Come Together... Right Now.... Over Net Art.

I'm not sure if my brain can handle such an informative atom bomb. I mean this article was like an art history segment crammed into 6 pages. But really, I was impressed and gracious to now understand all this important historical information about new media art. It certainly gave me a lot of artists and art movements to look into.

I had always wondered why my professors used the term "starving artist" and I have a deeper understanding of that now. This article touches on the subject that painting and illustrating are "dead technologies" and things like gaming, film, and audio remixing are sweeping the artworld like a storm. It makes me wonder what happens now to all the artists who thrived off of painting and drawing? Well, since galleries and museums have opened their doors to new-media art I suppose they truely are starving artists.

To be honest, before reading this article I suppose my general understanding of art was only terms, fine artists, and my own experience. I could look at a piece of work and understand what it's composition is, what rhythm meant in a painting, why I disliked minimalists, who Picasso was and why I admired his work. I now I feel like a kid on the first day of school. Perhaps, it's not my fault since technically this new media art movement was happening in the untouchable land of cyberspace and I was busy admiring still-life paintings. Apparently, I have a lot to catch up on. So far, I've looked at some artists and their projects and googled a few things from the article. What I have gathered so far is something beyond what I could imagine. Artists are utilizing this vast, untouchable world of cyberspace to interconnect everything through their artwork and in turn relay their messages. They are utilizing the tools around them in different ways. Like Natalie Bookchin's "Mass Ornament" where she used clips from you tube and he expert timing and audio editing skills to create a digital work of art. Artwork that before could only be accessed by some in a gallery can now be witnessed by anyone with an internet connection. Not only can we witness this artwork but we can now experience artwork in a completely different way. Which is an idea bigger than itself. People can interact with the artwork, and appreciate it as something different. Something collaborative and exciting. Art is no longer staring at something on a wall, it's experiencing it, interacting with it, connecting to something untouchable. It's fascinating. Art has broken a boundary unlike ever before and here I am a student only to eager to understand and witness it all.

It makes me apprciate artists in a different way. We're not just weirdos who need to express our emotions. We are inventors, engineers, teachers, explorers, virtual pioneers on the cusp of a digital revolution.
We are creators.
We take what the world gives and create.

I also look at gaming in a new way too. These games were collaboratively created and designed by artists with a vast understanding of computers. How could anyone not appreciate that? So Kevin, I'm sorry that I yell at you for playing video games, I now see it as you experiencing a work of art and maybe Left for Dead will be on your birthday gift list... maybe.