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Topic: Is net art important?
Replies: 11 Pages: 1 Last Post: Jun 17, 2003 11:20 AM by: jaime longoria

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Replies: 11 Pages: 1

Joshua Walton

Posts: 1
From: Minneapolis
Registered: May 8, 2003

Is net art important?
Posted: May 8, 2003 10:48 PM

Apparently the Walker Art Center doesn't think so. I am crushed by the news of the layoff of Steve Dietz, new media curator at the Walker. The Walker Art Center took the risk to breaking ground in new media to provide the gallery9 New Media Art space only to now abandon the initiative. I feel that this is a slap in the face to the New Media Art community. I feel betrayed that I had placed faith in the vision of the Walker Art Center to continue to explore the exciting work in new media.

Is New Media artwork real?, valid?, important? Luckily other organizations are answering this question with a resounding "YES!" There are still organizations that will be supporting New Media Art. Here is a short list with comments from the organizations...

http://artport.whitney.org/
* "Artport is the Whitney Museum's portal to net art and digital arts, and an online gallery space for commissioned net art projects."
* "Nothing since the invention of photography has had a greater impact on artistic practice than the emergence of digital technologies."

http://010101.sfmoma.org/
http://www.eyebeam.org/
http://www.rhizome.org/

Also, please go visit gallery9.walkerart.org to see some great work which influenced me greatly in my pursuit of new media art.

Steve, you will be missed. Keep up the good fight.

best,
joshua

Lauren DeSteno

Posts: 1,520
From: Minneapolis, MN
Registered: Oct 19, 2001

Re: Is net art important?
Posted: May 9, 2003 2:59 AM

Agreed!!! Long live Steve. Thank you for bringing new media and .net art to the Walker.

Joshua - If you've been involved with Rhizome you will remember that at the beginning of this year they were also having financial issues and had to restructure and start charging membership fees. I think we could see more online galleries and organizations getting cut simply because no one has been able to come up with a good business model to keep these places alive. People aren't going to stop making .net art, but projects might become smaller, more self-contained, or more program (as opposed to graphically/bandwidth) intensive. And we might have to go to Kazaa to find them, or start paying reasonable fees for online gallery memberships.

Just some thoughts...

Lauren

Lauren DeSteno

Posts: 1,520
From: Minneapolis, MN
Registered: Oct 19, 2001

Re: Is net art important?
Posted: May 9, 2003 3:24 AM

Just got this from Rhizome:

'Help, I Need A Black Opinion!'

As the multicultural marketplace absorbs differences in its attempt to capture every audience, the Other can become a symbol of prestige (remember blackpeopleloveus.com?). Conceptual/performance artist damali ayo has created a web site that seriously plays with the commodification of race and continuing racism (and sexism) in the multi-culti USA. Rent-a-Negro.com represents the artist as a cultural escort, providing services like 'a black opinion' ($75) and 'challenging racist family members' ($500) to those wishing to capitalize on their connections with people of color. The no-frills design of the site gets right down to business, and the quotes from satisfied customers leave few questions about the quality of service: 'After seeing me with her, people wanted to know more about ME!' -Ryan Griffis

http://rent-a-negro.com/

Brilliant.

Guest

Re: Is net art important?
Posted: May 9, 2003 12:10 PM

Throughout history, major art movements have been initially shunned, ridiculed or found "invalid" in some way. I would certainly hate to be the person condeming something today that in 100 years we understand to be a major movement in art. Such behavior reaks of arrogance and ignorance.

Sam Spiczka

Posts: 1,671
From: Sartell, MN
Registered: Jul 20, 2001

Re: Is net art important?
Posted: May 9, 2003 12:40 PM

And on the other side of the coin, every johny-come-lately "movement" has compared themselves to a once-misunderstood group of the past which ended up succeeding. Those that are not true-believers are ridiculed for their short-sightedness and equated with the philistines which could not appreciate change. There were plenty other movements of the past which failed miserably though. I find it amusing that every new school wishes only to be compared to those that succeeded, when the odds are overwhelming that they will be but yet another footnote to history.

Notice I am not making any assessment as to the value of "net art." If I find something that moves me, I champion it. I don't particularly care what it chooses to call itself. Schools are for fish.

Seamas Cain

Posts: 1
Registered: May 9, 2003

Re: Is net art important?
Posted: May 9, 2003 12:57 PM

Yesterday, I heard Minnesota Public Radio announce that there would be lay-offs at the Walker Art Center - MPR made a point of mentioning that Steve Dietz would be one of the lay-offs! I am amazed and troubled by this development! Indeed, I am appalled! [I do not know Steve Dietz personally, but I know of his work as a curator - and I have certainly read a number of statements by him on the Minnesota Artists web-site as well as his statements on the Gallery Nine web-site, etc.] Dietz is thought-provoking and creative! I cannot imagine why he would be singled-out for dismissal at this time!

