Abstract

Keywords: Cyberspace, web art, cartography, maps, labyrinths.
Theme: New arenas of revelation

My claim is that the ancient studies of maps and labyrinths could help us to better understand and deeper interact with the complex virtual spaces of our digital era. The concept of cyberspace, usually conceived only as an informational network, sustained by computers and telecommunication technologies, must be reviewed. We must enlarge the notion and foreshadow the cyberspace as a space in which people interact, inhabit and transform themselves. The old labyrinthine wisdom tells us that the one who makes the labyrinth isn’t the architect, but the walker who ventures himself inside it. The same point is fundamental in the studies of maps. A map is just a representation of a territory and we need a lot of different maps to start to glimpse a place. Besides, we should distinguish the map conceived just as an elaborated diagram of a philosophic and conceptual map. Since Deleuze and Guatarri, in Rhizome, map is something much more dynamic, that is always in transformation. In this sense, we should say that the conceptual map is created after a personal and subjective journey. Because, as we know from our personal experience, even when we have an excellent graphic, other geographies, other spaces emerge from our activity.

Intro

In this multidisciplinary article I explore some particular aspects of cyberspace’s aesthetics. My claim is that the ancient studies of maps and labyrinths could help us to better understand and deeper interact with the complex virtual spaces of our digital era. The concept of cyberspace, usually conceived only as an informational network, sustained by computers and telecommunication technologies, must be reviewed. We must enlarge the notion and foreshadow the cyberspace as a space in which people interact, inhabit and transform themselves. The old labyrinthine wisdom tells us that the one who makes the labyrinth isn’t the architect, but the walker who ventures himself inside it. The same point is fundamental in the studies of maps. A map is just a representation of a territory and we need a lot of different maps to start to glimpse a place. Besides, we should distinguish the map conceived just as an elaborated diagram of a philosophic and conceptual map. Since Deleuze and Guatarri, in Rhizome, map is something much more dynamic, that is always in transformation. In this sense, we should say that the conceptual map is created after a personal and subjective journey. Because, as we know from our personal experience, even when we have an excellent graphic, other geographies, other spaces emerge from our activity. The great challenge is: how could the net artists create new maps and labyrinths?

• LUCIA LEÃO  PUC – SP, São Paulo Catholic University, Brazil

Sponsored by FAPESP

Full text (PDF) p. 8-21