Mining the Museum

As an New Media major with very little technical knowledge, I felt extremely behind the curve, until I read this article about Fred Wilson. It was exactly what drew me to New Media in the first place, and is humbling in its power and artistry. Wilson, to me, had defined Interactivity at the gallery and museum way that is thought-provoking, harsh, powerful, and highly charged, both racially and politically. I found the article itself well-written and thoughtful, a very open look at one of the most important installations of our age, but I found that the photographs available on the web told the story even more. Sometimes a picture really is worth a thousand words, and with his installations, Wilson made his exhibits worth millions of words. It was a strong call for a vast reappraisal of the way museums function and display artwork, and it was necessary. This article drew me in further to this major, this class, and my artwork as a whole. I very much hope to explore Fred Wilson and similar artists in the future.