Abstracting Craft – The Practical Digital Hand (Paper) - Softcover

Mccullough, Malcolm

Softcover

ISBN 10: 026263189X ISBN 13: 9780262631891

Publisher: MIT Press, 1998

Synopsis

In this investigation of the possibility of craft in the digital realm, Malcolm McCullough observes that the emergence of computation as a medium, rather than just a set of tools, suggests a growing correspondence between digital work and traditional craft. McCullough builds a case for upholding humane traits and values during the formative stages of new practices in digital media. He covers the nature of hand-eye coordination, the working context of the image culture, aspects of tool usage and medium appreciation, uses and limitations of symbolic methods, issues in human-computer interaction, geometric constructions and abstract methods in design, the necessity of improvisation, and the personal worth of work.

About this title

Review

"Drawing from many traditions, McCullough carries the reader on a wonderful pendulum swing from hand craft to industrialization back to postindustrial craft in the computer age. With clever examples of practices, conscious and unconscious, he provides a real sense of what the new technology feels like, and why 'after two centuries of separation the conception and execution of everyday objects are once again in the same hands.' A technologically deep book, it is accessible and useful for both non- and anti- technologists."--Danny Bobrow, Xerox PARC

About the Author

Malcolm McCullough is Associate Professor of Architecture at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design.

Edition details

• Publisher: MIT Press
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 026263189X
• ISBN 13: 9780262631891
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 322