Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
individuals without concern for their social context, and sociology, in which
social networks of storytelling are studied while often ignoring the form and
content of the stories involved.
Streams of influence
One of the central aspects of NI work is its inherent interdisciplinarity. If nar-
rative is indeed, as many argue, a fundamental organizing principle of human
experience, then it is unsurprising that many different disciplines have an in-
terest in narrative. Work in NI has drawn on conceptions of narrative from
many of these sources, including the following. At the end of each discipline
description is a list of the papers in this volume which relate to that discipline.
Art
In art, narrative is understood as one, rather powerful, form of representa-
tion. Much of contemporary art practice involves self-consciously question-
ing representational modes, exploring the boundaries, breaking the representa-
tion, questioning whose power is being preserved by a representational mode,
and hybridizing modes in order to create new ones. Thus, when engaging in
narratively-based work, artists rarely tell straightforward narratives employing
the standard narrative tropes available within their culture, but rather ironize,
layer, and otherwise subvert the standard tropes from a position of extreme
cultural self-consciousness. For those studying NI, artistic practice is a useful
methodological resource as a way to expose and explore the often unarticulated
cultural machinery supporting narrative representation.
In “The recombinant history apparatus presents Terminal Time,” Domike,
Mateas and Vanouse play with the narrative structure of traditional documen-
tary form by building a system which endlessly replicates this form.
In “The Dr. K- Project,” Rickman describes a narrative landscape which,
rather than having a mimetic, independent existence, is created in response to
audience interaction.
In “The Rise and Fall of Black Velvet Flag: An 'Intelligent' System for Youth
Culture Documentary,” Schiffer is concerned with maintaining the narrative
openness of raw documentary material. He draws on New Media art the-
ory such as Lev Manovich's discussion of database culture and Peter Weibel's
discussion of the variable virtual image.
