Shelley Jackson's MY BODY

Adrienne Eisen's Six Sex Scenes

Tina Laporta's DISTANCE

Bob Arellano's Sunshine 69

Donna Leischman's redridinghood

Discussion:

• What is the conceptual framework for each these stories, i.e. how do the artists create a context for their stories to develop in? Are they "coming of age" stories, photo-books, hypertexts, remixes, diaries, what?
• How do some of these net artists blur the distinction between autobiography and fiction? How do they "manipulate the data" (to borrow Bush's concept) of their lives to create an alternate persona?
• What is their link strategy, i.e. how do they chart out the different narrative options available to the reader? Are some more closed than others? How do the different link strategies affect you as a reader?
• Are there other examples of (online) digital narratives you know of that do things differently than the artists I linked to?
• Some other things to consider in these digital narratives: regarding this blurred line of distinction between autobiography and fiction, is there any point in the Jackson piece where the work becomes extra-real, where the autobiography is no longer believable but now a fantasy? In Laporta's "Distance," is Laporta herself playing a character in a net art work about a long-distance relationship or is this just the "real" story of the artist Tina Laporta? Is there a difference anymore? In Leischman's "redridinghood" why do you suppose she uses the old children's story as a conceptual framework to tell this new story about contemporary relationships?
• How do we know if experiencing these artworks is related more to literature (i.e. reading a book) or visual / performing art? Do these distinctions become more arbitrary in electronic environments?

You can further your develop your research into e-lit by engaging with the various works in The Electronic Literature Collection located here.

NOTE:

On September 12, visiting artists Bob Arellano and Scott Rettberg will share their experiments in hypertext and other expanded forms of electronic literature.