Fluidities and Oppositions

Fluidities and Oppositions among Curators, Filter Feeders and Future Artists by Anne-Marie Schleiner takes a look at how the dynamic between net artists and curators are defining the net genre. By combining the current trends of globalization with the future fiction from cyberpunk literature, Anne-Marie attempts to predict the future role of the net artist (x, y and z!), the net curator, and the net audience.

In 1995, the Netscape IPO gave the Internet validity as a commodified resource and popularity among the mass culture. The initial question was "who will use this new medium to produce content for the masses?" The media industry was the obvious immediate answer -but turned out to be a non-inclusive answer as evidenced by both the failed AOL-Time Warner merger in particular, and the entire dot com era in general. There were the few artists who were early adapters of the technology, but lacking in both numbers and in support, their works did not make a very big splash in the relative ocean that is the Internet. The overlooked content creators were the masses themselves. Many of them learning to code themselves, were putting anything and everything online, with no filter, no censorship and no criteria.

In the past 5 years, there have been technological advances that have ushered in the Personal Publishing Revolution. Blogging, podcasting, photoblogging (flickr), moblogging (mobile phone cameras) and very soon, thanks to video-sharing technologies like bit-torrent, vbloging (video journals). These push button publishing tools have given the masses the ability to self-publish quickly and easily. With strength in numbers giving them the power to have their voices heard they are becoming the dominant force in content publishing. The masses, once regarded only as content consumers, are taking the role of content producers away from the media industry. People are becoming their own news source (journalism 2.0 blogs), movie directors, musicians, game designers, writers, critics, and (drum roll) -artists.

This may be perceived as a problem for both traditional net artists and the art establishment. If everyone is producing art for the web, what exactly defines a net artist? The masses are not only in control of creating and distributing their own content, but as filter feeders, they are curating their own shows. What happens to the traditional art institution that consists of brick and mortar galleries and museums, collectors (with real money), and educated curators?

Recently I was "offended" that an art historian dismissed my work, without ever having seen it, simply on the basis that all net art is not "high art." As my belief system (the extension of myself) was challenged I flamed back something to the effect of "her generation (old school) of art critics will eventually die and the new generation will validate my work." But devils advocate is a powerful force and I decided to find a viable adaptation of high and low art.

high art - a.k.a. fine art -"the universal transcendence, having withstood the test of time and representing the epitome of artistic achievement - the meticulous expression in fine materials of refined or noble sentiment, appreciation of the former depending on such things as intelligence, social standing, educated taste, and a willingness to be challenged."

low art - a.k.a. mass culture -"the shoddy manufacturing in inferior materials of superficial kitsch, simply catering to popular taste, unreflective acceptance of realism, and a certain "couch potato" mentality."

I believe that traditional net artists can often be found under the "high art" category. John Simon's 1997 "Every Icon" is an example of high art, and yes it is digital. A lot of net artist are blurring the lines between high art and low art because we are manipulating and exploring the same tools that are available to the masses, but our projects are being smothered by the excessive amount of content being produced by the personal publishing revolution.

Truth be told, maybe we do need the art establishment to be our filter feeders. Their credibility and resources will help amplify our voice so that we may make a bigger splash.