42 Color in Digital Culture
-
Carolyn L. Kane
Abstract
In this chapter, Dr. Carolyn Kane provides an overview of the evolving role of color in digital culture, particularly in the realm of computer-generated graphic imagery. She begins by highlighting color’s deep historical roots in western culture, as reflected in its study across disciplines such as psychology and science through art, architecture, and design. In computing, however, color has been less explored. Kane addresses this first by turning to the origins of color in digital computing in the context of postwar cybernetics in the 1960s, followed by its rapid automation and reification in digital software in the 1990s. She emphasizes two research methods that are especially helpful in analyzing color at the intersection of art and technology: media archaeology, or, a critical approach to the received account of media history; and second, visual studies in the context of digital aesthetics.
Abstract
In this chapter, Dr. Carolyn Kane provides an overview of the evolving role of color in digital culture, particularly in the realm of computer-generated graphic imagery. She begins by highlighting color’s deep historical roots in western culture, as reflected in its study across disciplines such as psychology and science through art, architecture, and design. In computing, however, color has been less explored. Kane addresses this first by turning to the origins of color in digital computing in the context of postwar cybernetics in the 1960s, followed by its rapid automation and reification in digital software in the 1990s. She emphasizes two research methods that are especially helpful in analyzing color at the intersection of art and technology: media archaeology, or, a critical approach to the received account of media history; and second, visual studies in the context of digital aesthetics.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- 1 Introduction: What Are Digital Cultures? 1
-
Part I Methods and Approaches
- 2 On Methods 11
- 3 Digital Textuality 17
- 4 The Political Economy of Digital Media 23
- 5 Media Archaeology and Media Genealogy 33
- 6 Digital Ethnography 43
- 7 Prescriptive Media and Autoethnographies of the Self 61
- 8 Hybrid Space Revisited 75
- 9 Software Studies 83
- 10 Computer Programming as a Method for the Study of Digital Cultures 89
- 11 Decolonial Media Studies 97
- 12 Repair 115
- 13 Digital Ontology 123
- 14 Analyzing Digital Media Practices to Define Digital Media Literacy 133
-
Part II Histories
- 15 History and Digital Cultures 145
- 16 Lessons from the Hologram 151
- 17 Information Theory and its Detractors 161
- 18 Interface 171
- 19 Barcodes and Digital/Physical Hybrids 181
- 20 Sharing 189
- 21 Advertising and Branding 197
- 22 Automation and Inequality 211
-
Part III Identities
- 23 Digital Identities 225
- 24 Digital Culture and Race 235
- 25 The Digital Closet and Queer Community Online 245
- 26 Tactical Queer Identity in China 255
- 27 Rurality, Gender, and Short-Video Platforms in China 263
- 28 Digital Nomads 277
- 29 Boundaries of Digital Infrastructures in India 285
- 30 Sensual Ethos and Digital Intimacies in Brazilian Camming 295
- 31 Embodiment and Representation in Social VR 305
- 32 The Manosphere 313
- 33 Digital Hate 323
-
Part IV Aesthetics
- 34 Digital Aesthetics and Collective Judgment 333
- 35 Screens and Power 341
- 36 Framing Digital Culture 351
- 37 Beyond the Frame 361
- 38 The Weird Internet and Speculative Knowledge 371
- 39 The Weirdness of Generative AI 387
- 40 Supercuts 397
- 41 Futurisms Beyond Western Cultural Imaginaries 407
- 42 Color in Digital Culture 419
-
Part V Materialities and Infrastructures
- 43 The Materiality of the Digital 429
- 44 The Logistical Episteme 439
- 45 Degrowth and Digital Culture 455
- 46 Digital Modeling and the Climate Crisis 467
- 47 Telehealth 477
- 48 The Culture and Cultures of Twitch 483
- 49 Edge Computing 491
- 50 Humanoid Robots 497
- Index
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- 1 Introduction: What Are Digital Cultures? 1
-
Part I Methods and Approaches
- 2 On Methods 11
- 3 Digital Textuality 17
- 4 The Political Economy of Digital Media 23
- 5 Media Archaeology and Media Genealogy 33
- 6 Digital Ethnography 43
- 7 Prescriptive Media and Autoethnographies of the Self 61
- 8 Hybrid Space Revisited 75
- 9 Software Studies 83
- 10 Computer Programming as a Method for the Study of Digital Cultures 89
- 11 Decolonial Media Studies 97
- 12 Repair 115
- 13 Digital Ontology 123
- 14 Analyzing Digital Media Practices to Define Digital Media Literacy 133
-
Part II Histories
- 15 History and Digital Cultures 145
- 16 Lessons from the Hologram 151
- 17 Information Theory and its Detractors 161
- 18 Interface 171
- 19 Barcodes and Digital/Physical Hybrids 181
- 20 Sharing 189
- 21 Advertising and Branding 197
- 22 Automation and Inequality 211
-
Part III Identities
- 23 Digital Identities 225
- 24 Digital Culture and Race 235
- 25 The Digital Closet and Queer Community Online 245
- 26 Tactical Queer Identity in China 255
- 27 Rurality, Gender, and Short-Video Platforms in China 263
- 28 Digital Nomads 277
- 29 Boundaries of Digital Infrastructures in India 285
- 30 Sensual Ethos and Digital Intimacies in Brazilian Camming 295
- 31 Embodiment and Representation in Social VR 305
- 32 The Manosphere 313
- 33 Digital Hate 323
-
Part IV Aesthetics
- 34 Digital Aesthetics and Collective Judgment 333
- 35 Screens and Power 341
- 36 Framing Digital Culture 351
- 37 Beyond the Frame 361
- 38 The Weird Internet and Speculative Knowledge 371
- 39 The Weirdness of Generative AI 387
- 40 Supercuts 397
- 41 Futurisms Beyond Western Cultural Imaginaries 407
- 42 Color in Digital Culture 419
-
Part V Materialities and Infrastructures
- 43 The Materiality of the Digital 429
- 44 The Logistical Episteme 439
- 45 Degrowth and Digital Culture 455
- 46 Digital Modeling and the Climate Crisis 467
- 47 Telehealth 477
- 48 The Culture and Cultures of Twitch 483
- 49 Edge Computing 491
- 50 Humanoid Robots 497
- Index
