When I started thinking about my objectives for this thesis, it took little time to decide on the objects of study and the format of presentation. The most difficult task was finding a methodology that would accomplish my objectives. From the conversations I have had with colleagues, a thesis ends up being a personal epic journey. A methodology serves many functions in that thesis/journey. A methodology must provide a vehicle through which I can express my thoughts and ideas. In applying a theory/theories, the methodology is a kind of interface; a set of legitimate academic theories and/or perspectives that mediates/filters/allows my thoughts to shape and reshape my understanding about an object of study.

In addition to being a kind of expressive vehicle, a methodology must both reinforce my thinking on a subject, and persuade me to explore issues in previously unforeseen ways. For example, I have been bothered by the separation of man [sic]/ machine. For instance, the application of programming metaphors to human thought processes is not always appropriate. I felt that it is simplistic to apply a metaphor to our complex brains that relies on a programming metaphor.

On the other hand, I have long been aware of the influence of interfaces. I know that when I use an application like Adobe’s Photoshop, I cannot do anything I want, as many novice users of Photoshop initially conclude, but must employ the application’s interface to achieve any results. Photoshop’s interface, like any computer interface, is not transparent. To use applications effectively, one must gain some understanding of how the interface works. To use the dodge and burn tools, one must either be familiar with traditional photographic processes or be very good at experimenting. (I suppose that a third alternative would be to read the manual!) People in a culture built the interface in Photoshop. That culture is reflected in that interface. It is really no wonder that with the extent of computer use, we find ourselves using computer-based metaphors to describe ourselves.

Manovich's idea of transcoding (Manovich 2001), examines the interactions and relationships between the computer layer and the cultural layer (his terms). When I first read about transcoding, I realized immediately that I now had a framework for dealing with the crossover of ideas from people to computers and computers to people. This notion of transcoding is discussed further, but the idea has led me to think about the use of computer-based metaphors in ways I had not previously. I will continue to describe the journey through methodologies and examine the terms I explored in the different methodologies, but first, here is a short description of Puppet Motel.

Laurie Anderson is a storyteller who creates music, sound, still images, and moving images to tell her stories through multimedia performance, print, recorded audio media, film/video, installations, and interactive multimedia on computers. In the early/mid 1990s, Anderson produced retrospectives of her past 20 years as a multi and interdisciplinary artist. The retrospectives took four forms: 1) Stories from the Nerve Bible: A Retrospective 1972-1992, a printed book; 2) Stories from the Nerve Bible: A Retrospective 1972-1992, a concert tour reading from Stories from the Nerve Bible; 3) The Ugly One with the Jewels and Other Stories, an audio CD excerpted from the concert tour; and 4) Puppet Motel, an interactive CD ROM. Each work is based on the same material: Anderson’s artistic practice and experiences of two decades.

Puppet Motel is an interactive virtual space (or a set of interconnected virtual spaces) containing 33 rooms for a participant to explore. In each room, Anderson tells stories or fragments of stories through a spectrum of methods ranging from spoken word, to video, to interaction that engage the participant in experiencing and constructing those stories. For example, in the Ouija Room, the cursor becomes the ouija icon floating around a stark stone space. One can pose questions to the ouija as well as listen to Anderson’s story about an ouija board experience. In the Cutting Room, a participant combines a selection of one piece of audio and a clip of video tape. These strips are hanging in the room and the participant manipulates them to explore the available combinations.

Puppet Motel itself was one of the first works of art on CD-ROM available to a wide audience. It was ahead of its time when released in 1995. Many of the interactive techniques developed specifically for the work have been integrated into current multimedia authoring software.

Anderson is also well known for her creative use of technology on stage. Puppet Motel is one of four ways that Anderson tells a set of stories. Puppet Motel is an excellent example of interactive multimedia produced by an artist who understands technology and its possibilities in relation to the target audience.