Dieses Jahr wäre McLuhan 100 geworden. Die transmediale hat deshalb das McLuhan in Europe 2011 Netzwerk initiiert, in dessen Rahmen vom 27.-29. Mai in der kanadischen Botschaft die gut besetzte Konferenz Re-Touching McLuhan: The Medium is the Massage stattfindet, die den Zusammenhang von „senory effects of electronic media as ‚extensions of man‘ and his legacy on artistic and digital cultural practice“ thematisiert.

Über die Konferenz: „Forty-five years ago, many of the ideas put forward by Marshall McLuhan sounded very daring and provocative. From today’s perspective, though, some of them were actually prophetic. This includes his theory of the multi-sensory and crossmodal effects of electronic media. Through immersion (games, virtual reality) and tactile interaction (multi-touch interfaces) these days the corporeality of what is digital has become a natural component of media-based lifeworlds. The enhanced importance of acoustics in the perception of media and media theory is also probably a legacy of McLuhan’s. A preview of our contemporary multi-sensory media world can be found in his books “The Medium Is the Massage” (Marshall McLuhan and the graphic designer Quentin Fiore, 1967) and “Counterblast” (Marshall McLuhan and the artist and designer Harley Parker, 1969).

The conference will extract from McLuhan’s multi-faceted and sometimes contradictory oeuvre a thematic vector into today’s media reality. Of special interest here is the impact of McLuhan on the media arts from the 1960s to the present, the “embodiment” of modern media technology, and McLuhan’s own media presence.“ Das komplette Programm findet sich hier (mcluhan2011.eu). (Bild: Screenshot Buchcover, Penguin Books)