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For example, the text that is used to describe each
scene does not clearly express the layered landscape
that is created. It does, however, display a vivid snapshot
of the viewer's own psychological and emotional filtering
of the "other." Symbolic phrases like: "a
view looking south[…], live shot looking east[…],
nice street view[…], or a view over the roofs[…]"
project a still, fragmented image from the submitter's
internal "web cam." When such captions are
first inhaled and digested, there is an initial sense
of recognition, based on the viewer's own "experience"
with these words, and then subsequent associations unfold.
Brooke Knight understands that "humans have always
had the desire to make the land 'theirs.' We mark our
territory. Part of the idea of verbally describing the
scene is, in a way marking [it]. Also, the act of viewing,
of apprehending, could also be considered a kind of
mark."
"Every Environment is Text Rich #4," as Brooke
Knight shares, "plays with expectations, and expectations
are created by experience."10 What is not included
in the linguistic equation is that when text and image
come together, to create an amalgam of disjointed scenery,
there is an eerie realisation that what is seen is not
real, and, worse, not even imagined - or expected. Ultimately,
there is a sense of loss, perhaps even disappointment.
And this is where the "other" comes into play.
Such an example serves to remind us viewers, that what
we may choose to regard as a "closed text/image"
for analysis, lacks clear-cut boundaries, and introduces,
instead, a more inclusive understanding of "intratextuality"
- a potential breaking down of space between text, image,
and everyday experience.
Where some would argue that we do not precede language
but are merely produced by it, so "Every Environment
is Text Rich #4," offers a chance to think outside
marked intertextual confines. The piece exists as an
undiscoverable terrain; unclaimed, unmarked, and unreachable,
no matter how many times it is viewed, explored, or
played with. This is its beauty, its "otherness."
For no matter how many web cams are collected and two-dimensional
landscapes filtered and owned, Brooke Knight's piece
has found an interstitial place in which to define itself,
and defy the very language that seeks to define it.
Brooke Knight is an artist and educator who has been
working with digital media for a dozen years. His recent
work has centred on the themes of distance and language.
His recent solo exhibitions include variablemedia.org
and boringart.com. He has also exhibited at Art Interactive,
Mediaterra 2001 and Experimenta 02. His current areas
of interest include web cams, the landscape, and text
in all forms. His written work has been published in
Art Journal and Sandbox. He is an Assistant Professor
in the Department of Visual and Media Arts at Emerson
College, where he teaches classes in interactive media.
11
Previous Work:
http://www.brookeknight.com/hour
http://www.brookeknight.com/oneday/oneday/
http://www.brookeknight.com/desktop
Contact: brooke_knight@emerson.edu
Footnotes:
10Knight, Brooke.
Email correspondence Interview March 16 2004
11Knight, Brooke.
Excerpt from artist statement for Digital Visions submission
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