A jumbled corner of heaven on Earth

Naturally, there is text as well (in a scrolling box embedded in the main page, or in a more detailed essay available in a pop-up window), with information about the Forevertorn's creator, Dr. Evermore. Using a name adopted when he was 45 years old (adding a new persona to his creative resume), Evermore constructed the Forevertron to "perpetuate myself back into the heavens on this magnetic lightning force field." To that end, the structure uses everything from x-ray machines and hamburger signs to a relic of the Apollo space missions.

Finally, a link offers information about the current condition of the project and a connection to its official home on the web.

Each of the other undertakings is given a similar treatment. (Visitors can move from one to the next via a pull-down menu at the upper left of the screen.) Minor variations usually appear in the header image where, for instance, the Forevertron's magnifying glass feature is replaced by an interactive map of Grandma Prisbrey's Bottle Village, or a flippable scrapbook of Ferdinand Cheval's Palais Idéal. (This latter example, the work of 34 years, transformed over time from the town laughingstock to a tourist attraction that impacts on the income of much of the local population. A common theme with these creations.)

In addition to the Flash Tour, the Travelogue covers much of the same territory in an HTML format which might be more attractive to dial-up visitors. Classroom activities for grades 4 through 12 are included, as is a general list of outside Resources, followed by an invitation to "Make your own backyard paradise." (Fortunately this is strictly a virtual paradise, so you won't have to worry about any confrontations with the neighbors.)

This is a fairly comprehensive interactive, though, with fifteen landscapes to choose from, and more than 200 Yehaws, Thing-a-ma-bobs, Doodads, Watchamacallits and animated Wigglies that can be dragged and dropped into the scenery - with the option to rotate, flip, resize or fade any object onscreen. (It's even possible to build your own signs, should you feel the need to deter trespassers, welcome visitors, or simply bestow an official name on your 'attraction.')

'But is it art?' Well, I suppose that's up to you. Of the three responses featured on the first page of Talkback submissions, one said "this site is terrible," another, "This site is THE BOMB!" and the third had no opinion at all. Not everyone considers a hundred foot tower of sea shells and chicken wire to be art, but if beauty is in the eye of the beholder, Off The Map will at least offer you some good long looks before you make up your mind.

Off The Map can be found at http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/offthemap.

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