Web Warp & Weft

"Web Warp & Weft" is a "lovingly researched homage to the Luddites, a group of artisanal English textile workers who fought back against the industrialization of their craft. A substantial hypertext poem, it is woven from documentary information on the Luddites, excerpts from their writings and stories, HTML, Java applets, JavaScript, history, myth, and Whitehead's vision to lend it coherence. There is so much to learn, discover, enjoy in this piece and several ways to explore it in a carefully crafted interface.

One of its pleasures is its clever use of code to emphasize the ideas in some of the pieces. For example, 'Blinds' uses JavaScript to open windows using a resizing script that enhances the line 'pull down the blinds.' 'Print' combines frames with a simple script that makes it scroll sideways in an endless loop that stitches together the beginning and end. 'Colour' (depicted above) uses scrolling texts and color to feature the materiality of Web writing with all its color choices, which resonates with the color palette of textiles. 'Source' juxtaposes the source code for generating a Web document with human executable instructions for weaving.

Most importantly, this work humanizes the Luddites, respectfully putting their voices in conversation with the World Wide Web and the artisanal qualities of Web design." -- From I Love E-Poetry