Is this a signal that the Walker is about to pull the plug on the Minnesota Artists web-site? I find my own involvements with this site to be increasingly useful! My recent performance activities in Maine, Scotland and Chile would have been impossible without the support-base provided by this site. [It really is possible to transcend the narrow parochialism of where you happen to live, the type of "artistic" factions that happen to dominate in your location, and - thanks to the new technology - function as a REAL artist everywhere, wherever your own creativity may direct the encounter!]

Is this a signal that the Walker is about to pull the plug on Gallery Nine, and all possibility of a creative focus on new media and new arts?

What other lay-offs have occurred? All the new media people? What incredible thoughtlessness!

In my youth, I thought the Walker was wonderful! Nevertheless, for many years, I stopped bothering with it altogether as it appeared to become ever more arcane in sifting through the mere excrement of the old Modernism! In recent years, however, because of Gallery Nine and Steve Dietz, I have been connecting with the Walker again - even traveling down from Duluth for no other purpose than to attend various events at the Walker - which I have done on a number of occasions, even pointing-out that fact to Walker-staff at these times.

I should have known it was too good to be true! Leif Brush says the Walker has always been dominated by control-freaks!

For new explorations and new arts and new artists,

Séamas Cain
<http://seamascain.writernetwork.com>

-------------------------

Louise Dengerud

Posts: 51
Registered: May 9, 2002

Re: Is net art important?
Posted: Jun 9, 2003 3:29 PM

Schools are for fish.

Ok, so art always explores, invades every medium possible.

It is interesting to me - though that what is a medium of great breadth and creativity is not being pushed or exposed in the 'art world' much, but has become a pretty intense commercial medium.

If it were up to how to financially support the art - then there wouldn't be any art...in any school no matter what the fish said. So, I don't think the lack of continued exposure is due to price models.

Hey, I would like to get to develop a web art show - not a gallery. Web art as a show in and of itself...anyone interested? I work in the field - have for many long years now and know a great many programmers, architects and designers that would like to have some fun.

Lauren DeSteno

Posts: 1,520
From: Minneapolis, MN
Registered: Oct 19, 2001

Re: Is net art important?
Posted: Jun 9, 2003 4:53 PM

I'm totally interested. What did you have in mind?

lauren

Ray Rolfe

Posts: 3,263
From: Northeast Minneapolis
Registered: Sep 5, 2001

Re: Is net art important?
Posted: Jun 10, 2003 10:03 PM

I'm very interested to. Do you know any programmers that can make a street fighter style game for play over the net? I'm thinking of an MNARTISTS.ORG fighter inspired by that :-X thread. We could take digital pictures of everyone who wants to be involved and use them for the character animations. Lauren could throw projectile HTML, Colin could have wicked dance moves, Jaime could morph into a coyote, Sam could summon his sculptures, Dale could summon Bob, the possibilities are endless. And if we ever find any musical artists here, the soundtrack could rock. What do you think? A good piece for your net-art show?

Louise Dengerud

Posts: 51
Registered: May 9, 2002

Re: Is net art important?
Posted: Jun 15, 2003 5:33 PM

It sounds funny - but maybe more self important than I was thinking. What with the fact that only we would find the thing entertaining.

As much as I would love to hunt the coyote and stop colin's peppy pop manuveurs - I can do that well enough with words.

I was thinking of taking a an artist and hooking them up for a certain amount of hours to work with a programmer to accomplish a piece of work. Themed perhaps - but not needed - I don't get off on themes much.

I will see what I can pull together - it would be easy if there was a preselected exhibition space with the right equiptment???? That is the $$$ part - everything else is time.

- Louise

Ray Rolfe

Posts: 3,263
From: Northeast Minneapolis
Registered: Sep 5, 2001

Re: Is net art important?
Posted: Jun 15, 2003 8:19 PM

Yes that sounds great. An artist providing the creativity and a programer providing the technological knowhow. Wonderfull work would be the sure result.
If we MM organizors form a good relationship with the dunn bros gallery people, maybe they could offer that when the mm show is finshed. And we might have tech stuff to lend if we can get it. I'll let you know.

jaime longoria

Posts: 1,161
Registered: Oct 7, 2002

Re: Is net art important?
Posted: Jun 17, 2003 11:20 AM

> It sounds funny - but maybe more self important than
> I was thinking. What with the fact that only we would
> find the thing entertaining.
>
> As much as I would love to hunt the coyote
why hunt the mirror; you will only find yourself as you fear?

Look at the masks; they are soon seen as handpuppets of the coyote by those that watch. What a sad fate for them; to not be seen.

and stop
> colin's peppy pop manuveurs
Why stop Colin at anything? He is the true hero. The honest man amost the liers and thieves?
- I can do that well
> enough with words.

Careful what you say infront of coyote; he may take you at those words.

with love cc
>
> I was thinking of taking a an artist and hooking them
> up for a certain amount of hours to work with a
> programmer to accomplish a piece of work. Themed
> perhaps - but not needed - I don't get off on themes
> much.
>
> I will see what I can pull together - it would be
> easy if there was a preselected exhibition space with
> the right equiptment???? That is the $$$ part -
> everything else is time.
>
> - Louise

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