Sito.org: Where Art Goes To Play
Written: Jan 06 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: fun, fun, fun -- and inspiring
Cons: none
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| moderngypsy's Full Review: Archived Web Services Reviews |
If you're into art and collaboration, look no further! This is the site for you.
Sito.org, begun by Ed Stasny way back in the days that the web was new, is a playground for artists and those strange enough to love messing things up. There are literally hours of things to do, and it is frequented by some of the most creative, talented individuals online today.
What's There?
A lot, to put it succinctly. A first glance to the index page may not yield much information -- there are cryptic symbols with DHTML explanations (ruling out those with archaic browsers, I'm afraid...upgrade!) that don't tell you a lot about the dynamic things going on deeper within the site. Click on the section marked SYNERGY to find the good stuff.
SYNERGY is a compilation of ongoing collaboartive projects that anyone is invited to play in. You'll need to get a SITO.org username, which is a painless, easy project. Just give out some informatin and your email address (which is never sold or used in any way), and a three letter username and temporary password will be sent to you immediately.
Once you have that in hand, go play. Here's what's there.
PANIC: Panic is a simple concept with some pretty nifty code to make it easier. Someone uploads an image. This can be anything from a shot from inside the space shuttle to a picture of her cat. Anything. Then, when it's uploaded (via happy browser interface), others are free to download that image and do something to it. What that something is depends on the artist. It might be distorted, added to, played with, or rearranged. It is then re-uploaded by the alteree, and given a generation name (like cat1.jpg instead of cat.jpg). This continues until the picture comes to a logical stopping point, and it rarely looks like your cat when it's done. Some incredibly creative things have been done with Panic in the past, including actual scheduled events where people create art as fast as they can from wherever they are on a certain date and time, while simultaneously chatting in a chatroom. It's art -and- socializing, all wrapped up in one.
GRIDCOSM: Gridcosm is another collaborative project. Each so-called "level" is made up of nine square pieces arranged into a 3x3 grid. When an artist comes onboard, they create one of those little 3x3 pieces until the square grid is full, or complete. Then, when the grid is full, it is "shrunk" to fit in the middle square of a blank grid, and SITO artists add onto THAT, as if it were just a middle section. There are over six HUNDRED levels now, meaning that more than five thousand squares have been placed over the life of this project. It's like a kaleidoscope, ongoing and constantly changing.
IMPULSE FREAK: Talk about an interesting idea -- this is the ongoing saga of a stick monkey. Each artist is allowed three pages in the compilation to further the saga in his or her own way and style, and then this compilation is compiled, printed, and turned into a zine that you can order on the site. (Contributors, of course, get an issue for free.) There's also something called the Impulse Freak Overload, which is a completely internet-based project where the stories are circular and overlap, and it's open to new artists, as well. If you're into drawing comics, this project is loads of fun.
HYGRID: Established in 1995, this is another one of the SITO projects that is immensely large and kind of hard to understand. In Ed's own words: "HyGrid is a complex maze of interlocking squares. HyGrid is a wickerwork of pixelated moebius strips. HyGrid is a hypnotic visual poetry space. HyGrid is a mathematician's mandala peristalsised through the bowels of a madwoman. HyGrid is an artwork that can't be displayed in two or three dimensions.HyGrid is magical. HyGrid is new every time you look at it." I have not participated in this one, but can vouch for the fact that if it's been around this long, it's immensely cool.
SLITHR Slithr is vaguely like PANIC, above, but utilizes animation rather than just static pictures. It utilizes some of the most interesting new technologies, and even if you never participate, it's a fun way to kill a few hours looking through the creativity of the other SITO artists.
And if that's not enough....
There are showcases from SITO's previous projects that aren't being updated. Projects like a tarot collaboration (that should be published!) and an exquisite corpse round.
Convinced yet that you need to see this? If you have even the most remote artistic proclivities, SITO.ORG is one place that you'll want bookmarked forever. Its collaborative push and open group make it a safe place to express yourself, and to meet others of the same focus as yourself.
Recommended:
Yes
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moderngypsy
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Member: Elizabeth Badurina
Location: Seattle, WA, USA
Reviews written: 140
Trusted by: 93 members
About Me:
Just a rain-soaked writer, climbing mountains and creating art that matters.
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