The Past is Always Present: Digital Witness—Revolutions in Design, Photography, and Film with Staci

Over the last four decades, image-editing software has radically transformed our visual world. The ease with which images and text can be digitally generated and altered has enabled new forms of creative experimentation and communication. The recent exhibition Digital Witness: Revolutions in Design, Photography, and Film at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art examined the impact of digital manipulation tools from the 1980s to the present, for the first time assessing simultaneous developments and debates in the fields of photography, graphic design, and visual effects. Exhibition co-curator Staci Steinberger will discuss this transformation in graphic design, the experience of organizing an interdisciplinary design exhibition, and the role of museums in contextualizing graphic design within a broader art and design history.

The Past is Always Present lecture series is part of The 10th Anniversary Symposium celebrating ten years of Letterform Archive.

Installation photograph: Digital Witness: Revolutions in Design, Photography, and Film, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Sep. 15, 2024–July 13, 2025, photo © Museum Associates/LACMA
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