Immersed in technology : art and virtual environments

The Banff Centre for the Arts has become synonymous for what's new in the electronic arts, a place where professional artists come to produce new work and develop new skills.

This book brings together critical essays along with artists' projects to explore the many issues raised by the creation of virtual environments.The book opens with 11 essays that approach the social and cultural implications of cyberspace from the perspective of cultural studies, communications, art history, art criticism, English, and women's studies.

These are followed by nine virtual environments (along with statements of what the artists are trying to accomplish in both theoretical and technical terms), created over a three-year period as part of the Art and Virtual Environments Project at the Banff Centre.

Together, writers and artists examine the consequences in cyberspace for race and identity, materiality and the body, landscape and narrative.

Specific implications of the masculinist and rationalist biases of cybespace are also discussed.