New information structure

: digital archive as the new form of 'story-telling' and its effect

Abstract

Exploring the expressive potential of digital archiving, this dissertation aims at mapping out the epistemological implications behind structuring information by means of digitization. There is such a need to bring up the topic as changes in media's material characteristics are causing a shift on information structure from a discourse paradigm to an archival approach; information is represented as a large bunch of fragments ready to be retrieved, archived, used and re-used. It brings out unique effects on our everyday media experience and manifests the dynamics between technologies and knowledge. It also poses new challenges for artists and media users to embody and communicate information. On the digital platform, different forms of representation including print culture, visual culture and others are mixed and blended together. It becomes a site where different media interact and negotiate. The phenomenon, its forms, its cultural and social implications are fundamental issues this thesis discusses. To fulfil this agenda, this research offers an account of the epistemic notion of documentary film and the possibility of a shift from a narratorial approach to a fragmentary approach in information organization. It also explores the archival potential of documentary on the digital platform as a database archive and the material effect of such a transformation. By comparing and contrasting the filmic media with the digital media, this research argues that digital database is a venue full of potential for visual and audio materials to perform their epistemic function. This idea is also supported by a theoretical analysis on artwork and existing digital database and archive. Other than literature reviews, this research also adopts a practice-based approach as part of it is the creation of a documentary and a proposal of a digital archive model.

Date of Award	15 Feb 2011
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	City University of Hong Kong
Supervisor	Linda Chiu-han LAI (Supervisor) & Felipe CUCKER (Co-supervisor)