MSA: New expectations come with new capabilities

I found Lexia to Perplexia to be a little too ergodic. It wasn't the physical effort to explore and find links, but the mental effort to make sense of it that wore me out.

I think a large part of my experience was shaped by the "medium ecology". While the work explores how our human experience is shaped by technology, it was exactly this environment that undid any initial enjoyment of Lexia. When I'm sitting at my computer--as I do so many hours of the day--I'm in information processing mode--answering student questions, grading assignments, writing webpages and programs, and surfing for quick, accurate answers. When I surf webpages in this mode, I'm constantly evaluating whether this page is reputable and useful, and I'm skimming it for the gist. Lexia reminded me of those times I've taken a wrong turn somewhere and ended up on some incomprehensible "crazy's" website, where normally I quickly hit the Back button--time is short and I can find what I'm looking elsewhere. (And having to wait for Lexia to preload over a 28.8k connection, and then needing to switch browsers and download again, already wore on my patience.)

However Hayles chapter did improve my estimation of Lexia somewhat. Lying back on my bed, I could peruse her examples. Following her orientating lead, I better understood the work's intent. Then I was able to catch the wittiness of constructions such as "cell.f" and "I-terminal". It reminded me that many (fine) things in life--wine, beer, literature, jazz--need to be studied closely to understand their subtlety to be enjoyed. Yet this means more ergodic expenditure on my part, overcoming my Web-based expectations of clear structure, quick information, and obvious navigation.

I also wasn't all that impressed with Memmot's code "creole." I've seen much better examples of witty and insightful "code poems", clearer both in the code and the underlying sentiment. Admittedly, these were mostly very short works (usually on T-shirts).

Though I'm embarrassed to reveal how impatient a "reader" I was of Lexia, I do think much of this was shaped by my expectations of the Web medium. I think being aware of this is important for Web authors, as well as for me, next time I try to approach a piece of digital literature.

Finding a new language

Resistance to change was the sense I had as Hayles described her journey into Digital Literature. Not her resistance, but the resistance of the people around her, the people in academia. What came to be called the “bathtub theory of literature” probably best sums up their opposition (Hayles 36). Fortunately, she continued to explore this emerging new field. As she discussed her journey of discovery, I found myself wanting to experience some of the artist’s books she mentioned.

While reading her book, I was reminded of our classroom discussion about the pieces. Her frankness in talking about how she needed to learn how to read and interact was the pieces was refreshing. It also served as a reminder to me to revisit this works at different times. I was also reminded about how I need to change my expectations when I’m engaged with one of these pieces compared to my expectations of traditional books.

After looking at Lexia to Perplexia a few times, I think she said it best, “Lexia to Perplexia is a ‘nervous’ document” (57). I explored the piece prior to reading the Writing Machines as suggested. Even though I approached with an open mind, I found myself getting frustrated by its “nervousness”. I managed to loop around once but restarted it a couple of times too. Later, I revisited with Hayles book in hand. Her explanations helped some as far as explaining some of the artist’s intentions. But I think this piece might be like Cubist painters, they’re not my cup of tea.

I’m left with the feeling that Digital Literature will continue to change and expand as new technologies become available. How they will change the way that the artist constructs their piece and how the audience interacts with it remains to be seen. By attempting to define a lot of terms now, I’m wondering if we’re trying to do too much too soon. The differences between the 1st and 2nd generations of Digital Literature illustrate this point. Perhaps, we need to agree that we don’t have all the terminology yet - and might never - and simple enjoy and create new pieces before we have to learn a new set of skills!

And Little is New

In a sense, digital literature - kinetic text - is a new version of old ideas. The new medium allows us to experience literature in a different way. This is similar, I think, to way our view of stories changed as society shifted from an oral tradition to a written. We weren’t confined to mnemonic devices to preserve or create a piece. With digital literature, we’re no longer confined to the written page or to lines of text. Whether we are trying to produce something new or to preserve old knowledge isn’t really important. What’s important is how the new medium affects the old and how the old affects the new.

