Tuesday, July 8, 2014

The New Internet Highway


In the rip-roaring years of the early 1990s, I did editorial work for a magazine called "Internet World." They were busy advertising and advising users about this brand new way of showing pictures and text online called the "World Wide Web." This had just been invented and was quickly spreading through the online world, even though most of us were still poking along in front of a black screen with bright green or yellow writing and symbols on it. But the vision was there of an "information highway" on which we would all glide along seeing the sights of Southern California in our shiny new digital convertible. (It's a 1959 Chevy, here.) Here are Mr. and Ms. User cruising the freeway. Drive the new 1994 Internet!

This image is watercolor and ink, with collaged elements of computer graphics. I printed the road signs and rectangular captions on my first color printer, an HP PaintJet, which scrolled out dot-matrix-like prints in dye ink that was so fadeable that one day in normal bright room light would fade out the color.

"Information Highway" is 8 1/2" x 11", watercolor and computer graphics collage, December 1993.

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