artist's statement by jaron fitch
The Information Is... Machine
I have chosen to create an interactive visual aid with which to represent the many ways that people think about information. "The Information Is... Machine," as I have called it, allows individuals to select from a number of different images (all of which have been taken from the iSquares) along with various written descriptions of what information is (also taken from the iSquares) and insert them into the machine. As long as there is sufficient background light, the person's chosen representation of "what information is" will be shown as a single image. Because all of the images and text are drawn onto coloured film, they are translucent and can be seen clearly with light.
I chose to make this machine for two reasons. First of all, after reading the article, "Information as Thing" by Buckland, I decided that making something tangible was appropriate as this allowed me to incorporate multiple different kinds of objects with which to create my information-as-thing. For example, the wooden case, each piece of film as well as a light source all come together to provide information. Thus, "The Information Is... Machine," according to Buckland, can be considered a document because it is used specifically to teach and/or inform.
The second reason I chose to create "The Information Is... Machine" is because I wanted to do something that was completely non-digital and was still capable of providing changeable representations of what information is. There is an article titled, "Learn Without the Web," by Mark Bauerlein, which talks about the benefits of learning without the use of digital technologies. According to Bauerlein, people are becoming so used to instant access to information through the use of computers and digital sources that they are losing out on the process of actually seeking out information manually.
I chose to make this machine for two reasons. First of all, after reading the article, "Information as Thing" by Buckland, I decided that making something tangible was appropriate as this allowed me to incorporate multiple different kinds of objects with which to create my information-as-thing. For example, the wooden case, each piece of film as well as a light source all come together to provide information. Thus, "The Information Is... Machine," according to Buckland, can be considered a document because it is used specifically to teach and/or inform.
The second reason I chose to create "The Information Is... Machine" is because I wanted to do something that was completely non-digital and was still capable of providing changeable representations of what information is. There is an article titled, "Learn Without the Web," by Mark Bauerlein, which talks about the benefits of learning without the use of digital technologies. According to Bauerlein, people are becoming so used to instant access to information through the use of computers and digital sources that they are losing out on the process of actually seeking out information manually.
Bibliography
Bauerlein, Mark. "Learning Without the Web." Networker (2009): 15-17. Accessed November 15, 2015. doi: 10.1145/1655737.1655742.
Buckland, Michael K. "Information as Thing." Journal of the American Society for Information Science 42.5 (1991): 351. Accessed November 5, 2015.
Buckland, Michael K. "Information as Thing." Journal of the American Society for Information Science 42.5 (1991): 351. Accessed November 5, 2015.
