It looks scary…

marc


Hello Everyone,

I am releasing a project that is part of the upcoming InteractivA 03 New =
Media Biennale taking place at MACAY in Merida, Yucatan.

here it is: http://www.navasse.net/netartworld


The official InteractivA website is not officially up yet, so I will not =
provide that link in this e-mail. But I am sure Rhizomers will hear about =
the exhibit when July 10 hits – if not before.

I am sending this notice now as I will not be online for the next couple =
of weeks. So, if anyone is kind enough to comment on the work, I will not =
be able to respond until after July 19.

I have included a contexualization at the bottom of this message for conv=
enience. The writing is actually an integral part of the Net Art World 1.0=
project and can be found under the "Context" link.

Take care,

Eduardo Navas
http://www.navasse.net

—————————————
The Global Context of Net-Art.

The online project Net Art World 1.0 was developed for The InteractivA 20=
03 New Media Biennale taking place in Merida, Yucatan. The piece deliberate=
ly focuses on globalization because InteractivA features international arti=
sts with bilingual and/or multicultural backgrounds. As I did research for =
the project, it became reasonable to create a net piece which provided acce=
ss to a large number of net-artist websites that were not necessarily part =
of the exhibition and juxtapose these with all the flags, countries and ter=
ritories of the World. The result is an art work aiming to expose the compl=
exities that the term globalization imposes on diverse cultures.

All of the information comes from popular websites. The Country maps were=
accessed at The 2002 World Factbook, the Country flags were taken from The=
World Flag Database, and the artist links were accessed at the 2003 Net Ar=
t Links website. This approach seemed to be the most reasonable because it =
uses pre-existing resources that hold a certain cultural authority. This al=
so enabled me to take on the role of compiler rather than being a sort of c=
urator; and although it is true that I did choose the online resources, I o=
nly did so based on their reliability and popularity, which is not differen=
t from how the average person may choose to surf the web. The approach as a=
compiler also exposes the many roles net-practitioners take when functioni=
ng in the community, which are of artists, curators, writers, and administr=
ators.

This project consists of four framesets, functioning as follows:

a The main area presents a net-artist selected at random from a=
list created by Dr. Reinhold Grether.

a The top-right frame presents a country flag selected at rando=
m from a database. This flag links to a series of images on Google related =
to the country the flag represents.

a The middle-right frame presents a country map at random. This=
map links to statistical information about a country. Please note that the=
country map does not correspond with the flag. This is done to present the=
complexity of nationalism, patriotism and colonialism that has developed d=
ue to globalization.

a The bottom-right frame presents an image selected at random f=
rom a series of images that were accessed on Google when searching the term=
"Globalization."

Net Art World 1.0 was created to examine the state of net-art in 2003, wh=
ich is why the links throughout the project are not dynamically updated as =
the information changes on the net. This approach was chosen in order to po=
int to the period in new media history from June to September of 2003. Afte=
r this time, the links may become broken and/or the actual resources become=
updated with new information; this way, the piece becomes time specific. A=
nyone interested in accessing the latest information can always go to the r=
esource page and choose particular links for the latest updates.

In order to better understand Net Art World 1.0, it is important to note =
some events in the recent and not so recent past. An important event that p=
oints to a transition in new media is Rhizome's decision to become a resour=
ce with an annual membership; which could be taken as a sign of a more inst=
itutionalized and perhaps even commercialized state of net-art.[1] Also, re=
considering the efficiency of mailing lists, along with the rapid growth of=
weblogs, are definite signs that the net community is entering a new stage=
of development.[2] Another sign of change that has been developing for som=
etime now is net-art being part of major museum exhibitions; some examples =
are the Whitney and Venice Biennales which have included net-art in their s=
urveys–as well as Documenta 11 which had a major emphasis on new media.[3]=
This is also the time when a new generation of net-artists is coming on bo=
ard with hopes of becoming successful practitioners, similar to previous ge=
nerations in the art world at large. This may be, in part, due to the fact =
that new media is now taught in universities around the world; and this has=
led early net-artists like Vuc Cosic to call what the students produce "ne=
t-art mannerisms." This is a far cry from the mid-nineties when only a few =
artists were working online and strategically displacing the labeling of th=
eir practice.[4] Net-art developed after a late postmodern period when art =
practices were influenced by poststructural theories. It is impossible to g=
ive a decent account in this short contextualization of what the term "post=
modern" means, but two particular thinkers associated with postmodernism ar=
e worth noting for their extreme positions. While the philosopher Jean-Fran=
cois Lyotard came to entertain grand narratives as problematic and consid=
ered the world to be reaching a high pluralist state,[5] Jurgen Habermas cl=
aimed that the project of modernity had not been completed because such a p=
roject is split into three separate cultural areas: science, morality and a=
rt. [6] Also, Post-Colonialism can be considered part of the postmodern dis=
course as well, as it has been questioned along with poststructural writing=
s–most recently, by writers Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri; who have revi=
sited Marx with an interdisciplinary approach to better understand globaliz=
ation.[7] These among other theories are now affecting the contextualizatio=
n of net-art.

