Week 12 – Workshop

New Media Ekphrasis and Essay Workshop

Today we each brought in an example of ekphrasis in the digital age.

I stumbled upon Simon Biggs’ digital projection installation called reRead. (you can watch how it works here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSias0PZ6js).

The viewer becomes an active part of the digital installation because the words only appear once the viewer is in front of the projector; what is written is a consequence of the viewer reading. This creates a sort of new experience of ekphrasis altogether, where the technology and reader are both equally involved in the finished “product”.

Val brought in an example of dance show booklets, and how they explain the storyline before the viewer has a chance to interpret the show himself. Mary discussed digital methods of accessibility for viewing impairment, and how it uses ekphrastic writing to describe what is occurring on the screen.

In the second half of the class we shared our essay proposals.