Internet Art

World of Art

by Rachel Greene

The diverse forms of Internet art and the tools and equipment used to create them are discussed and placed within the wider cultural context. When the Internet emerged as a mass global communication network in the mid-1990s, artists immediately recognized the exciting possibilities for creative innovation that came with it. After a century of unprecedented artistic experimentation, individuals and groups were quick to use the new technologies to question and radically redefine the conventions of art, and to tackle some of the most pressing social, political, and ethical issues of the day. Covering email art, Web sites, artist-designed software, and projects that blur the boundaries between art and design, product development, political activism, and communication, Internet Art shows how artists have employed online technologies to engage with the traditions of art history, to create new forms of art, and to move into fields of activity normally beyond the artistic realm. The book investigates the ways Internet art resists and shifts assumptions about authorship, originality, and intellectual property; the social role of the artist; issues of identity, sexuality, economics, and power; and the place of the individual in the virtual, networked age. Throughout, the views of artists, curators, and critics offer an insider's perspective on the subject, while a timeline and glossary provide easy-to-follow guides to the key works, events, and technological developments that have taken art into the twenty-first century.
200 illustrations, 100 in color

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Technology, Collections, Design, Internet

224 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2004

Reviews

[Wi · Rating 3 out of 5]

brakowało mi większej analizy wspominanych przykładów, głównie było to ich wymienianie oraz opis charakterystyki gatunków jak dla mnie
+transfobiczne zdanie w opisie projektu artystycznego nie było potrzebne

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not actually finish reading this book. It was mainly snooty 'art talk' revealing that all early internet art was just one big inside joke that the general public can only cock their heads at bemusedly. Which I was okay with, actually! I managed to read it in good humour, and learned about some interesting projects along the way (Jodi's Wrong Browser) - and others not so interesting (Olia Lialina's Will-N-Testament, 'A document of approximately fifty-six lines, in which almost every letter loads as a separate file evincing a handmade, laboured project...' yeah, shut up).

I was about halfway through when I got to a passage about the 1998 website BRANDON, commissioned by the Guggenheim Museum:
'...inspired by Teena Brandon, genetically a woman, who ... lived and loved as a man. ... Probing text ... was supported by various striking images, such as pierced nipples and tattoo-covered bodies.'

Oh, I'm sure! After this obliviously hateful, uninformed little blurb about an entire marginalised group used as someone's quasi-edgy art project I really didn't feel the need to read any more of this book.

[Karin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Same opinion as to the other 2 books in this 'educational' series.

Overall interesting subject, but written in too many words...

[Lorena Cocora · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book highly educational as it manages to put together a lot of the pioneering internet artists and projects without getting into too many details but also not just scratching their surface.

I also loved that it includes pictures of the works discussed, many of them showing the url where the project could be accessed which made my research a little bit easier :).

[Carolina Miranda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Any understanding of the art of the internet starts here. That simple.