Date: Tue, 15 Jan 2002 02:12:10 +0000 (GMT)
From: Simon Yuill <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: <ambit> Topic of the month
ok, to return this discussion to a more constructive form ...
firstly, my initial point was not that net.art is "dead", but within the
last few years it has gone through a distinctive shift from a medium which
felt genuinely exploratory to one which has a strong sense of ossification
- this is more due to the net.art community itself than to the incursion
of commerce into the medium, and is an inevitable consequence for what has
proven to be a successful medium - I have a nostalgia for that old school
net.art world partly because that's how I encountered it, and partly
because I was always drawn to the awkwardness of this new undefined
"thing"
the past however is not lost:
http://www.calarts.edu/~line/history.html
http://easylife.org/netart/
so, to repose my original question in more positive terms:
what are the distinctive features of this new phase (net.art v2 if you
like)?
at the CCA conference Iliyana spoke about the "end and rise of networks"
and was addressing this very issue, it largely focused around particular
mailing lists, but what other features are apparent?
the issue of a greater particularisation of the medium is one - Iilyana's
example of previously international lists becoming localised
the other issue, which interests me, is the expansion of net.art style
practices into other areas, I gave the example of Forced Entertainment's
new work, I think Carey Young's is another - Oren's introduction of
"performative architecture" also fits here, Matt Locke, previously
artistic director of TEST and now at the BBC's interactive media
department, has made the point that product design and urban design are
the exciting areas right now
a third is the development of more "matured" critical and practical
frameworks, perhaps there is a need to move away from the rhetoric of
"experiment" and "subversiveness" that fed early net.art - we are at a
point at which the subversive gestures of the past have now become
standards of definition for the medium - JODI's "untitled game" marks a
shift away from a critical "subversive" approach to one which I'd say is
more artisanal as if to say: JODI (who remain favourites of mine) have
done for Quake what Manet did for the haystack
the fact that Scotland is currently in the process of establishing
institutional structures for this kind of practice makes it a moot
question as, clearly, this must contribute and shape the policies of
organisations such as New Media Scotland and the roles of people such as
Francis at CCA
having explained myself more clearly, I'd like to pose the question back
to the list, and in particular to Chris, Iliyana and Francis:
what are the distinctive features of this new phase and how do they relate
to the current position of practice, and development, in Scotland?
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