Julia ter Maten

'Best of Mediamatic' [Magazine] book

A proposal from 1994

In 1994 Mediamatic did a proposal for Verso in London, about a 'Best of' of articles from the Mediamatic Magazine. The following is a transcript of the proposal.


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Memorandum of Agreement between VERSO and Mediamatic Foundation -

Proposal for a "Best of Mediamatic book"



This proposal for a book deals with Mediamatic. This magazine on art, media and communication exists since 1985. It started as a magazine on video-art and television, and has enlarged its scope to the field of interaction between art and media, with special interest in the new media.

We propose to make a book with a collection of the best articles of Mediamatic. With this letter we send you a list of titles. Among the articles chosen, there are pieces that are regularly asked for by others, working in the field of art, media and philosophy. (Otaku article for example, on computerkids in Japan,...)

Mediamatic is famous for publishing articles which touches on aspects of technology, art and philosophy that other writers tend to overlook. In Mediamatic writers report on their searching for a new grammar and imagery in an information-dominated society. They search for the possibilities and invent or show the consequences of new uses of technology of information, and philosophize on the human condition in the technological zone. Artforms and the concept of the museum are recurrent themes of discussion. Also Mediamatic writes on the the important school of mediatheory in Germany.

In Mediamatic you can find different types of text. Essays, polemics, theory-hacking, fiction and fantasy. The book will represent all different ways of writing. Some articles are valuable for their special information collected. Some are well known for their original view on matters. In principle Mediamatic publishes articles that offer more than information. The articles offer a way of thinking original for the reader.

The book we want to make would exist of a collection of best Mediamatic articles (working title: The best of Mediamatic). Added you will find a list of articles, and a few examples to read. The book will be divided in thematic parts, with a typical Mediamatic title: OLD MEDIA, NO PANIC, DEUTSCHES DENKEN, VIRTUAL BRAINS.

The book will have a wide audience of a general public, interested in new media and in the arts. Academics, writers, artists, media-workers and peoples in the branch of the new media could have a special interest.

One of our editors is the disigner of the magazine. We propose to keep the typical layout of Mediamatic as it is. So, in short, we are offering a complete book, most of it already on disc, of the best articles of MEDIAMATIC.

Please let us know if you're interested. We would be glad to talk and send you more information.

Geert Lovink, Editor
Nina Meilof, Editor, PR


CONTENT OF "BEST OF MEDIAMATIC"


OLD MEDIA / TESTBEELD-TEST PATTERN

Geert Lovink & Basjan van Stam The souring of old arts. Discomfort in the media in Steinar and Syberberg. 6/85-89

Raul Marroquin Visual Arts and Costumized Programming. 1/

Jans Possel TV-design, Winfied Scheuer. 1/2-6

Paul Groot Test-card/patterns. 3/31-38

Geert Lovink The theory of mixing. An Invertory of Free Radio Techniques in Amsterdam 6/220-229

Paolino Accolla In living soundtrach(s). 6/ ...-239

BILWET De intelligent Media 4/114-117


ART AND THE MEDIA

Willem Velthoven Fine art makes new media old. 6/84-89

Volker Grassmuck Art x technology. (interview met Asasa Akira) over nwe technologieen. 5/17-26

Alfred Birnbaum Japanses Video (part 1). 2/190-192

Alfred Birnbaum Nippon Video. Japanese video part 2. 3/42-45

Paul Groot Cezanne's Cataract 5/231235

Maurice Nio Video brutality (Paul Garrin) 3/136-139

Decostere/Dercon/Wyver The new Museum 3/189-205

Anna Abrahams/Jan Frederik Groot De Camera as Dictaphone. 3/103-105

BILWET The Artist and his Media 5/27-31


NO PANIC / ON POP

W. Velthoven Pump up the Picture 2/173-175

Abrahams/J.F. Groot Computer graphics and tv-fetisjism 3/132-135

Marijn v.d. Jagt Sexrelated vertigo (batdance-clip Prince) 4/25-36

Arjen Mulder Body Conspiracy Blackeggs. (schwarzenegger) 4/119-124

Gabin Itoh/ D.S. Hirokawa Godda Light? (comp spelletjes) 5/123-130 of: update....

Alfred Birnbaum Fexy Facts. (sex via fax) 5/183-187

BILWET The World after the Media 3/121


WETWARE

Bilwet Hardware, software, wetware.

Volker Grassmuck Otaku. Japanese Kids colonize the Realm of Information and Media. 5/197-220

Auguste Villiers de L'Isle L'affichage Celeste. 5/102-106

Peter Callas Some liminal Aspects of the Technology Trade. Video Screens versus Horizon in Tokyo and New York. (Tokyo en New York) 5/107-115

Jorinde Seydel Shrink! 5/221-224


DEUTSCHES DENKEN

Geert Lovink deutsches Denken: Kamper and Bolz. 6/31-41

Geert Lovink Media Archeology. An introduction to the Work of Friedrich Kittler 3/185-189


VIRTUAL BRAINS

Norbert Bolz Navigation in Docuverse. 6/

Remco Schaa Virtual Voices. Mimesis 7/27-48

Avon Huxor Writing the Mind. 7/44-49

Jules Marshall A network of Relationships 7/57-60

Arjen Mulder en Dirk van Weelden Introduction to Static Literature 7/50-53