Space is a place...it occurs everywhere.
My favorite spaces are those that appear to have no boundaries. Like being in the middle of the desert or looking up at the sky through trees. Another space I find interesting is the insides of things, like the toaster or a computer monitor.
Inside a computer monitor looking out:
The inhabitants for my space, be visible or invisible leave a footprint in most cases. Those inhabitants that are visible are only visible within a limited field of view, bound by the edge of the screen; field of vision; distance of GPS accuracy, IR range, pixel range, rendering fov, simulated camera or actual camera...etc. Those inhabitants that are invisible but noticable leave a footprint; shadow; artifact; arc of light; noise.
Visible boundaries are defined by the edge of the screen; the mezanine or curtain so to speak is made up of electrical components that drive the monitor (see fig 1a). The invisible boundaries are what lie beyond the visible ones. IE, what physical environment beyond the monitor, in the narrative, the participants boundaries and so forth. Those that are 'off camera'.
Geography is the visible playing area of the participants, mainly humans. The participants can be synthetic as well, generated by the stage as a forground. The invisible geography is the space directly below the monitor or any space that supports the activity of the participants that may change invisibly. The invisible geography is any place the monitor has been prior to the current view.
The rules: Visible rules are simple. The space does not necessarily move. Anything can move in and out of the space. The first rule of the invisible rules is that there are no invisible rules!
The history: The visible history can be things like smudges left on the screen from fingerprints, empty potato chip bags laying around, headphones, cd's, etc. The invisible history is that of who owns the monitor, who uses it, etc.
The signs: Visible signs include user interface objects, circuit boards and keyboards. Any object that is tangible and relates back to camera and or view. Not sure about the invisible signs…
The allusions: The visible allusion is the monitor viewpoint itself, the text displayed backwards, the characters that move on and off, the videos or animation that unveils itself on the pseudo screen. I am not sure there are invisible illusions, do they even exist?
"Those inhabitants that are invisible but noticable leave a footprint; shadow; artifact; arc of light; noise."
I like this idea. Space defined not so much by geography but by various forms of presence manifested through a specific view.
Posted by: will at October 23, 2003 08:26 AM
Yes, the viewer is aware that a being or entity or thing has been there, but only visible artifacts leave traces of their identity.
Posted by: Mike at October 26, 2003 06:53 PM
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