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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