Product Description

Malcolm McCullough offers a knowledgeable and affectionate view of the world of the digital craftsperson, and initiates the critical discourse that this world needs and so richly deserves." -- William J. Mitchell, Dean, School of Architecture and Planning, MIT "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

The love of making things need not be confined to the physical world -- electronic form giving can also be a rewarding hands-on experience. 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. Personal and conversational in tone, with examples and illustrations drawn from a variety of disciplines, Abstracting Craft shows that anyone who gives form with software, whether in architecture, painting, animating, modeling, simulating, or manufacturing, is practicing personal knowledge and producing visual artifacts that, although not material, are nevertheless products of the hands, eyes, and mind. Chapter by chapter, 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. For those new to computing, McCullough offers an inside view of what the technology is like, what the important technical issues are, and how creative computing fits within a larger intellectual history. Specialists in human-computer interaction will find an interesting case study of the anthropological and psychological issues that matter to designers. Artificial intelligence researchers will be reminded that much activity fails to fit articulable formalisms. Aesthetic theorists will find a curiously developed case of neostructuralism, and cultural critics will be asked to imagine a praxis in which technology no longer represents an authoritarian opposition. Finally, the unheralded legions of digital craftspersons will find a full-blown acknowledgment of their artistry and humanity.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1542587 in Books
• Published on: 1997-03-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 329 pages

From Library Journal
McCullough discusses what current-day digital craft people are doing with today's tools and software and how their actions fit within our larger intellectual history. He argues that there is little difference between traditional visual, tactile craft design as practiced throughout history and the current digital architecture undertaken with Photoshop and virtual reality modeling. The actions and mind sets are very similar. An excellent, thoughtful book on the meaning as well as practice of design, this is recommended for all academic and large public libraries.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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

The art of producing digital crafts is analyzed and revealed in a study which uses a personal tone, with examples from various disciplines, to examine new artistic challenges in digital production. From a treatise on how creativity can fit into digital computing to chapters which connections between inspiration and medium choice, this provides an important examination. -- Midwest Book Review

About the Author
Malcolm McCullough is Associate Professor of Architecture at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. He has been working with digital media for nearly fifteen years, and his own digital artistry encompasses geometric modeling, image processing, animation, and interactive multimedia. He is coeditor of The Electronic Design Studio and coauthor of Digital Design Media, which won an AIA International Architecture Book Award in 1993.

Customer Reviews

Excellent exploration on ideas of making
I was looking for concepts related to digital making, and how these techniques can derive from and be informed by traditional making practices(craft). This book delves into those ideas, though not in an intensely focussed manner. I recommend this for individuals interested in the intellectual/philosophical framing of such concepts, histories, and practices of making(craft).

HCI meets craft
One fear of digitizing art concerns the loss of craft needed to produce objects in physical media. McCullough may not set this fear to rest, but he does present a persuasive case that craft as we know it remains present in new media. He is able to define tools, tool use and tool systems so as to convince one that the tools of program interfaces are as much tools as their physical kin. The distinction between a tool and a machine and how both are represented in a graphic program's interface is especially intriguing. This book would be of interest to the many sculptors who have adopted digital methods into their work, but it may be of most use for human-computer interaction professionals designing 3D interfaces.

Can real artists use technology?
A book which explores many issues around the role of the artist utilising new-media. This re-affirms the fact that in all art forms responsibility is upmost. Great read for artists considering using new technology, especially students.