New Intimates
AbstractContemporary digital technology is dramatically changing the ways in which intimacy is perceived. To be able to stay in touch, one is dependent on virtual forms of communication through computers and smartphones. These modes of online communication are increasingly generating the paradox of physical anonymity and virtual intimacy. The increasing touch-responsiveness of tablets responds to the current concern that through a constant touching of the screen, one may argue, that the human touch becomes redundant. Nevertheless the notion of touch will remain relevant, allowing for a critical investigation of the use of physical tactility within contemporary art, by examining a range of artistic approaches to bodily closeness in the post-digital age.