Daniela Alina Plewe
«GeneralArts»

«GeneralArts» (previously titled «ArtAbstracts») is an interactive meta-browser which substitutes in real-time the words of the Media Art Net website. The substitutions may be synonymous, abstract or more specific than the original expressions. By these variations «new interpretations» of artworks and interpretations of new «artworks» are created.
With a slider the user can change the level of abstraction and investigate the emerging possibility spaces around a text.
* Synonyms preserve the original meaning more or less and indicate the variety of linguistic expressions.
* Abstractions (hypernyms) allow generalizations and possibly open a «big picture» or trivialize the content pushed to the extreme.
* Specifications (hyponyms) create similar but alternative worlds to the original text.
The system relies on the electronic lexicon WordNet from Princeton University, which contains the corresponding different word categories. These options are displayed in a «Detail» Mode. The system analyzes the average level of abstraction for each original text and indicates its value on the scale.

Reflection of language
«GeneralArts» reflects language as a linguistic system. When we speak or write, the manifoldness of the world is reduced to the linearity of language. The mechanism of «ArtAbstracts» enhances this linearity with the semantic variety of possible other descriptions. Theses variations are displayed as animated text on the monitor.
Daniela Alina Plewe
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