What is Net Art?

Net art, or internet art, refers to artwork created during the 1990s and early 2000s that utilizes the Internet as its main medium. Internet appeared in the early 60’s, originally as a means of communication. As time went on, it slowly became a means of artistic expression. Net art makes the page artwork itself.

Jodi, jodi.com

Net art is created specifically to exist on the Internet, and its form and meaning are shaped by being online. The "site" where the art is hosted (a website, social media platform, etc.) is essential to its experience and meaning. Net artists frequently use various media, such as text, images, video, and sound, to create their artwork and online experience.

Net art essentially is using the internet as a canvas and cannot exist outside the web.

Brief History

Following the release of the French Minitel system Videotexto, artists were able to create experimental works of art that could be shared across the network. In the 1990s, the development of web browsers like Netscape opened up internet access to the public, triggering its first major boom. The first public websites began to appear in 1991.From here on out artists began to see the internet as a means of creating artwork. One of the earliest pieces of net.art is jodi by Joan Heemskerk and Dirk Paesmans in 1994. Jodi combines interactive elements to create a fun online experience for the user. Net.art is more of a movement rather than a distinct genre—net.art was a response to the cultural upheaval that followed major global events, such as the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

Artists

Olia Lialina

Alexei Shulgin

Heath Bunting

ASCII Art

ASCII art is a form of computer text art created using ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) characters.The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) created ASCII in the early 1960s as a standardized system for representing and reading Latin-based alphanumeric characters on keyboards. For example, Jodi used ASCII art to create disruptive interventions in mailing lists, otherwise known as "spam mail art" .

My Thoughts

I think net art is really neat, especially how it came about. The way artists are able to constantly be finding new ways of expressing themselves and creating artwork is amazing.

Sources