These are frames from a Flash presentation that I gave at Harvard University. I was invited to present my work and to deconstruct The Fair, which was a Flash Film Festival finalist and an official selection of the Sundance Film Festival. I HATE CMPTRS was a brief overview of the path leading to the creation of The Fair.
presentation builderI don't particularly love computers. I never have, and I still don't. I sit in front of a computer nearly 10 hours nearly every day.
presentation builderWhen I was a kid, everyone thought that computers were the future. I remember reading children's magazines that encouraged young readers to consider a job in the computing industry. I just wanted to ride my bike.
presentation builderI took a computer class at camp one Summer when I was about ten years old. We wrote code to draw a picture on the screen. The image that my partner and I looked like this. It took about a week.
presentation builder[Video still] This is one of my favorite books from my childhood. It's a Wonder Woman comic book with a readalong record. One of the most stirring scenes is a brawl between Wonder Woman and the leader of the Psi Women, a buxom blonde bombshell. There's lots of slapping and kneeling and moaning. I didn't know exactly why I liked it, I just know that I did.
presentation builderThe first time I had any interest in computers was when I saw an essay created in a word processing program and printed from a laser printer. I wanted to be a writer, and I was impressed by how "professional" it looked. I also thought it was neat that I could cut and paste text.
presentation builderStill, I was more interested in listening to music and riding my bike. One of my favorite bands was The Nation of Ulysses, which had liner notes filled with rhetorical flourishes.
presentation builderMy very first Flash movie was a teaser to announce the launch of my website. It ended with a screed read by a robot voice.
presentation builderThe movie was a direct descendent of my influences.
presentation builderAs I continued to work with Flash and computers, I became more and more interested in the programming and interactive aspects. One of the early iterations of my websites contained nothing more than a series of interactive flash movies that contained sound and relied on programmatic movement in response to the user's actions.
presentation builderAfter several years of working nearly exclusively with computers, I felt a real, physical need to work with physical objects. This is an altered Polaroid I made.
presentation builderOne of the most satisfying experieces in my life has been creating books. This is one of the first books that I created. The cover features a transfer of the image above. The interior pages are a collection of my writing, scans of objects, video stills, and frame grabs of some of my computer art.
presentation builder[Video still] The book features a readalong mini-cd. Like my first Flash animation, this book is a direct descendent of my influences.
presentation builderThe presentation ends with the physical display of The Fair book and a viewing of The Fair movie.