Re: [-empyre-] Women in Art, and Technology

[Judy Malloy <judymalloy@judymalloy.net>]

I want to thank Kanarinka who wrote about books that focus on women:

"...These stories contribute to shaping our reality and our
possibilities" 

and thanks to Isabel, Tim and others who affirmed that there is an
important role for books that focus on work done by women.

There are many books about cyberfeminism/gender and technology and many
of them are good. So, this book focuses instead on some of the core
contributions to women in the field.

Women, Art and Technology began over 10 years ago when I was editing
Leonardo Electronic News (now Leonardo Electronic Almanac) and Words on
Works for Leonardo.  At that time, although I was aware that women were
doing really interesting work in the field, it wasn't as visible, and it
seemed important that the actual work of women who were working in new
media was documented. 

Today the exhibitions and coverage of new media are much more inclusive
than they used to be. Nevertheless, there is an ingrained 
notion that men deserve more -- more credit for what they have
accomplished, more recognition, more support of all kinds. 

And in histories and timelines of the field, the work of many of
the women in this book is consistently not included. 
All too often women who are active in a field are included in
contemporary exhibitions. But when it comes time to write the
histories, they are left out. Because of this historical exclusion, it is
important that the work of women who were at the forefront of the field
is extensively documented.  

And not just by one book. It is not realistic to expect one book to
cover everything. One book cannot do all that is needed, and this book
doesn't purport to do that. As Diana points out, there is a need for 
more books, particularly those that highlight the contributions of more
women outside of North America.

Nevertheless, Women, Art and Technology clearly shows the strong,
intelligent, influential contribution of many women to the field, and it
provides histories that I believe can help others in finding their own
paths in the developing field of new media. 
   
Best,
Judy