Netzbikini Project by Eva Grubinger
http://thing.at/thing/netzbikini/

I really liked Netzbikini. For me, the bikini is a garment inflected with a
certain amount of feminist concern: who is wearing it? is it part of a dubious
fashion layout in a so-called women's magazine? is the wearer some anorexic third
tier model? Sometimes looking at a woman's body becomes a tiring,
hyper-politicized activity. Not so at Netzbikini. There, looking at women (and
men) in bikinis is fun. For starters, the download of photographs, not something
I usually note, works to the benefit of the project: images are impressionistic
at first, the colors really interesting, and then playful photographs come into
regular focus.

[In a recent review of Netzbikini (see "<a href="/cgi-local/query.cgi?action=grab_object&kt=kt0686">netzbikini</a>" in the
RHIZOME CONTENTBASE) Jennifer Dalton wrote: "Since the interactivity of the
project is limited to the user's decision as to whether she requires a
small, medium or large bikini, downloading and creating a 'Net Bikini' is
about as different from buying a pattern at a fabric store as checking one's
bank account balance online is from checking one's bank account balance at
the bank: more convenient, maybe, but not exactly creative. The shopper at
'Netzbikini' is limited to a single style and can't even choose one's own
fabric, since the proscribed fabric is sheer curtain material."

Ah, yes, the see-through bikini. I believe in see-through fabric on the Internet.
With Donna Rice Hughes chasing down cyberporn, we have to enjoy semi-nudity while
we can. And yes, "the interactivity of the project is limited to the user's
decision as to whether she requires a small, medium or large bikini." I
appreciate the treatment of these consumer choices – too many patterns, and
Netzbikini would seem like amazon.com, and choice paralysis might ensue. And,
indeed, aren't the choices of small, medium, and large, enough? Some people,
particularly women, spend hours or days of their lives considering the size of
their clothing. Netzbikini might not be the most "creative" project, in terms of
user interaction, but it does offer free bikinis. Actually, come to think of it,
perhaps the most interesting moment comes when you decide if, when, and how to
make a self-portrait. Self-portraits are a whole other undertaking entirely…

Netzbikini offers a communion of the bikini – international, gender
indeterminate – a counter-community to all those that consist of graphical
representations (avatars), silly screen names (chat rooms) or email (mailing
lists) – people are laid bare (practically), united by an art project based on a
sunny woman's garment.