splatterlink - sehsturz

one of the main advantages of the internet over other media is its interactivity. from the singing of frank sinatra over esotaric designs to spiral animations which change according to your mouse movement and clicks, sehsturz.de is a must visit. we interviewed the creator alec crichton. (translated from german)

What is sehsturz?

sehsturz.de criticizes the possibilities for interaction with the modern internet, where interactivity is often only simulated. the flood of information is often confusing and a search for something specific can not be directly defined.

sehsturz.de is also simply a place to dump my own stuff. The main part of it are the spiral animations with the title "sehsturz" (sight crash), which symbolize the crash into the digital laybrinth.

What inspired you to create sehsturz?

Well, expanding one's mental horizons can be very inspiring ;-) Smoking is dangerous for your health!

How long did you work on your page?

The page was actually my application for the "Kunstschule für Medien" (Art Acadamy for Media) in Cologne, Germany, which I then put online. The original presention took three months, the online version an additional week.

The spiral animation, with the title "sehsturz", my first ActionScript adventure, started with a banner contest for Metropolis (German community site) in 2000. I then expanded the script every once in a while... trial and error, whenever I felt like it, until I didn't feel like it any more.

Were there any problems in the creation of the site?

The mathematic formulas were the major problem, since I didn't really understand them in the beginning and smply changed the variables around, until it looked better than before. Afterwards it was mostly performance problems.

Where did you get the sounds and the graphics?

All contents are homemade, the chicoholic-song is from filip forberg and a few sounds and graphics have been stolen from the net or have been sampled.

someone is looking into the camera...

What position does interactivity in art hold for you?

I feel very grateful to Macromedia because of Flash. I myself am always fascinated when I find creative pages where I can the chooser/controller and have the feeling that the site is reacting to my actions. Interactivity creates a greater connection to the viewer and makes him part of the art. Whatever art is, without observers it doesn't exist.

What other projects did you work on?

There aren't really any interesting online-art projects in my resumee, but probably many in my future. Maybe some people will find this interesting (dreads.info)

Tell us something about the creator of sehsturz.de

At one point in time I discovered the computer as a creative tool and have since then have become, at least creatively, more or less dependant on technology. When I don't have any money, I make dreadlocks or repair computers or create homepage or help build stages. When I have money, I cook tasty things or travel or buy myself new digital toys.

What are your plans for the future?

I am going to try to make myself as mobile as possible, so that I can carry a notebook, minidisk, and digicam around the world in the hope that nothing gets stolen. I believe a little video-juggling is ahead of me soon.