Daily Archives: September 1, 2012

Optical Media – F. Kittler

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Here’s another book I enjoyed reading this summer, Friedrich Kittler’s Optical Media. The original German version dates back to 2002, but the English translation did not appear until two or three years ago. I was surprised at just how much the general outlook and some of the content overlaps with my introductory course in digital media. What could I possibly have in common with Kittler, who had a background in German literature? One point of overlap is an interest in Marshall McLuhan’s work. Kittler also seems to have explored information theory to a certain extent though he sometimes understandably shows gaps in his understanding of the scientific basis of media technology. Nonetheless, this work provides valuable perspective on the history of image media technology.

Images of Child Labor

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The U.S. Library of Congress has recently provided a set of images showing child labor (American spelling of ‘labour’) practices from the early 20th century. This image by sociologist/photographer Lewis Hine shows a fifteen year old, pipe-smoking bicycle messenger in Waco, Texas. The photograph was published, nearly a century ago, in September 1913. The photograph is from a series entitled ‘Street Trades’ and is accompanied by a note to the effect that the boy is exposed to ‘Red Light Dangers’ – a euphemism that may imply his job takes him into prostitution zones. Hine’s photographs, of course, famously influenced child labour law reform.

Higher resolution scans are available at the LOC site linked to the photograph. I am impressed by the aesthetics and excellent image quality of this photograph. It’s also surprising to see that this 100 year old bicycle looks very similar to fixie bikes, favoured by current bicycle messengers, and recently fashionable with hipsters.