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People who arrive expecting "productivity software" are put in the position of having
to reevaluate what they thought they knew about software, and perhaps art, too.
Conventional wisdom may find it too fanciful to be useful, and too useful
to be art, as well. But in the moment of doubt, when goal-orientation appears
to be at odds with the functioning of the software, beauty and fascination
may intervene to invite exploration of alternative goals, perhaps even
aesthetic goals.
By blending tool, expression, and online experience,
Collabyrinth examines the sea change that public space undergoes when it is reconstructed
in cyberspace. What has gone missing from contemporary experience
of the Web is that one seldom comes upon the unexpected. Predictable commercialism and
the marginalization of independent media offerings has meant that people are more likely
to be startled by viruses than by artists. Collabyrinth recalls the surprises of public space.
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