Benjamin Earl, a Designer and Artistic Technologist, dives into the tapestry of digital culture and its material impacts on our lives. He shares his journey from rural England to a vibrant design career shaped by technology. The conversation reveals the clash between idealistic design and client realities, alongside the shift from individualism to community in the digital landscape. Earl also discusses the evolution of the internet, emphasizing community-driven tech initiatives. Through art, he illustrates the beauty of change and the complexities of collaboration in today’s digital age.
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question_answer ANECDOTE
Digital Portal from Rural Roots
Benjamin Earl shares how growing up in rural isolation led him to use the computer as a portal to different realities and ideas.
Early website creation for personal and local stories forged his digital connection beyond geographic constraints.
insights INSIGHT
Design Needs Material Grounding
Benjamin Earl realized a tension in design between external clients and personal grounding.
Authentic work requires connection to material conditions, not just client-designer transactions.
insights INSIGHT
Simplicity Is The New Challenge
Doing something simpler in web development has paradoxically become harder due to infrastructure complexity.
Learning from the basics of HTML, CSS, and vanilla JavaScript unlocks deeper understanding beyond using frameworks.
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Published in 1949, '1984' is a cautionary tale by George Orwell that explores the dangers of totalitarianism. The novel is set in a dystopian future where the world is divided into three super-states, with the protagonist Winston Smith living in Oceania, ruled by the mysterious and omnipotent leader Big Brother. Winston works at the Ministry of Truth, where he rewrites historical records to conform to the Party's ever-changing narrative. He begins an illicit love affair with Julia and starts to rebel against the Party, but they are eventually caught and subjected to brutal torture and indoctrination. The novel highlights themes of government surveillance, manipulation of language and history, and the suppression of individual freedom and independent thought.
Working in Public
Nadia Eghbal
Nadia Eghbal's "Working in Public" delves into the collaborative nature of open-source software development. The book explores the social dynamics, motivations, and challenges involved in building and maintaining software projects through collective effort. Eghbal examines various models of collaboration, highlighting the importance of community building and shared responsibility. The book offers valuable insights into the complexities of open-source projects and their impact on the broader technological landscape. It serves as a guide for understanding and participating in these collaborative endeavors.
The New Dark Age
The New Dark Age
James Bridle
How to Do Nothing
Jenny O'Dell
Benjamin Earl is a Designer and Artistic Technologist with an interest in the digitisation of everyday life, the rendering and simulation of physical environments, and digital communication and knowledge sharing practices. In his work he uses moving image and computer programming to create films, websites, installations and performances that reveal entangled narratives and complex power structures.
His work involves looking closely at the material and tangible ruptures of digital culture whilst simultaneously trying to imagine new ways of computing that can be contextual, situated and relational. His work has been exhibited at Het Nieuwe Insituut (Rotterdam), Impakt Festival (Utrecht), Bureau Europa (Maastricht), Fibre Festival (Amsterdam) and CIVA Festival (Vienna) amongst others. He has a BA in Graphic Design from Falmouth University, UK and an MA in Non Linear Narrative from the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague.
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