The Electronic Chronicles

"'The Electronic Chronicles' is a web-based project that was presented as a thesis in the School of Visual Art. Proposed by Adrianne Wortzel, the project went underway in 1995 with the goal to create stories that are 'continually constructed and connected to each other as well as to other sites on the Internet, the World Wide Web, and to virtual communities.' (adriannewortzel.com) She originally intended the work to be viewed with Netscape, though it has been reconstructed since then to emulate the now-archaic browser.

The work itself is presented in two different voices: of those who made the documents and of the actual characters in the work. The first of these treats the subject (the New York Public Library) as though it were thousands of years old. Everything from it's paintings, papers, and sculptures, to the physical aspects of the building itself, are viewed as archaic and alien. Referred to as the 'Twin Lions Building' in 'Man-Hat-10', the writer does her best to explain the reasoning and process behind recording historical events in print-based and digital media. The second voice (those of the historical characters) speak about their lives in first-person, though their commentary still appears as if it is analyzing a world other than our own. The landing page of the site presents users with tables containing links to these characters' stories, as well as to her narration regarding the subject as a whole. Navigation-wise, the narrator explained that the Electronic Chronicles were produced in the same non-sequential form in which they were found: Each historical figure has a collection of hypertexts for users to explore, as if they are perusing a virtual library of texts." -- Kathleen Zoller, The Progressive Dinner Party Restored