Leslie, Esther (2020) Devices and the designs on us: of dust and gadgets. West 86th: A Journal of Decorative Arts, Design History, and Material Culture 27 (1), ISSN 2153-5531.
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Abstract
This parallel presentation of dust and devices, as they have appeared in recent history,attempts to illuminate our reliance on technical devices, such as smartphones, tablets, andt he like, in the context of wars and shifts in political and economic ideologies. Devices—and their software—get old and require updating (think of iPhone generations). They are eventually consigned to the dustbin. What does the commitment to upgrading reveal about contemporary understandings of history and historical movement? What is progress in the shadow of the device and in the face of environmental disaster at the particulate level? Sites and moments for critical excavation here include Thatcherism and desert wars, the fall of the Berlin Wall, digital imaging systems, the invention of the Cloud and the Internet of Things, the alignment of coffee shops and 24/7 working, and the utopian potential of space hardware.
Metadata
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| School: | Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences > School of Creative Arts, Culture and Communication |
| Depositing User: | Esther Leslie |
| Date Deposited: | 23 Jun 2020 11:45 |
| Last Modified: | 09 Aug 2023 12:48 |
| URI: | https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/32332 |
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