media matters

photowork >> performed photography

by Michael Shanks

As a skeptical young archaeologist back in the early 1980s I was fascinated by the connections between archaeology and photography, in archaeology’s project of documenting the remains of the past. Skeptical – I thought, and still do, that archaeology’s long links with the identity politics of nationalism and colonialism and its role in the growing…

Gary Devore on Fellini Satyricon

by Michael Shanks

Gary (Devore) is currently presenting a superb commentary on Fellini Satyricon – that sumptuous marvel of a movie – [Link] In a daring and masterful tour de force, the director has violated every cinematographic rule by producing a film with no pace, no psychology, no stars, and no story. Gary has opened my eyes to…

media archaeology – Deborah Yun

by Michael Shanks

I have just written the foreword to Deborah Yun’s fabulous photographic study of payphones [Link] [Link] Portland Oregon Maybe they were never quite where you wanted them to be, but away from home, out of the office or workplace, seeking anonymity perhaps, or simply without a phone and needing to make a call, the payphone…

Mark Bradford

by Michael Shanks

We made it at last today to the Mark Bradford exhibition in San Francisco at SFMOMA – [Link] Exhibition website – [Link] Maybe it’s about … tracing the ghosts of cities past. It’s the pulling off of a layer and finding another underneath. It’s the … details that point to people saying, “We exist; we…

design thinking – the importance of representation

by Michael Shanks

The end of our class in the d.school –  Transformative Design. Presentations of the team projects – covering recycling, sleep management, making friends, interdiscipinary learning K-12, energy efficiency, digital privacy, personal tutoring, personal finances. Communication skills are crucial – sharing ideas with team members, listening to people in this human-centered design process. Effective use of…