© Amelyn Ng 2024
The Hand Tool (H) and Its Discontents
online-publicationYEAR:
2018
TYPE:
Micro-essay in Avery Shorts, November 2018.
INFO:
Whose labor is behind Adobe Photoshop’s (visible) Hand? The white glove is a classic skeuomorphism of media labor: the archivist’s microfiche requires meticulous handling; the printmaker’s work demands ink-stain protection. But what we “handle” in Photoshop today is neither fragile film nor paper but robust, rewritable pixel. This digital asepticism raises skepticism — who or what exactly are we trying to preserve or keep “pristine”?
2018
TYPE:
Micro-essay in Avery Shorts, November 2018.
INFO:
Whose labor is behind Adobe Photoshop’s (visible) Hand? The white glove is a classic skeuomorphism of media labor: the archivist’s microfiche requires meticulous handling; the printmaker’s work demands ink-stain protection. But what we “handle” in Photoshop today is neither fragile film nor paper but robust, rewritable pixel. This digital asepticism raises skepticism — who or what exactly are we trying to preserve or keep “pristine”?
