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Themesicon: navigation pathMapping and Texticon: navigation pathArchive/Map
 
IO_dencies (Knowbotic Research), 1997Datacloud 2.0 (V2_Lab), 19999 (Nine) (Harwood, Graham), 2003
 
9 (Nine) (Harwood, Graham), 2003
 

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discussions, lexical repetitions (i.e., what Deleuze explaining Foucault's methodology has called ‹statements‹) and possible (dis)agreements: i.e., as pictures of the group's ‹public opinion›.» [42]

In all these cases we do not at first establish whether mapping of this kind is effective or not. But every map has the great advantage of being legible as well as visible. Thus two access modalities are available. Even so, the map can contain too much or too little information. The relation between these two poles is not only dependent on the design, but also on the user. This brings us back to the question of how much the user can influence creating both content and presentation forms. Artistic projects, like the work of Knowbotic Research, especially the «IO_dencies» series (1997), or didactic and exploratory mediation projects like «DataCloud» (since 1998) by the Rotterdam V2_Lab attach great value to the collective and discursive process of generating and presenting data. In this respect a project like «DataCloud» is not just a tool for representing relationships dynamically, but also for strengthening links within a group or community. So the question arises of the extent to

 

which display and interface-design opens up new semantic horizons or simply remains a new design tool. Graham Harwood has also addressed this mapping problem. He is a member of the Mongrel group of artists working on a project presenting the Bijlmeer Community: «Nine(9),» organized by the Waag society in Amsterdam. The software for workshops and working in groups was developed here, i.e., it arose from specific social practice. The relevant headwords in the media context here are usually «open access,» «open source» and «democratic participation.» But Mongrel was faced with the experience that no one is interested in a completely open system. For this reason they introduced limitations linking the open editing system for users with clear instructions on how to proceed: ‹Choose 9 images/sounds/videos and add 9 texts to them›. Given that an open archive will probably run wild, «Nine(9)» offers a convincing solution guaranteeing coherence and self-determination for the map, which functions with categorial classifications, as this was obviously not appropriate for the community's ideas on self-presentation, as revealed by comments during the

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