Compared to other forms of art, Internet Art (aka Net Art) is a form of art that few are familiar with. My internet-savvy mother (as I reckoned, she knows how to get the most out of the online world rather than her peers) was asked whether has she heard of the term ‘Internet Art’, yet, she’s got trouble of figuring out what it is or finding an example of it. This is understandable, considering that it has only been in existence for just over a decade, since the invention of the Internet and the expansion of digital technology.
Very interesting, after being given of some examples of Internet Art, my mum was very surprised that some of them she encounters everyday that she doesn’t even know. And the examples are those Interactive Google Doodles that you see on the homepage which replace the standard logo to celebrate holidays, anniversaries, special events and other important days. These are 5 interactive Google Doodles that I find interesting.
- To support Olympics London 2012, Google launched this doodle to let visitors play virtual basketball by pressing space bar. Click on this picture to play in case you missed it.
- To celebrate 79th Anniversary of the First Drive-in Movie, Google transformed the logo into a mini animation clip.
- To celebrate Les Paul’s 96th birthday, you can become an amateur guitarist by moving your cursor over the cords. Click on the picture to play the guitar!
- The Jules Verne logo allows you to control the submarine, Nautilus by pulling the lever to ascend, descend, and moving left and right. Click on the picture to test your captain skill.
In Ten Myths of Internet Art, Jon Ippolito seeks to clarify various misconceptions that people have with regard to Internet Art. One of the biggest misconceptions given to Internet Art, and certainly the reason many people despise this form of artwork, is that the Internet is just a medium that delivers miniature forms of other types of art mediums. To clarify, I also asked one of my uni mate who also studies Media & Communication about Internet Art, it did not really shock me that she deemed Art forms such as painting being digitized and rendered online to make it viewable on web browsers are considered Net Art, just like you can just need to be in front of the computer to ‘contemplate’ the Mona Lisa picture exhibited in France… According to the author, the reason many people believe that Internet Art only delivers miniature artwork is because it is not just confined to museums and traditional mediums where one would expect to land if they searched for a word such as “art”. The author also explains that another reason someone is likely to find miniature forms of art mediums or even low quality artworks on the Internet is because the majority of people cannot afford the bandwidth essential to view such works at their original resolution.
In line with this misconception is the myth that only an arcane subculture appreciates Internet Art. The analysis provided by Ippolito explores misconceptions that people have of Internet Art, misconceptions caused by facts that, ironically, have popularized Internet Art in a very short time. For example, the reason more people surf well-known art sites than attend brick-and-mortar museums is that this is their preferred form of engaging with artworks, especially if they are new to the art industry. From my experience, I have never visited any art gallery when I had been living in Vietnam due to the conception that it is not worth a visit if I cannot do anything with the artworks except looking at them tediously. In contrast, online artworks appeal me since they provide an outstanding aesthetics experience of enjoying arts in an interactive and participatory environment.
Internet Art has also been accused for contributing to the ‘digital divide’, considering the requirement of artists interested in the art form to invest or have access to computers hard-wares, soft-wares and the Internet. However, by providing the example of successful online artists in Slovenia or Korea (that are not considered as mainstream geographical channel of art world), Ippolito indicates that internet artworks’ success is not measured by geographical location, he claims that ‘there is no comparison between the democratizing contact made possible by the Internet and the geographic exclusivity of the analog art world when it comes to distributing finished works’ (Ippolito 2002, p. 486). Internet Art is certainly not a contributor of the digital divide in art, considering the ease with which people are now able to access art over the Internet.
Link for video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hX4kZvEllwY
The fact that one cannot sell a website has also ridiculed Internet Art, with many arguing that Internet Art will never be important because of this. However, they seem to forget the fact that a very large number of people would never enter an art gallery, these people would rather surf electronic images on the web. Not to mention the purpose of various net artists to create online artworks is not to gain reward or profits but to ‘contribute to a new art-making paradigm’ or ensure a ‘free circulation of ideas’ (Ippolito 2002, p. 487).
One of the misconceptions associated with Internet Art is looking at Net Art is a solitary experience. Many reckon that Internet Art is only accepted and appreciated by a few individuals without mass acknowledgement and it does not require audiences’ involvement, audiences are supposed to be passive and have no control in forming the experience of consuming the artwork. This perception is undoubtedly superficial as firstly, there are many online communities dedicated in discussing this kind of art form, a majority of works are praised because of their innovation, unusual forms as well as its ability to challenge viewers’ creativity and logic; secondly, a large majority of online artworks are interactive and participatory that trace audiences and integrate their actions into the interfaces to make sense of the artwork. In addition, the network of Internet artists has expanded widely than ever; many artists now have their own website, maintain and update them regularly with elaborated technology since it is essential to be involved in communication with other artists and clients all the time.
There are a few more myths that I don’t fully understand, they are ambiguous to me and I can’t find a real example to demonstrate them, therefore, I’m unsure to discuss them here. My dear visitors, is there anything you are not sure about and needed to be clarified? Would you be able to help me improve and complete this post? Please include your comments below 🙂
References
Ippolito, J 2002, Ten Myths of Internet Art, < http://www.jstor.org/stable/1577255>, retrieved 18 Sep 2012.
My Uni Rocks 