Learning From Evil Media

The panel is discussing the installation project Evil Media Distribution Centre by Graham Harwood (uk) and Matsuko Yokokoji (jp/uk) (YoHa) that is part of the festival’s exhibition series The Miseducation of Anya Major.

The project is an artistic response to the recently published book Evil Media (MIT, 2012) by Matthew Fuller and Andrew Goffey, an attempt to develop an understanding of how contemporary media systems, techniques and practices influence our lives more extensively and more fundamentally than we often imagine. In the form of a distribution center turned into a cabinet of curiosities, the installation presents a collection of objects accompanied by text written by invited contributors relating to both specific points and the general thesis of the book.

In the panel, the two authors discuss the notion of “evil media,” their “stratagematic” approach, the areas of focus that structure the book (Intelligence, Togetherness, Algorithms, Structures, Technicalities, Productivity, and Excellence), as well as respond to YoHa’s response to the book. Moreover, using examples from the book and installation, discussion addresses the question of the complex cultural significance of media beyond its straightforward instrumental value.