In Rachel Greene’s article entitled “Web World: A History of Internet Art,” Greene details the emergence of web art in the mid 1990s.
With its first appearance on the internet, web art became a beacon of artistic freedom, separate from the bureaucratic artistic institutions of the time. As the gallery space became more commercialized and pompous, the internet world arose as an untapped medium. The internet was a blank slate for media openness, positive reform, and collaboration, especially significant in Eastern Europe.
Soon enough, several sites emerged as forums for connecting artists together and encouraging one another to experiment with digital tools as art of the future. One of the more prominent sites during this time was Jodi.org. This site gained cult-like status through interactive opportunities and its famous slogan, “We love your computer.”
Despite the widespread fear of the monopolization of the internet, net art continued to expand into 1997 for both playful and feminist works, although with a significant amount of controversy attached.
Artist would encourage collaborative work through simple gestures that emphasized the growing community surrounding web art. Such works including sharing desktop screenshots on web forums with a humourous or mysterious twist. Soon enough, web art became a home for misfit toys where artists were mischievous and unpredictable. Artist Vuk Cosic’s use of hacking other sites gained him notoriety as a Duchamp-esque figure. Cosic viewed the internet as a readymade medium that could be manipulated for one’s own artistic intent.
In 1998, internet art began to shift towards more software based works in collaboration with sites that were already on the forefront of the medium. Although ever evolving, net art continues as an anti establishment hub for “hacktivist” art.
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