Net Art's Broadening Niche

Afterimage, May, 2001 by Berin Golonu

"Data Dynamics" follows a similar direction, introducing a hearty dose of fun into the viewer's experience of interacting with the projects in real space. It is an exhibition that takes as its subject "data flow" models, often considered the main narrative of the Internet. The show's gallery installations and projections display how physical movement and information flow can be mapped in real time. It is a compelling display that effectively transgresses the computer screen. Users are able track their interactions with the networks by altering the display of visuals and text that pop up on the gallery walls surrounding them. Complete control of the network's output seems nearly impossible, but the spontaneous nature of these interactions--the fact that you never know what your commands will elicit--adds an element of surprise to the experience of viewing this work. Moreover, the project outcomes are open-ended--they rely on user interaction for their ongoing transformation, growth and enrichment, thereby sta ying true to Net art's democratic potential.

Take, for example, Marek Walczak and Martin Wattenberg's Apartment, a particularly immersive virtual map of a fictional city that viewers and users within the gallery as well as on-line can help formulate and construct. [6] To create their own "apartment" within the urban nucleus, viewers type in various sentences. Each word is analyzed and reconfigured into semantic patterns that form the blueprint of an apartment. The more words and sentences one feeds into the computer, the larger and more impressive their apartment becomes. The 2D blueprint is then translated into a graphic, 3D structure made up of a diverse arrangement of images and sounds corresponding to the words that form the building blocks of the architectural plan. Viewers can then take a 3D, virtual tour of their apartment while listening to a musical backdrop, and even print out a color inkjet copy of it, complete with words, blueprint and 3D model that they can take away with them as a souvenir of their visit to "Data Dynamics's" virtual realm . Each apartment is archived within the project's database, and the city plan grows more dense and complex in relation to viewer engagement and activity.

Could it be that a new media curator has finally discovered a manner in which to effectively display Net-based work, successfully engaging gallery visitors without sacrificing the medium's unique characteristics? Maybe so, and in so doing, they may have laid the groundwork for Net art's mass appeal. As the art world increasingly takes notice of Net media, there is going to be more of a demand for it among a growing audience. And as the medium becomes popularized, more and more artists, even those previously using other, more traditional processes, are going to want to incorporate this new technology into their work. Of course, by giving their work a physical component and creating objects that can be sold, Net artists have found a way to commodify their work. For example, Lew Baldwin, creator of Redsmoke, has taken some of his on-line projects out of the networked realm and placed them onto a CD-ROM, selling them in a limited edition series. [7] Moreover, Net artists who have made a name for themselves are s tarting to gain gallery representation, although the sale of Net-based projects is still problematic. Instead, they are starting to produce and offer for sale other object-oriented, non-Networked pieces.