Hermaticon might be the “new” The Waste Land. It’s confusing. It doesn’t seem to have a point. Maybe one day critics will point to it and called a masterpiece. Masterpiece or not, like The Waste Land, I’m thinking that if the author/creator annotated it, the notes would need notes. That being said, I plunged into Hermaticon. I tried the suggested spell and then proceeded to experiment with different keystrokes. The sense of bafflement I felt wasn’t reduced by a second or third visit. This experience paralleled my experience when I read The Waste Land.

I was left wondering how I was going to react when I saw the pictures and clips used in the piece. Would I view the advertisements differently because I saw them used in a different context? Or would I think of Hermaticon when I saw them? Would seeing them in the context that was intended, help me to understand Hermaticon better? Perhaps a better question would be, would it help me to start to understand it? Perhaps, like the notes to The Waste Land, seeing them would only increase my bewilderment .

A new medium demonstrated?

I felt that all three of this weeks' short works are strong evidence for the existence of a new medium--none of these works could be reproduced faithfully in an older medium.

Faith, with it's cute animated intro concerning the imperviousness of faith to logic, requires motion for this message. It prompted me to question whether the rest of this "poem" could be printed in a traditional anthology. But how would you print a morphing poem? Print the 4 screen-pages sequentially; or print only the second-to-last screen-page when the poem is most "complete"? It would fail to capture the sense that one poem could contain/reveal another within it.

I found the contrast in Murmuring Insects to be quite striking. At first, the scene only seems to highlight the content of the original poem (much as in last week's "Origami")--the peaceful night sounds, two fluffy airplane lines over a still moon:

In the sky, flocks of departing geese
In the weeds, murmuring insects
Tears like dew well up in my eyes

But as the poem is revealed, we find other sounds that correspond instead to the faint early image of the Twin Towers and the 9/11 date we had to click on to start the experience. These sounds are not natural evening sounds, but human chaos and suffering. The sadness of poem is attached to the events of 9/11, promoting many interesting image and emotional comparisons. This was my favorite work (though I agree I found the "apparent" link from the moon to be confusing).

Some of the scenes from Hermeticon were nostalgic for me, but overall, I found this work less enjoyable. The background beat put me on edge. Possibly due to my lack of rhythm, I failed to make any interesting "spells" from the work. If found I'd rather press many keys quickly and use the resulting noise to drown out the background beat. Yet, in a way, it reminded me of dipping into the "communal consciousness", of being aware of all the messages being simultaneously transmitted on all the different communication channels, and the futility of personally making order from it.

Though none of these works could have maintained their effect through print, I also found that the interactivity was important. I often had to go through each of the works at my own pace, pause to evaluate each scene, back up and play it again to evaluate it closer. This suggests that they may not have done well as video either.

Another Intro

Made it here without too much trouble. This is my first blog post (ever). :)

HTML & CSS question...

Aloha kakou!

I've been playing and have at least some of the basics down...I need to learn how to set a margin when using text wrap...anyone have any luck with it? Maybe give me a nudge in the right direction? Here's what I've done so far;

http://www2.hawaii.edu/~mesulliv/

Any comments? sugguestions? snide remarks?

A hui hou i ka Po'alua,
michael

Aloha!

I made it! Had a firewall issue to correct before i could get here...

Welcome to HiDiLi

The Hi(Hawai'i) Di(gital) Li(terature) is your space for conversation and reflection while you're a student in the 2006 Junior Honors Seminar on Digital Literature at the University of Hawai'i. As you'll read in the class assignment descriptions, you're required to make weekly postings in response to our assigned readings and activities. You may also want to use the blog to coordinate your teams' work throughout the semester and to alert fellow students about interesting discoveries on the Internet or changes to your own online projects.

I very much look forward to working with all of you this semester.