Andrew Campana has created a multimedia work that reflects upon the rigidity and punctuality of the Japanese transportation system (and perhaps Japanese culture). This work references the banality of automated announcements directed at Japanese commuters and turns them on their head. The artist juxtaposes an image of a meticulously clean commuter train with randomly generated nonsensical sentences, such as "The line is laughing on Platform 15. Please beware," "The last train is watching on Platform 10. Please get ready," and "The line is floating on Platform 2. Please prepare yourself." This generative text (poem?) successfully uses video looping and speech synthesis (in addition to other Web technologies) to create a well-defined performance piece.
It is important to note that the text of this work is generated in both the Japanese and the English languages simultaneously. What is interesting is that each of the two texts follows the semantic structure of that language creating in the viewer a different experience. This work blurs the boundaries between artistic forms and genres. Is it a performance piece, a generative poem, or something else?
The patterns, repetitions, and the form of the text ground it in the poetic genre, but the work overall seems to transcend that and cross into other areas of e-literature.
Discussion
editorial feedback
- question of the work's "poemness" should be dealt with and not relegated to a parenthetical question
- deal with modalities and literary qualities
- screenshots or images