Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
5
most art forms characteristically involve representations of real-
world phenomena. As Aristotle observed, art represents
not what is, but
a kind of thing that might be
; environments, objects, situations, characters,
and actions are represented within a wide range of deviation from real
life. The degree and types of deviations are the result of the form, style,
and purpose of the representation. In drama, only a few styles (predomi-
nantly of the last two centuries) venture far afi eld from representing char-
acters, situations, and actions that are recognizably human or human-like.
Likewise, non-representational styles in painting and sculpture are largely
modern developments in Western culture. One reason for the preference
for real-world objects in artistic representations, at least in popular culture,
may be that they impose relatively less cognitive overhead on their audi-
ences. The principle at work is that real-world objects make representa-
tions more accessible, and hence more enjoyable, to a larger number of
people. Non-representational styles require exposure to and practice with
subtle inferential constructions that many people aren't prepared for by
their education.
Computers are an interactive representational medium. Wardrip-Fruin (2009)
says that modern computers are designed to make possible “the continual
creation of new machines, opening new possibilities, through the defi nition
of new sets of computational processes.” Indeed, much of the innovation
going on today is happening at the level of processing. Understanding what
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