Shirley Bassey Mixed Up' is an experimental illustrated 14-page biography, following her early years up to the present day.
The illustrations are network generated, built dynamically from Internet searches. By specifying different Yahoo searches and playing with the customisation options, you can influence the look of each illustration.
By pulling in data from the Internet and manipulating/ transforming it within a story, this work can be described as a networked narrative. But the structure is basically a traditional (linear) 14-page story built on top of a generative composition tool, that uses Internet search data as its input.
What is it?
a traditional linear story
a networked narrative
a generative composition tool, controlled by the user, but containing controlled randomness.
By adding unexpected and uncontrolled elements to the story we are influencing and changing the presentation of the story, how it's experienced and what we take away from it. In effect we are shaping the story, even making a new story, changing fact into fiction, sometimes disrupting the story.
As the networked elements are dynamic and largely unpredictable, every experience of the story is unique. Your version of the story is packaged into booklet form, for you to print and keep.
Why did I do it?
The biography was inspired by an incident on a TV awards show last year, where Bassey was publically humiliated. I felt sad to see this happen, and wanted to know more about what led up to this.
To somehow connect to a wider body of knowledge, to give it more context, make it more relevant and less subjective or controlled by me, to make the story more open
I wanted the story to be partly written by the network
I wanted people to contribute to the story
I wanted people to use my generative drawing tool, to create their own mini masterpieces.
(source: http://davemiller.org/projects/bassey_mixed_up/learn_more.php)