In spite of all the events noted, and the multi-faceted theories affectin=
g the current state of cultural production, what is clear is that people ha=
ve always strived to progress. This has never stopped being true, even duri=
ng postmodern times. And with all of the above in mind, Net Art World 1.0 w=
as developed to expose the many layers that run behind net-art practice. In=
a way, the project brings together two aspects in art making that have bee=
n in conflict since Kant wrote his Critique of Judgment.[8] Net Art World 1=
.0 presents the object of contemplation, which according to Kant should be =
considered with disinterest, functioning in a political context that, if ac=
knowledged, would question the principles supporting the ability to pass a =
true judgment of taste. With this, two extreme positions in art practice ar=
e challenged: the privileged position of disinterest and the position aimin=
g to develop a more democratic state of production by questioning the privi=
leged position. This is done in order to push both ideological camps into a=
productive state of education, while knowing that the two areas crossover =
in multiple ways–which is why art practice has become extremely slippery. =
Net Art World 1.0 was designed to create global awareness, as I believe tha=
t only by deconstructing such tensions, only by placing them next to each o=
ther, can culture move on to a new state of development. Global awareness i=
s not a luxury but a necessity, and Net Art World 1.0 was developed as a re=
source where people can enjoy net-art and learn something about the world s=
imultaneously.



—————————————————————————=
—

[1] This transition happened between November and January of 2003. Rhizom=
e received heavy criticism from the net-art community at large. Some of thi=
s criticism can be found at http://www.nettime.org. Threads worth reading t=
o better understand the complexity of the matter are: http://amsterdam.nett=
ime.org/Lists-Archives/nettime-l-0301/msg00059.html, http://amsterdam.netti=
me.org/Lists-Archives/nettime-l-0301/msg00089.html, and http://amsterdam.ne=
ttime.org/Lists-Archives/nettime-l-0301/msg00131.html

[2] Google buying Blogger is perhaps the most noted event bringing mass p=
opularity to blogging: http://blogger.com/about/blogger_google_faq.pyra. Si=
nce this merge, several blogs have been launched.

[3] Documenta 11: http://www.documenta.de/documenta_blau.html, Venice Bie=
nnale: http://www.documenta.de/documenta_blau.html, Whitney Biennale: http:=
//artport.whitney.org/exhibitions/past-exhibitions.shtml.

[4] Josephine Bosma, "The Dot on a Velvet Pillow – Net.Art Nostalgia and=
Net Art Today" June 20, 2003 (March 03, 2003). http://www.student.uib.no/~=
stud2081/utstilling/bosma.htm.

[5] Jean-Francois Lyotard, "The Nature of the Social Bond," The Postmod=
ern Condition, (Minneapolis: Minnesota, 1984), 11-14. In these particular p=
ages Jean-Francois Lyotard dismisses grand-narratives including Marxism, an=
d claims the way for little narratives. Lyotard is used as an example of po=
stmodernism because of his extreme position–especially against Jurgen Habe=
rmas. The two philosophers have been compared by scholars in order to bette=
r understand what the term postmodern might mean. See: Emilia Steuerman, "H=
abermas vs. Lyotard? Modernity vs. Postmodernity," Judging Lyotard, ed. And=
rew Benjamin (New York: Routledge, 1992) 99-118.

[6] Jurgen Habermas, "An Incomplete Project," The Anti-Aesthetic, ed. Hal=
Foster (New York: The New Press, 1983), 3-15. In this short essay, which i=
s an acceptance speech for the Theodor Adorno Prize from the city of Frankf=
urt, Habermas focuses on three cultural areas; which, when stepping away fr=
om art and looking at culture at large, form the project of modernity; thes=
e areas are science, morality, and art. Habermas proposes that the project =
of modernity has not been reached because the three particular areas need t=
o work together, but due to the development of specialized fields of practi=
ce brought by the 20th Century, the project was split into the three aforem=
entioned areas. In this way, Habermas is still holding on to the narratives=
of emancipation and speculation that Lyotard overtly dismissed as mentione=
d in footnote 5.

[7] Michael Hardt & Antonio Negri, "Symptoms of Passage," Empire, (Cambri=
dge, Massachusetts: 2000) 137-156. These particular pages are the most rele=
vant to the idea of the postmodern as discussed in terms of Habermas and Ly=
otard.

[8] Immanuel Kant, "Part One, Critique of the Aesthetical Judgment," Crit=
ique of Judgment, (New York: Hafner, 1951) 37-82. The approach taken to dev=
elop Net Art World 1.0 is influenced by the work of Marcel Duchamp. Like Du=
champ, I have taken everyday objects, in my case sources from the internet,=
and recontextualized these as art. This creates a slippery bridge between =
the space of aesthetics and the everyday world. See: Thierry de Duve, "Kant=
after Duchamp," Kant after Duchamp, (Cambridge, Massachusetts: 1996) 283-3=
25.