olia lialina on 19 Feb 2001 08:54:10 -0000 |
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[Nettime-bold] Re: <nettime> Re: Re: net art history |
INTRODUCTION I check my mail, look at my bank balance, I see myself in the mirror - and I still don't know what you mean by failures and deaths? PART I Net art failed, in some critics and researchers opinion, because it didn't take over institutions as was expected. Curators, museums and magazines didn't disappear (sorry). But don't you see that net art and net artists changed the landscape of contemporary art? Now, art institutions have to learn to act as nodes (not as a center). And they do. Those who are really open become part of complex networking projects. Those who can't get rid of traditional standards of beauty and interactivity entertain their audience by making links to funny web pages. And Art.Teleportacia --my miserable, small, pale Art.Teleportacia gallery-- did a great job. It moved curators of big museums to open their eyes and continue their work on a new level; with understanding and respect for works that are not objects, works that are not completed products. Institutions correct their positions, collecting policies, exhibition practices. I would say it's a victory. And a funny process. It's fun to participate. Fun to observe . And fun to completely ignore. PART II Last September I wrote an article, quite a long one, about my experiences with the "First Real Net Art Gallery" and the "Last Real Net Art Museum". About Famous Net Artists, Real Net Artists, Conferences, Objects and ZOOs. But it's in Russian <http://www.russ.ru/netcult/20001114_olialia.html> and German <http://art.teleportacia.org/du.html>. I'd be happy and grateful if someone would translate it into English. Title "A Link is Enough" PART III "A Link is Enough" was published last November in DU magazine. On the next page there was another essay on net art, written by Boris Groys. He writes about his vision. He's brilliant. His ideas and comparisons are fresh and unexpected, but after a few paragraphs you see that he has no understanding of net art and networks. He saw the net art at ZKM in the autumn of '99 and thought that net art was a lot of connected computers, blinking screens and projections. I have a small quotation with me: <http://art.teleportacia.org/wvn/gr.jpg>. I can imagine there are a lot of good and influential writers who still think the same. It's a pity. And it's a pity that net art critics who have been working in the field since the heroic days have reduced their activity to interviews. Or hurrying and competing to be the first to announce death and failure. ASCII Paparazzi. Btw, saying that net art is just beginning isn't very different from saying it's dead. PART IV My students came back from Transmediale in Berlin and said there was a speaker, Mark America, who was announcing that net art is dead. from Mark Amerika's CV: "Amerika was recently appointed to the Fine Arts faculty at the University of Colorado in Boulder where he is developing an innovative curriculum in Digital Art." I can already see the development, innovation and result. We'll get a bunch of experts from Colorado writing necrologues. PART V Discussions about terminology may seem endless and useless. But I like them and find they create perspective; like a tool -a magnifying glass- to look at the present and recent past. Recently, during WRO KULTURA, I planned to make a tremendous contribution; analysing the development of the terms web art, net art, net.art - general terminological issues. But I failed because the previous speakers' statements made me change the subject of my talk. These sketches are all that's left: <http://art.teleportacia.org/wvn/1.jpg> <http://art.teleportacia.org/wvn/2.jpg> <http://art.teleportacia.org/wvn/3.jpg> <http://art.teleportacia.org/wvn/4.jpg> <http://art.teleportacia.org/wvn/5.jpg> forever yours olia -- Who benefits from the rumour that net art is dead? http://art.teleportacia.org/ Your 'W' will be the same 'W' as in original Will-n-Testament http://www.totalmuseum.org/webproject8/w/w.html We try to teleport people http://www.teleportacia.org But without success http://www.teleportacia.org/report.html Last Real Net Art Museum http://myboyfriendcamebackfromth.ewar.ru Do you keep my photos on your server? http://art.teleportacia.org/olia.html _______________________________________________ Nettime-bold mailing list [email protected] http://www.nettime.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/nettime-bold