No Subject

[eric@media-gn.nl (Eric Kluitenberg)]

Dear nettimers,

During a recent digital excavation in my bookmarks files I stumbled upon
 some digi-cave carvings by a certain irational. Further examination clearly
 showed the origing must be a Heath Bunting. It reflects the conditions of
 an obscure and ancient species - THE NET.ARTIST....


<DT><A HREF=3D"http://irational.org/" ADD_DATE=3D"872620189" LAST_VISIT=3D"0
" LAST_MODIFIED=3D"0">www.irational.org-------------------------------------
----------------------a

THE NET.ARTISTS 

On a tiny site, Site http://lois.kud-fp.si/naps, are the works of a few
activists known by the name of net.artists. Net.art is not, as is generally
thought, the art of putting everything in the form of a net. In 1995,
Bunting showed a few www art works in which there were some simply and
firmly woven webs that gave the public the illusion of these nets, whence
the name of our youngest school of www art works. This school has already
aroused passionate discussion. Net.art can in no way be considered a
systematic doctrine; it does, however, constitute a school, and the
activists who make up this school want to transform their www art works
by returning to first principles with regard to online inspiration, just
as the media.artists - and many of the net.artists were at one time
media.artists - returned to first principles with regard to interface 
composition. However, the public, accustomed as it  is to the brilliant 
but practically formless daubs of the post-modernists, refused to recognize
at first glance the greatness of the formal conceptions of the net.artists.
People were shocked to see contrasts between dark backgrounds and light
hotlinks, because they were used to seeing only www art works without
shadows. In the monumental appearance of compositions that go beyond
the frivolities of contemporary art, the public has refused to see what
is really there: a noble and restrained art ready to undertake the vast 
subjects for which post-modernism had left media artists totally
unprepared. Net.art is a necessary reaction that will give rise to great
works, whether people like it or not. For is it possible, can anyone
believe for an instant, that the undeniable efforts of these young artists
will remain sterile? I will even go further, and without underestimating
the talents of all sorts that are manifest at the net.art per se, I will
say that net.art is the most noble undertaking in www art to day.

cheers!

eric




---
#  distributed via nettime-l : no commercial use without permission
#  <nettime> is a closed moderated mailinglist for net criticism,
#  collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets
#  more info: majordomo@icf.de and "info nettime" in the msg body
#  URL: http://www.desk.nl/~nettime/  contact: nettime-owner@icf.de