An Interactive Walkthrough of Richard Kostelanetz’s Library

Author

Martin Glick, CUNY Graduate CenterFollow

Date of Degree

6-2025

Document Type

Master's Capstone Project

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Program

Digital Humanities

Advisor

Lev Manovich

Subject Categories

Contemporary Art | Digital Humanities | Educational Technology | Game Design | Interdisciplinary Arts and Media | Literature in English, North America | Other Film and Media Studies

Keywords

Richard Kostelanetz, Ren’Py, visual novel, digital archive, gamification

Abstract

My project utilizes the visual novel game engine Ren’Py to create an embodied virtual walkthrough of Richard Kostelanetz’s personal library. Kostelanetz is a pioneering avante-garde artist, critic, and anthologist whose work spans multiple decades and artistic practices. This interactive experience introduces users to the astounding collection of 25,000 books that Kostelanetz has amassed in Ridgewood, Queens over his decades of publishing avant-garde literature. While scholars might be familiar with his anthologies such as Scenarios: Scripts to Perform (1980) and Texts-Sound Texts (1980), my project allows users to browse through sample pages of his original “Book Art”.

This New Media Object serves as an engaging introduction to Kostelanetz’s contributions in anthologizing visual and literary arts. Designed to inspire further research rather than provide a comprehensive bibliography, it preserves the sense of scale, relative location, and accumulation of books and art objects in Kostelanetz’s library. Essential to the project is the integration of hyperlinks to the CUNY-hosted Manifold platform for each of these Book Art works. The aim is to foster scholarly conversation and dialogue concerning Kostelanetz’s contributions to the fields of experimental literature and visual art.

Comments

Game on Itch.io: https://martinglick.itch.io/an-interactive-walkthrough-of-richard-kostelanetzs-library

CUNY Manifold: https://cuny.manifoldapp.org/projects/richard-kostelanetz-s-library

Github: https://github.com/martinglick/An-Interactive-Walkthrough-of-Richard-Kostelanetz-s-Library

Recommended Citation

Glick, Martin, "An Interactive Walkthrough of Richard Kostelanetz’s Library" (2025). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/6333