Semester Project Four Sketches

Reading Response Four

Art Studio: The Artist’s Perspective: Multimedia Assignment Form for ARTS-235			Date: 4/11/2010 Name: Michael Widener Major: MMDD Specialization: Computing Year: Senior
Type of assignment [ ] Semester project √ Blog entry / Reading response [ ] Technical evaluation [ ] Exhibition			Title of the assignment: Rokeby and Morse Reading response
A description of the assignment. Throughout the semester, readings will be assigned which correspond to the area of multimedia we will be discussing or to the specific project you are working on. The readings will be discussed in class and the student will post a response to the reading on his or her blog.
Content of the assignment. Of the two readings the one I most engaged was David Rokeby's "Transforming Mirrors: Subjectivity and Control in Interactive Media". The passage that stood out to me points out that interactive systems can only interest a participant if the interaction is restricted enough to be perceived, while expansive enough to hold interest. Finding that balance is the goal of any good interactive work. Rokeby spends time covering and framing interaction in social terms when he says that we can feel increasingly insignificant and seek technology (or at least technological trends such as social networking popularity tend to support this) to give us a sense of connection. I would agree that the popularity of social networking tools echoes an interest in connecting to others even when we can't be physically near. I think the insight is observant.
	Biography of the author.	Michael Widener was born and raised in Berkeley, California. He is a thoughtful, quality-focused web programmer with accomplishments in computer problem solving and Internet business start-ups.