and defenses thatoperate when national and culturalidentity is in flux?

This book studies Russiasimagination of the West as itdeveloped at the turn of the millen-nium, an imagination which in itsshifting sentiments, fantasies, fearsand anxieties resembles changessimilar to those the adolescent un-dergoes in search of a more stable

and permanent identity. Russiannational identity adjusts to stagger-ing political, social, economic andcultural transformations occurringin Russia and in the global world.In this adjustment, the Russiancollective imagination reacts to thewestern presence in Russian societyand culture as it exhibits disparateattitudes that take the form ofsuperfluous and impatient relations

with the (western) other, aggressiveand paranoid urges, complete rejec-tion of external (western) models,search for positive internal sources(past and culture) for identification,and a more mature and reflectiveperception of self (Russia) andother (West) with their constructiveand destructive aspects.

Attempting to establish linksbetween political ideology, psy-choanalysis and cinema, I havealso traced the shifting dynamics

of Russias fantasy of the West asit appears in post-Soviet cinema.Thus, my cultural critique (literatein fantasy) of early 1990s filmsreveals the apparently illusion-ary nature of this fantasy asmanifested in clichd images andpatriotic messages. The collapseof the Berlin Wall tempted Russianviewers with unimagined oppor-tunities, but, as it becomes clearin the films, these opportunitieswere deceptive and the fantasy of

the West remained potent. In themid-1990s when the West becamea part of Russian life, the distancebetween the (Russian) subject andhis/her fantasy collapsed and newfantasies emerged, namely ag-gressive anti-western sentimentsas well as admiration for Russias

moral superiority (evident inBalabanovs films).

To compensate for a global trau-matic experience, Russias searchfor a new national identity findsexpressions in films that glorifyRussias uniqueness in history,art and religion. MikhalkovsThe

Barber of Siberia andSokurovs Rus-sian Arkturn the Russian viewersattention to Russias rich history ohonor, dignity and loyalty to onescountry, as well as world-classculture, and, thus, its potential foa glorious future.

There are films that testifyto a more diverse discourse ofanxieties and fantasies that not

only produce aggression but alsodeflate it. Peculiarities of the NationaHunt in Fall and Cuckoo encourageunderstanding and acceptance ofdifference. Rogozhkin advocatesagreement and friendship and re-sists hatred and violence. Of Freakand Men even suggests Russias

own destructive attitudes and theway it is capable of victimizing itsown ethnic others.

Russias entanglement withthe West also becomes apparentin films that portray romanticrelationships between Russian anwestern characters. Russian view

ers desire to find happiness in aunion that transgresses nationalborders is inscribed in films suchas On Deribasovskaia, Window to Paris, The Barber of Siberia, Gods Envy,andThe Frenchman. Most of thesefilms, however, deny the possibil-ity of such happiness, which in

NEW INTELLECT TITLEFURTHER INFORMATION OVERLEAFn

Russia has continually shocked theworld. It implemented Marxist theories

the first in the world to do so muchto Marxs own disbelief in that countrysreadiness for revolution.

Pride and PanicRussian Imagination of theWest in Post-Soviet FilmBy Yana Hashamova


26/3226 | Intellect Quarterly

Q&AiQuote An invasion of armies can be resisted, but not an idea whose time has come. Victor Hugo

Why did you choose Intellect as

your publisher?

When I met Masoud Yazdani many

years ago at Le Centre Mondial

LInformatique in Paris, I was

impressed both by his intellectual

seriousness and geniality. He was

very helpful as a consulting editor

with Ablex before Intellect. I knew

his values in regard to scholarship

and supporting authors would be

primary values of Intellect as well.

This was an obvious choice for me.How many books have you

published with Intellect and why?

The two pioneering volumes of

Artificial Intelligence and Education were

published by Ablex as was Case Study

and Computing, with Kathleen Carley,

Professor of Sociology at Carnegie

Mellon. That book is both a defense

of the Case Method in the social

sciences and concrete examples of

such studies that work contains

ideas for data organizations and

analysis that will be useful whetheraccess is local or through the

Internet. Learning and Computing was

my first book published by Intellect.

It is designed to be accessible to

non-specialist readers and to bring

together my papers in Computing,

Education, Psychology and Artificial

Intelligence.What is the underlying argument

put forward in your books?

Professionally my life has revolved

around the use of case studies in

exploring the nature of knowledge.

My books are less like scholastic

argument than trips taken, observa-

tions made and conclusions drawn.

My companions on these trips are

diverse heroes Ive known, rang-

ing from humanist savants such as

Susanne Langer and Piaget through

scientists from Pauling and Feynman

to Warren McCulloch and Minsky,

and psychologists from Kurt Lewin

to Robert White and, of course,

the diverse polymaths Ive enjoyed

working with, as different as Papert

and Selfridge as well as the poets

who always whisper in my ear durin

quiet times.

Clearly books are an important par

of your life. How did that happen?

Where I grew up, the local l ibrary

was a nearby place I could explore

on my own. I remember looking int

Spinozas attempt to axiomatize

turn speaks of political, social andhistorical conditions hostile tointernational relationships. Thedesire to identify with ones coun-try and its problems reigns overthe desire to be cosmopolitan.

Over the last two centuries,Russia has continually shockedthe world. It implemented Marx-ist theories the first in the world

to do so much to Marxs owndisbelief in that countrys readi-ness for revolution. Ready or not,the October Revolution shook theworld with its attempt to liberatepeople from their idols (money,property and religion) and in itsown way prepared the postmod-ern rearrangement of knowledgeby questioning all traditions. Thisbook uncovers Russias latentdesires and fantasies in her rela-tions with the West, but in spite

(or because) of them, Russia hasalways been a fascinating place,with its mixture of globe-shakingpolitics and world-class culture.The future whatever it holds promises nothing less. {

FURTHER READINGPride and Panic: RussianImagination of the West inPost-Soviet FilmBy Yana Hashamova | 29.95, $55ISBN 978-1-84150-156-7

Now available. Order from:www.intellectbooks.com

When I was young, libraries were a placeI could explore on my own. Books becameplaces to seek answers to the deepestquestions and, even more, places todiscover good questions to ask.

Loving Books andthe Life of the MindQ&A with Robert W. Lawler

MARVIN MINSKY (LEFT) WITH

ROBERT W. LAWLER IN 2005 AT MIT


27/32

ethics and pursuing many other

dead ends but I also encountered

there Peter Vierecks bookThe Un-

adjusted Man, focused on individual

freedom and the value of western

civilization in providing more and

various burrows of freedom in

which such independent people

could exist. When I was young,

libraries were one such place. Booksbecame places to seek answers to the

deepest questions and, even more,

places to discover good questions

to ask. There, too, I found N. J.

Berrills bookMans Emerging Mind, a

lodestone of my intellectual journey.

Ive heard your colleague Minsky

is publishing a new book. Is it an

important one?

When I mention other thinkers to

him, Minsky always asks, Whats

really profound in the work of X?

So its appropriate then to ask,Whats really profound in the work

of Minsky? Many years ago, Marvin

(Minsky, ed.) mentioned how hard it

was to write academically respect-

able articles about his view of mind.

I urged him then to write a sequel

toThe Society of Mind, arguing for a

future suite of web pages, with all

the lexicographical simplicity of

structured programs, reflecting in its

variety the variety of aspects of mind.

The aim? To create a foundation for

a ne

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