What is electronic literature? Acccording to N. Katherine Hayles , it is "generally considered to exclude print literature that has been digitized, is by contrast "digital born," a first-generation digital object created on a computer and (usually) meant to be read on a computer."
This week I explored the Electronic Literature Collection
which includes fascinating, unique, sometimes strange work.
Cruising is appealing to me. The creator skillfully combines text, images and sound to create a work that is multidimensional, going beyond the imitations of a "flat" product on paper or even simple computer screen. It evoked memories of cruising the streets of downtown Hopkins in the early 1980's.
In the same way that I struggle to fully appreciate some modern art, I don't quite know what to do with some of this digital writing, such as Cape Cod. Perhaps beauty is in the eye of the beholder???
I noticed that several digital writing pieces prompted me to install plug-ins, like MIME. Should I always accept these plug-ins? What does that do to my computer? How much memory do these plug-ins require?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Dear Janice,
ReplyDeleteI checked out your links--wow! The CRUISING piece was like something you'd see at the Walker Art Center. And it was very interactive--or you couldn't read the text! It seems to me that it fits there at least as well as at the Loft. The Cape Cod piece seemed to have some 'inside' meaning in addition to the images. Having lived out East, I've been to the Cape several times and I could relate to the changing, shifting sand dunes. But is this art? It was easier for me to call this literature, although I kept waiting for more poetry.
Thanks for sharing these! I don't know what to do about add-ons and plug-ins either.
I wonder about the plug-ins and such as well :) I just say no whenever they pop up and cross my fingers that the video still loads. If it doesn't, I guess that means I need the plug-in!
ReplyDeleteHi Janice,
ReplyDeleteI liked the cruising clip - the music went well with the hyper-speed text!! The text did make me a bit nautious though :)