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September 12, 2007
Micro/Macro Readings
To me, the Constantine Andersons Rockefeller Center is a beautiful piece of art. When I first saw the image I felt as though I was standing in a 3D environment. Although I have never been to the Rockefeller Center it gave me a feeling that I am one with the location. The way he describes over 1600 buildings, stores and parks along with over 600 street names is phenomenal. As Armin mentioned earlier, the map reminded him of Sim City. To me, it reminded me of the latest version of GTA (Grand Theft Auto) where the environment is modeled on New York City. In the game the level of detail is so high that when the players enter some of the buildings, the interior is an exact replica of the existing building. It never fails to amaze me that with macro and micro levels of detail, the artist can mentally relocate the viewer to the location of the artist’s choice.
The point where it says that “high density design allows viewers to select, narrate, to recast and personalize data for their own use” really struck me hard. I believe that every person should have their own point of view, without which the world will be a monotonous place to live in. I strongly feel that ideas and views should not be pushed onto viewers but it should come to them in their own way after viewing a piece of art. At the end of the experience the viewer should be content with the fact that they have got what they wanted to get out of the experience. I also believe there are some instances where data thin displays are a boon to viewers. As the saying goes “curiosity and suspicion kills the human mind”, but to me curiosity and suspicion instigates imagination. If curiosity killed the cat, only satisfaction could bring it back.
Posted by Sanjay at September 12, 2007 11:41 PM