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| Steve Cannon is interested in mathematical and linguistic structures in rich media and making those structures available to authors and users of applications. He consults and develops (particularly using Java) networked applications. He most recently served as CTO of Oven Digital during its growth into a rich media technology powerhouse -- building many award winning sites such as Tiffany.com, Hookt.com, nyc.gov, the WinFirst user portal, and the $10,000,000 visionary project of the Sagan foundation to build a science portal. He also has developed interactive art on his own and as a member of pioneering startup i/o 360. His piece text.ure is part of the permanent collection of the San Francisco MOMA and a winner of the ID Interactive 2000 Silver. Steven graduated in physics from Columbia University and is a former associate of the Center for Relativity at the University of Texas at Austin where he studied mathematical physics. Contribution: The Development and Elaboration of a Critical Theory of Interactive Design The development of a critical system capable of evaluating interactive art is essential to its progress. In general, critics so far have taken one of two paths. They have engaged in a breathless promotion of technology such as « The Best of The Web ». Or they have approached the critical analysis through the critical apparatus of visual art. The first leaves us with no framework. The second leaves us with a framework that emphasizes the visual. The new critical apparatus will need to have the sophistication of existing academic art criticism, but will need to address the additional aspects of data structure and interaction structure which are fundamental in interactive art and design. The treatment of the structure of data and code in interactive works requires a new critical apparatus that does not exist. The new critical appartus should borrow from hypertext theory, database design, Muriel Coopers work on Information Spaces, Object-oriented Design, and Literary criticism of late modern literature. The treatment of interaction structure could be furthered by the advocacy, a’ la Clement Greenberg, of an Abstract Interactive Design. In this movement artists could help theorists by approaching the fundamental issues of interaction. They could develop art which would abstract interaction from any particular use and from data that represents any particular real thing. This kind of art is essential for the further development of the theory, and to some degree already exists. |
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