12.1 History and Evolution of Net Art

The internet revolutionized art in the 1990s, giving birth to net art. Artists like Vuk Ćosić and Jodi.org pushed boundaries, using the web as their canvas. This new medium challenged traditional art norms and distribution methods.

As technology advanced, so did net art. Broadband, mobile devices, and blockchain opened up new possibilities. Artists explored themes of identity, privacy, and digital culture, blurring lines between online and offline, creator and audience.

Historical Development and Key Figures in Net Art

Historical development of net art

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• Originated in the early 1990s with the emergence of the World Wide Web and graphical web browsers (Mosaic, Netscape Navigator) which allowed artists to experiment with the internet as a new medium for creative expression
• Net.art movement gained prominence in the mid-1990s, led by artists like Vuk Ćosić, Jodi.org, and Alexei Shulgin who explored the specific qualities and aesthetics of the internet and created works that challenged traditional art world hierarchies and distribution methods
• Web 2.0 and social media platforms (YouTube, Facebook, Twitter) in the early 2000s gave rise to user-generated content and participatory culture, providing artists with new spaces for creating and sharing art
• Post-internet art emerged in the late 2000s to present, reflecting on the pervasive influence of the internet on society and culture and blurring the boundaries between online and offline, digital and physical realms

Key artists and movements

• Vuk Ćosić, a pioneer of ASCII art and net.art, known for works like "Deep ASCII" which converted iconic films into ASCII text and "History of Art for Airports" that presented a timeline of art history through airport codes
• Jodi.org, a Dutch duo (Joan Heemskerk and Dirk Paesmans) known for their subversive and often disorienting web-based artworks such as "wwwwwwwww.jodi.org" featuring rapidly flashing text and images and "404.jodi.org" playing with the concept of broken links and error pages
• Olia Lialina, a Russian artist and theorist who pioneered the use of the browser as a medium for storytelling and performance through works like "My Boyfriend Came Back from the War," an interactive hypertext narrative, and "Agatha Appears," a net performance exploring online identity
• Eva and Franco Mattes (0100101110101101.org), an Italian artist duo known for their provocative and often controversial works that explored issues of identity, privacy, and authenticity in the digital age, such as "Life Sharing" which made the contents of their computer accessible online and "No Fun" that staged a fake suicide in a chatroom

Technological Advancements and Contemporary Art Practices

Impact of technological advancements

• Broadband internet and faster connection speeds enabled artists to create more complex, multimedia-rich works and allowed for smoother streaming of video and audio content
• Mobile devices and apps expanded access to internet-based artworks beyond the desktop computer, inspiring artists to create works specifically designed for mobile platforms (locative media, augmented reality)
• Blockchain technology and cryptocurrency led artists to explore new possibilities for creating and distributing digital artworks, with the emergence of NFTs (non-fungible tokens) as a way to monetize and collect digital art

Net art vs contemporary art forms

• Conceptual art: Net art shares an emphasis on ideas and concepts over traditional artistic skills or materials, challenging institutional structures and questioning the role of the artist
• Performance art: Many net artworks incorporate elements of performance, such as real-time interaction or durational experiences, using the internet as a stage for remote or distributed performances
• Participatory art: Net art often involves active participation and collaboration from viewers, blurring the lines between artist and audience, creator and consumer
• Digital and new media art: Net art is a subset of the broader field of digital and new media art, sharing an interest in the creative possibilities of emerging technologies and their impact on society and culture