“Fame,” an experimental web site (2005), student project

Fame, a.k.a. “Thing,” is an experimental site, exploring the topic of Fame—as construction, as identity, and as temporal entity. The project exists as an artifact in many roles: a dynamic research space, a digital sketchbook, a comprehensive collection, a non-linear narrative, an experimental space to bloviate, and a “fanzine” on the topic. Its success is in the visual language that begins to develop: tropes of fame are translated into digital manifestations and web behaviors. For example, scrolling marquees on the home page are portals to the underlying research, where newer topics literally overwrite out-of-date topics (“has-beens”). Themes of invasiveness are explored via pop-up windows and java scripted interruptions.

Included in the experiments: an exploration of the deterioration of one’s “15 minutes of fame” in the digital environment, exemplified by Gary Brolsma, a New Jersey teen who reached celebrity proportions by filming himself with a web cam, and quickly regretted the attention [source unknown]. Over the course of 15 minutes, the video becomes worn and warbled from overexposure; it visually appears to have grown out-of-date, and tired.

Visit this wacky site. [best viewed in Safari; some features won't work in FireFox]

Copyright ©2006, Tamady. All rights reserved. Last modified, 11/17/07