Univ Of Minnesota Press, ISBN: 9780816676156, Language: English, 312 pages, USA, 2011
Remixthebook is defined by its author Mark Amerika as “(a) speculative play”. Presented as a book, its uniqueness resides in an interconnection between concepts, experiences, accidents and encounters – centering on the process of creative making as a constant play of references and recombinations of “source material (everywhere)”. The concept of remixing departs from its more standard, technologically networked form, expanding into the realm of identity and life as permanent artistic flux. The book is by no means a classic within any category of writing – on the contrary, it is a challenge to the categorization of theoretical, fictional and academic styles and functions as evidence of in-between possibilities. Features that contribute to this include the unusual arrangement of sentences, which provides a certain poetic quality while helping to construct a rhythm aligned with the reader’s flow of ideas and creating time for reflection. Variations, re-arrangement of words and resemblances between sentences reveal layers of meaning. In the spirit of continuous remixing, the book’s content extends beyond its printed format onto the Internet. A series of video, text and audio works by other artists and writers, extend and expand Mark’s writings, allowing other avenues to emerge. The challenging uniqueness in such complexity should be expected from Mark Amerika (himself a writer, film director, media artist and professor), especially if one looks closely at his incursions into live performance, film screenings and net art works. Ana Carvalho

Mark Amerika – Remixthebook