Response to Jason Nelsons digital art.

Once I had got my head around the fact that there were no rules or conventions with digital poetry and accept it for face value, I think I began to cringe a little less when viewing Jason's work.  NOTE:  I did say, cringe a little less.  I still dont truly 'get' his work.  Perhaps I need to throw off the shackles of traditional poetic rules and just embrace the work as a cocophony of sounds, words, visions, colours, spaces and animation...the very 'artistic materials' that make a digital environment in the first place.

Responses to the questions:

How does it make you feel? Truthfully...."Grab your children and run for cover!"  However, i am all about unlearning and relearning.  So I have delved into videos of Jason explaining his work, reviews and discussed it with fellow students in order to make sense of my feelings.  Jason's work appears to have no point, theme or purpose.  It confuses, infuriates and mystifies me.  I see no inspirational words and much of the work is macabre - examples of such are "This is how you will die", "Pandemic rooms" and "Endings eventually end".  Yet one element of the work which I admire is the fact that he creates it and then hands it over to the public to manipulate and interact with it. 

In Jason's own words, he describes how a job description for electronic art writers may read:

"Bored and computer-tied public searching for writers to inspire, confuse and entertain them. Writers must be willing to experiment, to be perfectionists and awkwardly lost. Technical skills or at least the willingness to work with technically proficient others is a must. Additional skills of thinking spatially, seeing poetry as geometry and reading the narrative of images together with a non-linear understanding of world are encouraged. Applicants must also be willing to delete works soon after they are created and be able to moderate epic battles between gypsies, hobos and the occasional Bill Gates".Retrieved from:http://www.australiacouncil.gov.au/writersguide/craft,_part_two/professional_profile_150_jason_nelson

What does it makes you think about?  If I were faced with work of this calibre in any format within my classroom, how will I respond?  If I assess students work without gaining an understanding of what they were thinking and what message they were trying to put across.  There are many works of great literacy merit that unless it was 'explained' to me or the premise behind it detailed, I would not have the same opinion of the work.  Only when I viewed videos of Jason online giving explanations of some of his work, did I begin to appreciate what he was doing.  Once again, I cannot say I like it, BUT...I can appreciate his talent. 

What are the other media forms that it uses, or is similar to?  Computer games, music dvds, Wii.  Basicly anything interative.

If we accept that Jason's worksre poetry -  How do you "read" digital poetry like that?  I don't believe you read it in the true linear, non spatial manner that is characteristic of traditional poetry.  Rather it is non linear, spatial and needs to be experienced by all the senses. 

It is best summarised in a quote I found on blog called "Digital Dada" where digial poetry is compared to Dadaism (a post World War I movement of 'artists' protesting against the barbarism of the War).  

"As more poets begin creating works incorporating such rich media, the dream of digital dada everywhere will soon entrance the sleeping public. The boundaries between different forms of creative expression, between the visual, the cerebral and the audio is becoming ever more blurred as the new digitalogists begin exploring new ways to create provocative virtual experiences".  Retrieved from: http://www.poetscoop.org/dada/blog/2007/01/concept-of-digital-creation-in-terms-of.html

If you are interested in finding out about Dadaism - click this link The Dada Movement