This project consists of an interactive, intermedia poem created by the user in conjunction with a computer. The user determines the general direction of the performance and the computer, via chance operations, determines the specific instances that compose the event. Thus the user is a participant in, and the audience for, the event-simultaneously.

The performed poem is intended to function on several levels at once. Calling upon multiple senses it will employ spoken text, written text, still images and sound as 'transmitters'. The structure of the poem will be non-linear.
Since there are many possible combinations of image, text, speech and sound, each encounter with the piece will produce a unique experience for the user. The combinations of the elements are the key, producing a tertium quid — a new meaning generated by the proximity of elements to one another... a meaning not explicitly expressed by any single one, but arising from the consonances and dissonances between components. Furthermore, the process is significantly influenced by another set of inputs: the unique life experiences, intellectual biases and temperament of the user. What the user brings to the encounter figure s prominently in the interpretation of the material presented. The user's active involvement (shaping the course of the presentation by his/her choices, musing upon the combinations arising) in the unfolding event completes the 'circuit' created by the poem. In this sense a fundamental aspect of the work takes shape and resides in the mind of the user, not the computer. The poem exists as a whole only when it is being read/viewed/heard/driven by a user.
I belive that new kinds of communication are now possible due to advances in computer technology. This poem is an attempt to create an example of this new form of communication and investigate its effectiveness at sparking one's imagination. It is my hope that the piece will offer the user the ability to see the connections between formerly separated facts, the ability to break out of outmoded mindsets. (Rebecca Fuson)

Technical Background

HW / SW: Macintosh II; Hyper Card 2.0

Rebecca Fuson (USA) has pursued her interest in the arts in a variety of disciplines. She has drawn, painted, assembled collages and taken photographs. Graphic design and typesetting have been the focus of her imagemaking since 1986. As a modern dancer, she has studied at the schools of Martha Graham, Merce Cunningham and Twyla Tharp. Most recently she is working with audio, video and filmmaking.