Navigating media-rich information spaces using concept graphs -- the abramovic dossier

Navigating media-rich information spaces usually involves switching back and forth between categories and lists indexing the material and the actual media presentations. To address this problem, we developed a concept graph navigation system in 3D that allows the presentation of media material and navigation in a more immersive manner, using a presentation gadget that is closely connected with the navigation facilities offered by the concept graph.

In this paper, we describe a multidisciplinary case study of creating a digital dossier to present a collection of artworks of the Serbian-Dutch performance artist Marina Abramovic, together with the art related information for the preservation and re-installation of these artworks. For the presentation of information we choose a 3D environment which facilitates the presentation of text, pictures and video as well as 3D models of artwork installations. For navigation we developed a concept graph that allows for choosing inter-related concepts, artwork-related information and media recordings of artworks in a unified intuitive fashion. When navigating, a preview of the related material is shown in a semi-transparant way, to assist the user in selecting the appropriate node.

The Abramovic dossier resulted from a long-standing cooperation with ICN (the Dutch Institute for Cultural Heritage) and Montevideo (the Institute for time-based arts), in the context of the INCCA project (International Network for the Conservation of Contemporary Art, and the Culture 2000 project. It was developed by a group of students of the Vrije Universiteit (including students from Computer Science, Information Science and Artificial Intelligence), based on a set of video recorded interviews with the artist, which are included in the dossier, together with the media material related to the actual artworks of Abramovic. In a follow-up project, we worked at a digital dossier for Jeffrey Shaw, in which we further explored the incorporation of 3D models of artworks, in this case for the installation Revolution.

In the paper, we describe the design requirements, as well as the technical realization of the Abramovic dossier. Based on an initial user evaluation, we also indicate directions for future research, and discuss the style criteria for the user interface of our digital dossier(s).

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(C) Æliens 04/09/2009