1994

The theme of the story focuses on the impact of technology on a person's identity. Technology influences how society 'see's' a person and even how that person 'see's' themselves.

It was primarily inspired by the work No Other Symptoms: Time Travelling with Rosalind Brodsky by Suzanne Treister (1999, Hardcover) and to a lesser extent the work of Linda Dement.

The narrative of Author Unknown tells the story of a woman from her birth until the day she first creates a web page.

Authoring tools:

The interactive work, Author Unknown, was first authored using Macromedia Director in 1994 and played via a CDROM.

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2004

The content of the work did not change significantly. 

Authoring tools:

The work was re-authored to make it accessible. Adobe Flash replaced Director as an industry-wide authoring tool and could be accessed easily via the internet (versus the CDROM in 1994).

Exhibited:

Exhibited in-person in Canada in 2007 at xxxxxx and online via xxxxx.

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2014

The intention was that the project would be re-authored again in 2014; however, a combination of events including the birth of a child that year put the project on hold. 

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2024

The author is currently exploring the choice of platform/s to re-author the project and incorporate new technologies that have emerged since 2004, including social media, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Virtual and Augmented Reality (VR and AR).

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Exposition

Authoring tools:

Somewhat ironically the platforms and software needed to view the original Author Unknown works (1994 and 2004) are no longer available. 

The 1994 version was played from CDROMs which stopped working in the late 1990's as Director was replaced by Flash. The source files were stored on Zip drives (a now redundant technology).

The 2004 version needs browser plugins that aren't available on our modern browsers.

As a digital artist creating interactive works, it's vital to capture the work in a more permanent format. Sadly I have many works that are now zombie works on discs I can no longer access. Luckily I have a video recording of Author Unknown, which you can access below.

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