Time & Motion Redefining Working Life

At a time of structural changes in the labour market, growing youth unemployment and sharp transitions in business practice to address global recession, the subject of rethinking working life is both relevant and timely. Time & Motion re-examines the relevance of our traditional notions of the eight-hour day, in particular the effects of digital technology on patterns of working life and on digital public space.

Amid the new realities of a globalised experience economy and a working environment that is increasingly distributed, virtualised and digital, our definitions of production and consumption, work and recreation are becoming increasingly blurred. This book seeks to redefine our understanding of working life by documenting and describing contemporary artworks commissioned on this theme, and to provide some theoretical building blocks with essays by key thinkers in the field.

Emerging from a collaboration between the Royal College of Art's Creative Exchange (CX) Hub and FACT (Foundation for Art and Creative Technology), Time & Motion will be required reading for anyone interested in the ways in which the digital revolution has altered the fabric of society.

Jeremy Myerson is the Helen Hamlyn Professor of Design at the Royal College of Art, London, and the author of many books on the workplace, including The 21st Century Office and New Demographics New Workspace.

Emily Gee is a curator at the Foundation for Art and Creative Technology (FACT), Liverpool.

Foreword
Introduction - Jeremy Myerson/Mike Stubbs

Section 1: Labour
Digital Labour - essay by Trebor Scholz
Works: Sam Meech, Punchcard Economy (888)
Value of Time Spent - essay by Mike Stubbs & Emily Gee
Works: Tehching Hsieh, One Year Performance (Timeclock Piece); Cohen Van Balen, 75 Watt
Playbour - essay by Paolo Pedericini
Works: Molleindustria / gaming section; Minecraft; Alexi Shulgin, iPaw

Section 2: Representation
The Work Aesthetic - essay by Harun Farocki
Works: Harun Farocki, Workers leaving the Factory
Essay: Cinema and Workplace - essay by Richard Koeck, Liverpool University
Works: stills from FACT film festival on cinema and workplace eg The Apartment
Work as Art, Art as Work - essay by Bronac Ferran
Works: Gregory Barsamian, Die Falle

Section 3: Space
Architectural Space - essay by Jeremy Myerson / Philip Ross
Works: Harun Farocki, A New product
Digital Space - essay by John Fass/Ben Dalton, RCA Creative Exchange
Works: CX Co-Working space and interventions: Hybrid Lives, Where Do You Got To? And Rhythmanalysis.

Artist Biographies
Contributor Biographies
Editor Biographies
List of Works