2000 Leonardo New Horizons Award Finalist

Fabian Wagmister




Fabian Wagmister's digital work, two, three, many Guevaras (1997), is a comprehensive multimedia exploration of Ernesto "Che" Guevara, "the man, the icon, and the myth." For this complex piece, Wagmister and his assistants culled hundreds of poetic, literary and visual tributes to Guevara in order to explore the various cultural forces that have shaped our understanding of this unique historical figure. Viewers who navigate the installation employ several digital systems. They begin by simply selecting images; these images lead one through thematically related collections which can be further explored by country of origin, type of work, year produced or individual artist/author. This interactive experience allows each viewer to create a unique path through this "exploratory collective poem." As the work's creators have explained: the "advanced underlying multimedia relational database structure and an interpretative interactive engine the project reaches beyond the conventional 'clicking' navigational mode and allows individuals to make deeper structural choices." To further enrich the interpretative potential of this work, numerous original video interviews with the featured artists and other "relevant cultural workers" have been included.

This vivid exploration of the life and mythology of Che contains over 4,000 images, 600 poems, and hundreds of songs from Cuba, Bolivia, Argentina, Korea, Turkey --- in all, more than 60 countries. The visual component of the digital work also includes posters, paintings, drawings, and photographs which were collected by Wagmister from throughout Latin America. The work is accompanied by music inspired by the causes for which Che fought.

Wagmister's huge piece --- over 8 gigabytes --- lays out the historical conditions and personal characteristics that make the Latin American revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara such a significant figure to several cultures while simultaneously reflecting upon the function and potency of political art.

--Barbara Lee Williams,
Leonardo/ISAST Awards
Committee chairperson



to learn more about Fabian Wagmister's work, visit these websites

http://digitalcultures.isop.ucla.edu/

http://time.arts.ucla.edu/AI_Society/wagmister.html

Fabian Wagmister
fabian@ucla.edu

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                            	 | New Horizons Gallery |
				       
		  | gallery entrance |

		            | past exhibitions |

				          | Leonardo On-Line |

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