Jim Andrews' Pen

I am very impressed by the concept of The Pen and the sample images are ver=
y nice. What I especially like is how it takes a well-known digital art id=
ea – cursor trails – and turns it into configurable software.

The program worked amazingly fast on my 2.0 GHZ PC, especially since the wi=
ndow size was very big. I like how it feels like an application and not li=
ke a mere web thing.

My only problem was that I could not tell how my movements (clicks and drag=
s) on the cancas affected the drawing. My mousing around seemed not to cha=
nge the evolving image which did its thing wuthout my help. I did try chan=
ging parameters using the toolbar, and that worked very well. Again, the s=
peed and responsiveness of the interface was very good.

Millie Niss
[email protected]
http://www.sporkworld.org=

Comments

, Jim Andrews

Thanks, Millie. Yours has been one of the very few responses I've received.

Basically, I've gotten it to a point where it needs a re-write if I want to
take it further. It's quite 'nib-centric' at the mo. To take it further,
it'd have to be more 'image-centric'. In other words, currently you
configure properties of the nib, for the most part. Whereas it's more
logical to configure most such properties as properties of the
image/animation. There will be some nib properties. Such as nib geometry
(how it moves around the screen). But most of the properties are of the
image/animation, I see, on reflection.

The basic 'objects' of the design are 'pen', 'nib', 'image/animation',
'image collection/poem', 'configuration'.

I'd like to have a suite of poems with it. Currently it has just two: TIME
and Niolog. The difference between them is the set of images that go on the
nibs. TIME is made of animations of the letters of the word TIME whereas
Niolog is made of the Nio animations. All these are Flash animations
imported into Director.

I see it'd be doable to let people import their own swf or psd or jpg or gif
or png into the piece. Not sure how much call there'd be for that, however.
I think to spend the time it'd take to develop that sort of feature, it'd
have to be, first and foremost, quite desirable as a feature of the piece as
a work of art. Because as a 'product feature', it's not exceptionally
commercial.

Some related work is some of http://www.re-move.org in that some of this
uses the 'cursor trails' or 'pen' idea only with simple images, not
animations, on the 'nibs'. There's also a sonic dimension to some of
re-move.org. I can 'see' a sonic dimension to 'Niolog' or 'TIME'. Concerning
re-move.org and a lot of software art that uses some variant of 'cursor
trails' or 'the pen', almost all of it is from the visual art wing of
software art. Very little of it is writerly. But language is well-suited to
this sort of thing. The shapes of linguistic symbols. Their bodies also. The
letter as calligraphic nib. And, taking it a step further, the lettristic
animation as calligraphic nib. This is of course considerably more lively
than a static nib.

Also, it's conceptually quite satisfying to use animations/videos as nibs of
a pen. Something more interesting to do than watch a video. Stick a video on
a pen and use it for weird ink. Write a note home with it. To weird Aunt
Janie. Have the note change into a visual poem. Oops. Janie will just have
to use her imagination. Poor Jane.

ja
http://vispo.com/nio/pens/screenshots
http://vispo.com/nio/pens/springs7.htm



—–Original Message—–
From: Millie Niss [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: May 8, 2007 6:35 AM
To: Rhizome RAW; Jim Andrews
Subject: Jim Andrews' Pen


I am very impressed by the concept of The Pen and the sample images are
very nice. What I especially like is how it takes a well-known digital art
idea – cursor trails – and turns it into configurable software.

The program worked amazingly fast on my 2.0 GHZ PC, especially since the
window size was very big. I like how it feels like an application and not
like a mere web thing.

My only problem was that I could not tell how my movements (clicks and
drags) on the cancas affected the drawing. My mousing around seemed not to
change the evolving image which did its thing wuthout my help. I did try
changing parameters using the toolbar, and that worked very well. Again,
the speed and responsiveness of the interface was very good.

Millie Niss
[email protected]
http://www.sporkworld.org

, Rhizomer

On 5/9/07, Jim Andrews <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> Thanks, Millie. Yours has been one of the very few responses I've
> received.
>

y do u think that is, jim?

chunks,
][m][


–
…knottings.in.the.sm.all.of.my.cortical.b[h]ack:
:http://netwurker.livejournal.com
:http://aliasfrequencies.org/m/
:http://disapposable.blogspot.com/

, Jim Andrews

Thanks, Millie. Yours has been one of the very few responses I've
received.
ja

y do u think that is, jim?
mez

i think people usually respond in writing not about individual art works,
but on issues concerning classes of art works.
ja