Maps: Finding your way | |
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Maps consist of anchors arrayed
to assist a reader through the work, usually visual or textual arrays
indicating relationships between content and structure. Many "site
maps" are merely an indices of nodes within a site--and
are thus halfway between a menu with a few major
links and a map that conveys information about the structure or placement
or content. Bernstein describes maps as "visual metaphors" [71]. 25 Ways to Close a Photograph [41]is a striking example of these visual metaphors, as the piece revolves around the anchored map of an old photograph, and the facial connections become metaphors for love and life by virtue of being an anchored map. These metaphors can be spatial, denotative, and connotative. In theory, they could also be taxonomic, indicating the function of the particular node, but this sample did not reveal any instances of taxonomic maps. Works can incorporate other forms of maps than conventional maps which provide overlays of meaning for the texts:
Mapping the whole or a part Maps can either show an entire structure at once, such as Ferris Wheels [33], or present a series of submaps to show major portions of the works, such as Victory Garden [48]. Other maps show a particular subportion or a partial area to explore:
To reveal the spatial Maps can lay out a particular fabuliac space:
Victory Garden's [48]elaborate garden map and submaps denote the major entries into the work as anchors use the node name. Marble Springs' [36]
graveyard and town maps show where people lived or are buried. Marie Laura
Ryan notes the connective possibilities in these map series: "Thanks
to the cartographic interface, the reader is no longer cast as the external
operator of a textual machine, as is the case in most hypertexts, but
as an embodied member of the textual world who travels around Marble Springs
through the mediation of the cursor. [111]
" Kidbuilding [31] provides a conceptual floor plan map with descriptions of the benefits of each area. To emphasize connotative functions Maps themselves can be connotations, as Sand Loves [38] revolves around the Japanses kanji for earth. The entire work is an exploration of the mapping structure, and the earth character holds the primary semiotic key. Marble Springs [36] provides character connection maps, which depicts personal connections rather than the overall structure of the work. These cryptic path graphics highlight a taxonomic system of connections between the town's denizens. |