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Internet
art is an important medium to consider when it comes to the context of the
conference and "Rethinking the Visual." As an interactive, dynamic,
customizable and participatory medium, the Internet has challenged traditional
notions of the artist and artwork and requires reconsideration of the aesthetics
of "visual art" as we know it. Internet art is not by nature a
"visual" medium but always consists of a back end --code and data--
and a front end, the visual form, this code takes. There are projects that
are mostly focused on the document or database/archive and pieces that are
predominantly visual. For any set of data, there are multiple possibilities
for visualization, which require aesthetic choices. The title "Mapping
Transitions" both refers to the actual process of giving visual form
to different kinds of data and data flow and to the transitions between
more traditional forms of visual arts and this new medium. The work of the
selected artists is particularly relevant when it comes to the concept of
mapping these transitions.
The conference opening will coincide with the opening of the "Mapping
Transitions" Internet art forum organized by Christiane Paul, Adjunct
Curator of New Media Arts at the Whitney Museum of American Art, and Mark
Amerika, Professor of Digital Art at The University of Colorado. The forum
will include 3 commissioned pieces from Internet artists whose work was
selected for the Whitney Biennial 2002 including Mary Flanagan, Lisa Jevbratt,
and John Klima. Ms. Paul and all of the artists will be present at the opening
and will present their work to open up the conference dialogue. |
