Assignment #1: To Be Posted on Website

Artists are constantly influenced by their environment. It has been said that they are mirrors through which society is reflected. They see with their own eyes, and they see with those of one who is outside looking in on society. When social and cultural changes happen, they are one of the first groups of people to become aware of the change. Art of the time is like the canary in a cage in a coal mine. If something happens, one of the first places it is reflected is in the art world. Art is reactionary; it builds off of previous art and previous time. If you think you can make art and completely ignore history, you are wrong, even if your objective is to do something completely new. Marcel Duchamp wanted to create only new art,, but he was desirous of doing so as a reaction to many things that were going on: things that he admired, such as the building structures in New York City, and things that he did not like and wanted to move past, such as the repetitious painting and sculpture that was going on in his time.

You may think it’s ridiculous to react in artwork to something such as a skyscraper. But Marcel Duchamp was fascinated with them from his first arrival in New York in 1913. He was convinced that the premier work of his time in America was not in the galleries, but rather on display for every person to take in. This fascination, both with buildings and with mechanical engineering, greatly influenced his artwork in the years to follow his first visit to New York in 1913. But you may then say that the allure of tall buildings is simply lost on you, because these objects are not new to you as they were to Duchamp; they are as mundane, perhaps, as making an art object inspired by a field next to a highway in rural Pennsylvania.

But that isn’t to say that you are not fascinated and/ or affected by the technology that is developing around you, in your own time, as they continue to grow and immerse your culture, your world, and your own life. Consider the internet and its functions: browsers, email, online messaging, etc. These are things that you use every day…things that you don’t believe it is possible to go without, and yet they are entirely virtual. The world is at your fingertips, but it is entirely fabricated. How do you feel about that and how do you feel like you should deal with it? Is it entirely positive or are there drawbacks to such a dependency? What is your real feeling about this? Not too long ago, and maybe even now to some extent, there is this sort of edgy excitement about all of this developing technology and how it will affect art. There is a lot of arguing about what is to be considered actual “art” and what was not, if it comes from a computer. Some people are even writing online manifestos to define the objectives of net art. So…what is your view, and what is your reaction?

1) Conduct further research on what is happening now in the realm of net art. Find an artist or group of artists who are doing work that you are interested in. This artist/ group must be using the web, either to create their art, or to communicate/ post their proposals and calls for participation for immediate mass viewing. **Make sure to include the link to the site(s) that you are discussing**

2) React to it. Respond to what you see going on. Why should this require a response on your part? Because this technology is such an inherent part of your life, and because your response is your contribution to what is going on now. (Your response should be approximately 750-1000 words, and should be posted in your online sketchbook.)