The Community of Words (www.e-gallery.com.br/cp/) is a web-art work that happens in a 3D environment ruled by the Theory of Emergence applied to a community formed by the words entered by people who interact with the system. The participant is invited to linearly write his/her poem or text, which is placed in the interactive three-dimensional environment where the participant can observe the interaction happening, navigate and see other participants of the system.
The system registers the users' entries in a data base, filters some pre-established conditions, and then looks for repeated words that will ensure their bigger or smaller rate of submersion in the environment (words that are more repeated appear in the foremost position on the screen). Next, there is a search for sequences of three or four letters in the sent words. This process looks for finding formal resemblance in the words. These resemblances carry themselves phonetic relationships -- as similar pronunciations - and some indexical relationship, which in many cases are family of words, or cognate words. This means that words that belong to vocables that have a common root among them. In this sense, "beauty", "beautiful" and "beautify" are cognates and this specialty of the language will be recognized by the system through this first approach, by the selection of words with sequences of four letters. These phonetic associations are attractors between words, and in the mentioned example, the sequence "beau" is found in "beauty, beautiful and beautify" and the result of this attraction could be visible in the 2D control graph shown by the parameter "F" (due its association with "fonética" in Portuguese, or phonetic).
One of the system main characteristics is the feedback phenomenon that happens while one navigates in the 3D environment, since the words already present in the space influences the participants who may interact by writing a new poem/text.
People can interact either entering words or just navigating and exploring the 3D environment where the Community of Words reveals its emergence. According to the participants' characteristics, their languages, slang, cultures, and preferences, a completely different community of words is formed and therefore the words that emerge within it.
Silvia Laurentiz
Professor at the department of Fine Arts of the School of Communication and Arts of the University of São Paulo. PhD on Communication and Semiotics, Master's Degree on Multimedia and Bachelor on Art. Graphics and multimedia designer. Artist with works in virtual reality, multimedia and web art. Art and new technologies researcher. Speaker at art & technology conferences. More @ Silvia's personal website.
Martha Carrer Cruz Gabriel
Engineer, postgraduate in Marketing, and postgraduate in Graphics Design. Master's Degree in progress on Art & Technology at University of São Paulo. Web/MM artist, professor at the Business School and Digital Design Program of the Universidade Anhembi Morumbi, director of technology at NMD - New Media Developers. Winner of 11 Internet Best Awards from 1998 to 2005. International awarded speaker. More @ Martha's personal website.