Project for Tachistoscope [Bottomless Pit]

My work generally references the histories of the avant-garde and popular culture. The starting point of this piece is the historical coincidence that "subliminal advertising" and "concrete poetry" were introduced as concepts at nearly the same time. The piece is, as far as I know, the first to use subliminal effects in a work of electronic literature. A fuller description/statement is incorporated in the work itself.

(Source: Author description, Electronic Literature Collection, Volume One.)

“Project for Tachistoscope [Bottomless Pit]” consists of subliminal messages that seem to be attacking something—whether that is icons, corporations, pop culture, or something else entirely. In this piece, it is left up to the reader to determine its subliminal messages by creating different reactions to different readers. What helps create these unique reactions is the music and icons that appear in the background of the text. The icons are the main focus in this piece and what sets it apart from other readings like itself. Certain icons are displayed behind certain words thus creating an association between the words and the icon being shown. Leaving the message up to the reader is the most interesting fact of this piece because the images it creates in each reader’s mind and what they think the author is trying to convey really gets them into the piece; it makes them want to understand it and spend more time viewing it in the process.

(Source: Reviewer description, ELD entry)