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In the twenty-first century, we are continually confronted with the existential side of technology—the relationships between identity and the mechanizations that have become extensions of the self. Focusing on one of humanity’s most ubiquitous machines, Automotive Prosthetic: Technological Mediation and the Car in Conceptual Art combines critical theory and new media theory to form the first philosophical analysis of the car within works of conceptual art. These works are broadly defined to encompass a wide range of creative expressions, particularly in car-based conceptual art by both older, established artists and younger, emerging artists, including Ed Ruscha, Martha Rosler, Richard Prince, Sylvie Fleury, Yael Bartana, Jeremy Deller, and Jonathan Schipper.

At its core, the book offers an alternative formation of conceptual art understood according to technology, the body moving through space, and what art historian, curator, and artist Jack Burnham calls “relations.” This thought-provoking study illuminates the ways in which the automobile becomes a naturalized extension of the human body, incarnating new forms of “car art” and spurring a technological reframing of conceptual art. Steeped in a sophisticated take on the image and semiotics of the car, the chapters probe the politics of materialism as well as high/low debates about taste, culture, and art. The result is a highly innovative approach to contemporary intersections of art and technology.

Taking the train to nature in Chicagoland

Beyond the steel and asphalt await natural spaces that are easy to access and balm for the soul. Lindsay Welbers’s guide tells readers how to use Chicagoland’s extensive public rail system to reach forests, prairies, wetlands, dunes, and Lake Michigan. Designed to take up minimal space in a backpack, Chicago Transit Hikes provides train-to-trailhead information for thirty nature treks with features that include:

• Chapters with hikes organized by each rail line on the Metra, the South Shore train, and the CTA;
• Information on everything from accessibility to dog-friendliness to flora and fauna;
• Detailed descriptions of every destination;
• Practical tips on packing lists and itineraries.

Up-to-date and user-friendly, Chicago Transit Hikes connects Chicagoans and visitors alike with excursions for every season and level of difficulty.