Media Archaeology Project Archive

We tend to think of the “digital” as a singular, monolithical period in media history…. yet, there are actually many phases of the digital/electronic, as this interactive media exhibition explores. Each phase has its own particularities that are connected to the specificity of the hardware, software, and other contextually and materially-specific aspects. Although interactive media technology has “evolved” since the 1990s, the featured projects are still considered some of the most sophisticated early creative approaches to digital interactivity. Collectively, the Media Archaeology projects have covered a diverse range of interactive artworks from the 1990s-early 2000s, and a broad cultural range spanning from Europe and the Balkans, to Asia, the U.S. and Australia! These projects help provide a much more nuanced and layered impression of “digital cinema” through an examination of some of its now almost forgotten earlier phases (in addition to our study of other early electronic media, including 1960s-90s computer films in class). The website’s design aesthetic pays tribute to the experimental and DIY ethos of the turn-of-the-century emerging interactive arts culture. This website, as a collective project, provides an alternative self-sustainable low-budget and low-tech curatorial, historiographical, and media archaeological model.

Interactive showcase: https://prezi.com/view/VQPfv4uP00pUfxF43wBu/

Thank you to all the students for their hard work and enthusiasm for this experimental project. Special thanks to all the featured artists and cultural institutions who contributed their work. Thanks to Ina Cajulis, Ethan Gates, Greg Helmstetter, Ann Harris, and the Cinema Studies and MIAP department for emulating the collection so that more people can access this invaluable anthology of early interactive digital works. For more details on the process, visit Ethan’s blog post and a follow-up new DIY emulation tutorial by Xulun Luo. Visit the About page for map design statement and a full list of credits for everyone who contributed to the virtual exhibition and physical showcase. ~ Prof. Marina Hassapopoulou

Below you will also find a selected curation of past Media Archaeology group presentations.