Andrew Lampert's 'Don't Lose the Manual' exhibition explores technology nostalgia at UT Austin Visual Arts Center

Andrew Lampert's exhibition 'Don't Lose the Manual' ran from September 19 to December 6, 2014 at the Visual Arts Center, University of Texas at Austin, located at 2300 Trinity Street. The show featured a series of documentary videos examining human relationships with technology through various characters. Charlie, a recurring figure, reflected on potato chip production automation and quoted futurist Arthur C. Clarke's Third Law about technology resembling magic. Another segment followed seniors learning digital photography at '@ Senior Planet' where they discussed digital preservation advantages. Typewriter Tony advocated for typewriters as tools enabling solitude in an internet-dominated world. The exhibition included 'Actual Real Cameras' showing someone using a 35mm Minolta SLR, referencing Kodachrome film processing labs that had recently closed. Lampert's video 'DCP/Steenbeck' documented the replacement of a 16mm Steenbeck editing bay with a Digital Cinema Package projector at Anthology Film Archives, where Lampert serves as Curator of Collections. The exhibition presented technology as both embraced and resisted across generations without definitive conclusions.