An
Anatomy
of Anchors
This site uses selective animation anchors to present a timeline of electronic art and writing from pre-1995 to 2002 in a variety of categories. In the directions, Martin Wattenberg describes the layout of the Idea Line "The Idea Line displays a timeline of net artworks, arranged in a fan of luminous threads. Each thread corresponds to a particular kind of artwork or type of technology. The brightness of each thread varies with the number of artworks that it contains in each year, so you can watch the ebb and flow of different lines of thought over time. [67]" Scrolling along the lines produces an algorithmic animation that opens the choices of links. Scrolling down these links provides information about that particular work and a link to the work itself: as the user scrolls up and down the lines, the clusters of artworks reveal themselves.
The animation invites exploration on various timelines, thus fulfilling the crucial purpose of portraying "the idea of context and visualization of relations/thematic connections between net artworks."
Screenshots used by permission.
You can view the data in three ways:
The fan shows the growth in the number of electronic works: starting out with narrow lines that show very few works and widening with the number of works.
Screenshots used by permission.
Flat concentrates on the luminosity of the lines to reveal the activities in that area over time.
Screenshots used by permission.
Total shows the relative totals of works in each category.
Screenshots used by permission.