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Description
What we make of this world begins with what we know of it. What we know of it is dependent in most part on our means of 'getting the news.' From the perspective of today's modernized society in which much of our news information is acquired via the Internet, it is not so much that we find the news but that the news finds us. News stories and sponsored content posing as news are constantly vying for views, achieving such when appealing to users' emotions. From the use of exaggerated headlines and engaging visual elements, to automated feeds and the networked environment specific to the Internet, the web is highly capable of intriguing the senses, provoking clicks against better judgment and distancing users from valued journalism. My research on the topic of online news covers the historical beginnings of the American news structure, the fears and predictions of what was to come in the digital era, analysis of news presentation via digital meta-media and the vulnerabilities that are abound within. Automated, the exhibit, is the culmination of my research endeavors in which I presented a critical look at how news information is disseminated and consumed on the web. Held at the School of Art and Design at San Diego State University on December 4-10, 2015, Automated showcased original art including projected GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) animations and mosaic light boxes. A database within themselves, the GIF and mosaic as my media of choice allowed visitors of the exhibit to enter a hyper-real space of archived imagery, similar to that of the Internet. By depicting the intense, emotional draw of online news through color, typography, speed and form, I challenge the idea that individuals have total control of what they browse. Instead, I assert that news on the Internet is disseminated in such a way as can only be done online that is primed for obsessive consumption. Through this project, I hope to persuade everyday users of the Internet to examine how they consume news online and to question the paths they take when traveling the distorted realities of web space. The DVD-ROM, an appendix to the project, is available for viewing at the Media Center of Love Library at San Diego State University.
