Crises Then as Now

This title is printed to order. This book may have been self-published. If so, we cannot guarantee the quality of the content. In the main most books will have gone through the editing process however some may not. We therefore suggest that you be aware of this before ordering this book. If in doubt check either the author or publisher’s details as we are unable to accept any returns unless they are faulty. Please contact us if you have any questions.

This book explores how Marshall McLuhan, with urbanist Jaqueline Tyrwhitt and artist Gyoergy Kepes, responded to crises in the 60s and 70s similar to what we now face: human-to-human violence on a planetary scale, carving inequities and fomented by arms and mediation; catastrophic human to non-human relations, with human activity sparking irreversible (and accelerating) environmental degradation; imbalanced human-to-machine relations, with computational decision-making outstripping human intervention.

McLuhan, Tyrwhitt, and Kepes called for redesign to stimulate sensory engagement and participation. Merging art and science knowledge was requisite to creating counter environments and livable futures and allowing humans to work with (rather than under or over) machines. Placed in dialogue, the three figures map out paths of hope as well as danger zones - geographies that speak to our present as we grapple with the role of technology in infrastructure and environment, art and culture.