Matt Jones discusses potentially introducing subtle info-layering techniques on the BBC homepage, pointing to an earlier entry here on comix and a Kottke note which in turn points to a Wired article on Christian Marclay's Video Quartet artwork at SFMOMA.
"Video Quartet is more like seeing major waves crashing at the beach. Like that natural spectacle, this one stems from ubiquitous elements and conditions. Media overload, multi-tasking and consumer electronics among them. "We're able to accept such layered information now," Marclay said. "There are so many choices to make and we're learning how to juggle all these different activities, shifting constantly. We're familiar with jump cuts, the remote control phenomenon and we're able to enjoy the quickness."
There's a key quality of Marclay's layering - that it's based on "four simultaneous clips of music-making sampled from Hollywood movies" and that this well-worn material "tinkles the keys of our collective memory bank" because, as Marclay notes, "even if you're not a film buff, there's familiarity to these images ... This involves the viewer in ways that you can't with new material."
So context/content can be more powerfully invoked with resonant images (particularly memory-based as in this case), as the punter 'amplifies' the connections to the info-layer with their own memories - the layer works by triggering existing info within the user's mind (via visual/aural symbols). So perhaps it won't work if the trigger is insufficiently resonant? This isn't just a matter of making it look 'cool'/clickable - else it'll be quickly shunted into the same class of (deservedly) invisible layers as banner-ads. So, the trigger could be aimed at connecting to memories, collective where possible (with probably high-impact) or will have to rely on popular themes/memes (picture of Beckham placing the ball on penalty-spot; Big Brother logo etc.) ...
I'm hoping to do similar in a musical context, perhaps with crops from classic album covers/photos - again, employing the user's memory to amplify the trigger-effect of 'fragments' ... we'll see.
Matt notes that "nuances ... build up and reveal themselves over time as a very individual, collective or complex/adaptive infotapestry ..." The "over time" aspect here may be crucial, again to do with memory creation and recall (it'll require some smart server log:browser cookie:user login analysis to track these developments properly). Maybe a focus could be on creating layered, mini-narratives over time, conjuring memories to be induced at a later date.
Anyway, time to properly delve into Frances Yates' 'The Art Of Memory' methinks (again).
