Technology, Digital Culture and Practice Lecture - Fanzines and Bricolage

Today we had another lecture on themes that could relate to our COP3 proposal, and whilst talking through things, Fred mentioned the components of digital culture, these are:

-Participation

-Remediation

-Bricolage

He then went on to explain how Fanzines are a perfect example of Bricolage, so obviously my ears pricked up and I started to think about how I could bring something like this into my COP2 essay. 

Definition of Bricolage:

(in arts or literature) - construction or creation from a diverse range of available things 

Fred said that Fanzines in particular strongly demonstrated the use of Bricolage, with them being constructed from a wide variety of materials and being created in a very DIY manner. 

There was also a quote in the lecture that i thought related to some of my other research about why people are returning to the handmade in the digital age. 

“Connected yet alienated - that is the paradox of our global digital culture. We have access to so many things, yet we are increasingly incapable of seeing those things, or ourselves, in any meaningful context.”

―Skye Jethani

Fred also mentioned how there is a resurgence in print and in zines, even though we live in a digital world, people are returning to the handmade and reconnecting with physical objects, prints, textures etc. They are returning to this as a reaction to their technological environment, a way to get away from the screen and away from a world that is produced for technological purposes.