Monthly Archives: December 2010
the virtue of planned erasure
What if you were asked to set an expiration date for every file you saved on your computer? Imagine what would take place on that date. Your file would be automatically erased from your computer and anywhere else that it … Continue reading
erasing in mind: of wax tablets and blank slates
In the nature versus nurture debate, tabula rasa is a powerful image representing the idea of the mind as a “blank slate” open from birth to impression through learning and perception. Yet, the term is somewhat inaccurately translated and oddly … Continue reading
importing forgetfullness, staging erasure
Erasability was an important feature of the Renaissance writing tables. These little books were heralded for their functionality, portability, affordability, and by some accounts, their value for reflection upon the human condition. In “Hamlet’s Tables and the Technologies of Writing … Continue reading
deleting texts: a formal and forensic materiality
To combat the cultural expectation of the fleeting electronic text and the “illusion of immaterial behavior” that the digital environment projects, Matthew Kirschenbaum brings into focus the mechanisms that facilitate inscription and transmission in Mechanisms: New Media and the Forensic … Continue reading
linking to other media + materiality projects
A hyperlink seldom tells us where we will be physically drawing information from. The suffix in the URL string may hint at a country, but the IP address that the URL serves is a more accurate indication of the content’s … Continue reading