“Mixing-Up the Library” by Dan Norton winner of the Soft Control – Grid Spinoza -Spring Sessions #1 residency grant

Period of residency: from the 31st of May to the 1st of July 2013.

After going through 39 project proposals, the Soft Control – Grid Spinoza – Spring Sessions #1 Jury has selected the project “Mixing-Up the Library” by the artist Dan Norton.

During his residency in Hangar, Dan Norton is going to carry out an investigation that brings together creative practice with Information and Library Science.

The study examines the value of creative methods for interacting in digital collections, and archives.
The research stems from an artistic interest in the relationship of the reader to the writer through technology (viewer to artist). This has been examined recently through Norton’s thesis, where the Disc Jockey’s creativity centers upon the use of the personal digital library.
In Information Science, a number of models have been developed to analyse user-system interaction in information seeking and retrieval. For example; Ellis (1989), Ingwersen (1996), Saracevic (1996), Belkin (1995). These models support development of information systems that are responsive to user needs.

However, a knowledge gap exists in these models; none are developed by observing creative practice. No creative information behaviors exist in the models Makri (2007) is an exception).
Disc Jockeys reappropriate pre-authored media. Content is reused throughout their process, and because of this it is relatively simple to observe individual creative behaviors, which allow innovation and newness to enter the process.
These two behaviours are: Selecting and mixing. I.e., the choice of material, the sequence by which it is shown, and the manner by which it is combined. This is sufficient to produce novel information.

The residency will be used to explore the value and potential application of the DJ’s creative model of information interaction, by discussions within the field of Information and Library Science.