July 2011
Net Works: Case Studies of Web Art and Design (ed. xtine burrough, Routledge 2011): Net Works offers an inside look into the process of successfully developing thoughtful, innovative digital media. In many practice-based art texts and classrooms, technology is divorced from the socio-political concerns of those using it. Although there are many resources for media theorists, practice-based students sometimes find it difficult to engage with a text that fails to relate theoretical concerns to the act of creating. Net Works strives to fill that gap.
Using websites as case studies, each chapter introduces a different style of web project–from formalist play to social activism to data visualization–and then includes the artists’ or entrepreneurs’ reflections on the particular challenges and outcomes of developing that web project. Scholarly introductions to each section apply a theoretical frame for the projects. A companion website offers further resources for hands-on learning.
Combining practical skills for web authoring with critical perspectives on the web, Net Works is ideal for courses in new media design, art, communication, critical studies, media and technology, or popular digital/internet culture.
November 2010
Collage Offline and Add Color Using Photoshop: Photoshop expert xtine burrough shows you how to make a collage with scissors and glue before adding color in Photoshop. An adjustment layer is used to create a sepia tone on the digital file, and the Brush Tool is used in combination with blending modes and a low opacity for an easy application of color to separate layers.
October 2010
Create a PDF Portfolio Using Adobe Illustrator: Adobe Illustrator’s multiple Artboards feature saves some students and professionals the time it takes to learn a new software program. In this article, a multi-page PDF portfolio—an essential document for students and professionals alike—is created in Illustrator. If you’ve never used InDesign, but you need to make a multi-page document, author xtine burrough explains how this process is just what you need.
August 2010
Using Photoshop Actions to Make a Flipbook: xtine burrough interprets the Photoshop Actions panel as a metaphor for artificial intelligence, comparing Photoshop tasks that can be automated with tasks mandating human collaboration. The final result is a template for making a flipbook.
May 2010
To Photoshop or Not to Photoshop: How do you answer a student who begins a design or digital imaging class with the question, “Are we gonna learn Photoshop in this class?” In this article, the question is re-addressed to the student: “Why do you need Photoshop when so much can be accomplished in the camera using formal compositional properties?” xtine burrough explains a recent assignment based on Cracked.com’s popular article, “15 Images You Won’t Believe Aren’t Photoshopped.”
January 2009 Digital Foundations with co-author Michael Mandiberg will always be available on the wiki site, for FREE! Digital Foundations: Intro to Media Design with the Adobe Creative Suite integrates the formal principles of the Bauhaus Basic Course into an introduction to digital media production with the Adobe Creative Suite.The entire book is available on the wiki under a Creative Commons (CC-BY-NC) license.
Kate Armstrong wrote an excellent review of Digital Foundations for Fillip, a publication of art, culture, and ideas released three times a year by the Projectile Publishing Society from Vancouver, British Columbia.
Spring 2008
Couchsurfing, Delocator and Fallen Fruit: Websites Respond to a Crisis of Democracy
This article explores the three web sites in relationship to democracy. It is included in the double issue of The Journal of Media and Culture, titled “Vote” and “Citizen”. Collected in the “Vote” area of the issue, edited by Graham Mielke, this essay situates the Delocator project in the datasphere as a reaction to overt control by the corporate media. This is one of my favorite peer-reviewed academic journals.
Fall 2007
They are never easy to write, but here was one attempt, anyhow, at an Artist Statement I wrote, collected in “New Media Artist Statements 2007.” The statements were published in Media_N: Journal of the New Media Caucus, v.03, n.01.