Stuff-Art 99, an online program showcasing new interactive digital media arts from around Australia, has launched its eight finalists on the Web.
In its second year, the initiative is sponsored by the Australian Film Commission, Triple J and ABC Online.
This years works include clickhear!, exploring a virtual house, War and Peace, a Bruce Petty cartoon brought to life with the idea of working for peace, and Indentikit, with over forty faces diced and sliced so the viewer can assemble them any way they like.
The challenge for the creators was to create a work that downloaded fast, fitted into 1.4Mb and was visually exciting enough to capture the attention of web-surfers. Iain Anderson, the creator of Indentikit said the guidelines weren't too much of a challenge given the limitations of working on the web. There is always a need to "hold yourself back a bit" he said. Anderson said the initiative was an opportunity to get publicity and funding for his project, which he probably would have created anyway. The idea for Indentikit came from photos he took of friends at his own going away party.
The Australian Film Commission sees Stuff-Art as aimed at those producing original, interactive web-based entertainment "which is driven by creativity, not the technology used to create it". The program gives an outlet for Australian digital artists to exhibit their interactive creations to the world.
All of this years artists can be viewed at http://stuff-art.abc.net.au.
