VERBARIUM

1999, Christa SOMMERER & Laurent MIGNONNEAU
Source: 1999, Christa SOMMERER & Laurent MIGNONNEAU
Documents
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Description
VERBARIUM is an interactive text-to-form editor on the Internet. At the VERBARIUM’s web site, on-line user can choose to write text messages and each of these messages functions as a genetic code to create a visual three-dimensional form. A special text-to-form editor ensures the genetic encoding of text characters (=letters) into design functions. It provides constantly new images that are not any more pre-defined by the artist but instead develop in real-time through the interaction of the user with the system. Each different message creates a different form. Depending on the composition of the text, the forms can either be simple or complex, or abstract or organic. All text messages together are used to build a collective and complex three-dimensional image. This image is like a virtual herbarium, composed of the various forms based on the different text messages (i.e., verbs), hence the name VERBARIUM.
On-line users do not only help to create and develop this virtual VERBARIUM, but also have the option of clicking any part within the collective image to retrieve messages sent earlier by other users.

CHRISTA SOMMERER & LAURENT MIGNONNEAU
Keywords
  • genres
    • bioart
      • genetic art
    • digital communities (social network)
    • installations
      • interactive installations
    • net art
  • technology
    • displays
      • electronic displays
        • computer monitors
    • interfaces
      • soundgenerating devices
        • keyboards
Technology & Material
Hardware
1 computer server with an internet static address
Internet connection
Interface
Web user interface (java and CGI)
Sending user’s text
Fetching 2D animation from server
Clicking on any pixels of the “forest” of forms recall its original text

Web server side:
Receiving text
Rendering the developing 3D form, sending each picture to the web interface
Sending the 3D form placed in front of the “forest” of forms
Software
3D forms generator algorithm (expandable branching structure)
Text to 3D form algorithm
3D Image Server (server side 3D rendering with CGI)
Bibliography