Ars Electronica: Facing the Future

For the past two decades the Austrian-based Ars Electronica, Festival for Art, Technology and Society, has played a pivotal role in the development of electronic media. Linking artistic practice and critical theory, the annual festival and symposium bring together scientists, philosophers, sociologists and artists in an ongoing discourse on the effects of digital media on creativity - and on culture itself. Since Ars Electronica's inception, the evolution of the artistic, historical and theoretical works presented has been documented in a series of publications that remain crucial to any understanding of media art.

Drawing on the abundant and inventive resources of those publications and on Ars Electronica's archives, this anthology collects the essential works that form the core of a contemporary art long dismissed as too technical or inaccessible. The book includes a critical introduction, full bibliography, and texts and artworks from the key figures in the field. Among the many contributors are Robert Adrian, Roy Ascott, Jean Baudrillard, Heidi Grundmann, Donna Haraway, Kathy Huffman, Friedrich Kittler, Knowbotic Research, Myron Kruger, Laurent Migonneau, Sadie Plant, Florian Rotzer, Paul Sermon, Carl Sims, Christa Sommerer, Woody Vasulka, Paul Virilio, Peter Weibel and Gene Youngblood.

This is the inaugural book in the new series Electronic Culture: History, Theory and Practice.