the littlest fly

Mouchette | pretty weird

Entering the world of mouchette.org for me is like entering the alternate reality of my early teenage self. Cue obsession with kitsch, suicide, and pretty/deranged pictures. Mouchette’s genius lies in an interactive and unexpected experience created by an anonymous figure (human? Cyborg? Man? Woman? Child? Adult?) that doesn’t supply all of the answers.
I believe this is a piece of net art because, really, what else would it be? It’s a mash-up of cut and paste, interactivity, mystique and originality.

thislittlefly

Mouchette embodies the new media artist as a prankster, whether that be luring viewers into releasing person information or leaving out enough information to keep us engaged and fascinated. As a user 17 years after mouchette.org’s inception, In 2013 I am still interested, engaged and curious while perusing the site. I keep at it, always finding something new, always trying to find an answer.
The site’s invitation for you to interact and add your voice means there will always be new material; I’ve found poignant and well-written poetry, hilarious wicked satire, and honest heart-felt verse. This becomes part of Mouchette’s web empire, a spokes-site for interactivity and odd collaboration. Because of Mouchette’s anonymity people are able to drop their guard while adding their voice.
Ultimately, the creator of this site can craft whatever they want from the material, we are both collaborators and at the mercy of the creator.
In Bill Nichols’ The Work of Culture in the Age of Cybernetic Systems, Bill writes about the importance of the creator of the algorithms of simulation; and I think this is an awesome point.
I wonder if, with the anonymity, we give Mouchette more or less power.
What is the importance of knowing the source and the intention of an art piece? Is it important at all? Mouchette.org opens a door into a conversation about these important topics, and I think that alone is something that speaks to the relevancy of this net-art site.
Or maybe just its’ kitsch alone is what makes it entertaining.

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http://www.mouchette.org



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