“Dominic: An Experiment in Inter-active Fiction” by Kate Milner
Title:
Artist(s) and People Involved:
Exhibiting Artist(s):
Symposium:
Artist Statement:
“Dominic” is an attempt to tell a story in an inter-active medium. It is made up of a number of frames, (referred to as ‘cards’ in Hypercard), which contain images and text. Each frame has a particular meaning and is connected to a number of other frames with related meanings. The way in which the story is revealed depends upon the sequence in which the frames are seen. No one sequence is more correct than any other. “Dominic” is not a puzzle about trying to find the correct route, nor does the sequence chosen affect the ultimate understanding of the story.
I have been interested in using images, particularly images which appear to move to the viewer. as both a way of revealing meaning and a way of navigating through the work. In Dominic the viewer is first presented with pictures which he or she learns to manipulate by exploring randomly. The explanatory text is only available once the viewer has learned how to navigate around the work. As far as possible I have treated the text visually. The computer screen challenges the convention of reading text as if it were on a page. There is perhaps, in this application, a chance to break down the distinction between text and image.
The introduction of an inter-active element into what might best be described as a fiction raises a lot of questions. The author, to some extent, relinquishes authority to the viewer by allowing him or her to create their own route through the work. How far can this be taken before the work ceases to have any meaning? How far is a work of art defined by its form? And if the structures behind that work are hidden from the viewer, can he or she be expected to comprehend its meaning?
“Dominic” is not an answer to these questions, it is an attempt to suggest one way of using the exciting new medium of hyper-text.
