Reading Blog #3: A History of Internet Art

I found myself being more interested in this article than I first assumed I would be. It was very intriguing to start reading about internet art and different net.artists, and then Googling them and seeing what their art was like. Throughout exploring them, I definitely found connections between the Webventure we are starting to create and these internet art works.

The article mentions how, "originally conceived as an alternative social field where art and everyday life were merged, net.art may now seem threatened by its own success", continuing on to discuss that "new strategies are needed more than ever to maneuver freely, sovereignly, through an increasingly factitious, total-media environment" (Rachel Greene, 2003). I found this to be not only a fascinating statement, but also a true one. In the past, I was never big on digital art or creating things using computers/digital technology. However, taking this class and experimenting with things I have never done before has opened my eyes and changed my perspective. It has been so remarkable to discover the work I am capable of doing through digital art that I never though to "f*ck around" with before. I love seeing all that I can explore.

One of the artists I looked up was Olia Lialina -- an image of her net.art included below -- and it was cool to see the work that she did and the stories she told with it. Seeing her themes of physical beauty and personal romantic relationship aspects was very interesting. I enjoy reading about "female net.artists [beginning] to win a fairer share of the limelight" (Greene).

All in all, I enjoyed this reading and was intrigued by the correlations between past internet art history and present day creations.