The Medium is the Massage

Another book I got in Berlin is The Medium is the Massage by Marshall McLuhan and Quentin Fiore. It is one of four books in a Penguin (Modern Classic) series on design. The idea behind the book is that technological mediums are themselves messages and not necessarily the content they carrying. This is from the stand point that in the modern world people are constantly over-stimulated by technology. This over stimulation is reshaping society, the world and individual experience. I believe the book was written in the late 60's and the ideas are kind of prophetic considering the way the world is today but the design and layout of the book are the most interesting things. The design of each page is very different and layed out in a way that inforces what the content of that page is. A few examples:
It's pocket size and not expensive at all. I think it's worth the read, the ideas aren't very extreme and it's not a stance against technology. The layout turns reading into a puzzle and in some parts you even have to relearn how to read. It's fun and short and gives you some things to think about so give it a try. I plan on getting the other three books in the series: Design as Art, Ways of Seeing, and On Photography. In time...

Audiovisuology: See this Sound

An interdisciplinary Survey of Audiovisual Culture

So I wanted to share this book I got at the Hamburger Bahnhof Museum in Berlin. Audiovisuology: See This Sound runs through the history and theory of art forms that combine sound with image. Its survey ranges from philosophical models of antiquity up to present day technology. It is broken down into two parts:

Section I: The Historical
This section has 26 chapters each covering a single art form. Some fields covered are Animation, Theatre, Dance, Abstract Film, Color Organs, Expanded Cinema, Literature and Music Video. Each chapter is on only one art form, starting as far back in history where that form originated, touches on notable works and artist in the field and how those artists built off each other. Every chapter ends with an in depth analysis of a few works mentioned in the chapter with a lot of colored photographs. One chapter I found interesting was on Pythagorean theory of harmonics and how, at the time, those formulas were applied to both music and architecture, the idea that Architecture was to be seen as ‘frozen music.’

Section II: The Systematical
This section has 9 chapters and covers the psychological aspect of sound and image. Some chapters are Audiovisual Perception, Color/Tone Analogies, Synchronization and Synesthesia.

I haven’t finished the book yet but so far I can see this as a textbook to a survey course on the topic, if there is such a thing. Basically the book covers (broadly) a huge topic in less than 500 pages; for sure every chapter could be a book in itself (and probably is). It isn’t a “how to” book but there is plenty to be inspired and influenced by.

Accompanying website*
See-This-Sound