FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

A TRAVELER'S TALE IN CYBERSPACE
http://www.worldofawe.net

New York, NY, July 11, 2000 – Treasurecrumbs is proud to announce the
latest release of "World of Awe" by media artist Yael Kanarek. The
website is an online narrative that uses the ancient genre of the
traveler's tale to explore the connections between narrative, memory &
technology.

A treasure hunt takes place in a desert terrain called the
sunset/sunrise, where the determination to find the lost treasure meets
nostalgia for speculated technology and longing for a loved one left
behind. Treasure crumbs found in excavation sites, oddly, resemble candy
sprinkles. Written in the literary style of magical realism, "World of
Awe" contains a collection of love letters that open from digital
landscapes and journal entries that describe events from the expedition.
Also included are detailed technical descriptions of three navigation
tools: The map, the moodRingBaby and the magnifying glass.

"I'm constantly drawn to the intimate 'loving' aspect of working in the
digital environments where narrative and code become one. Where code and
binaries expand the non-verbal experience of the narrative," says Ms.
Kanarek.

Visitors to "World of Awe" are greeted with the sound of hollowing wind
and an invitation to enter an interface that appears like an awkward
application, which claims to mirror the content stored on the laptop
used by the traveler.

"I printed the output and wrote your name on the back then folded it
into a tiny ball and left it on the motherboard next to me. I sat there
for a while…just sat there…mind wandering, gazing into nowhere. A
dung beetle climbed on the motherboard. It approached my letter, sniffed
my little love ball then got on its forelegs and rolled it away off the
motherboard and under an old Pentium 7 Gateway 2300 PC (I recognized it
by the udder on its case). I reached out to my backpack pulling out a
few strips of dodo jerky and crackers for dinner. A quiet thought was
wondering how long it would take for my message to arrive at its
destination." –excerpt from the chapter Silicon Canyon.

"World of Awe" is a production of Treasurecrumbs, conceived and
developed by Yael Kanarek. DHTML & Perl programming by Luis Perez. Sound
design by Raw Dog. Edited by Rebecca Turner. "World of Awe" has been in
development since 1995. A previous version of the site is archived on
the SFMOMA website. An "Art Dirt" online interview/performance is
accessible through the Walker Art Center website. "World of Awe" is
hosted by RSUB-The Razorfish Subnetwork and is a participant in FILE,
International Electronic Language Festival in S