New Media Art

Contents 1 Definition 2 Associated Terms 3 History 4 Examples - Documenting Change 4.1 Visual Art 4.2 Interactive Art 4.3 Audio Art 5 Issues 5.1 New-v-Old 5.2 Preservation 5.3 Australian Cultural Attitudes 5.4 Connectivity and Interactivity 5.5 Authenticity and Collaboration 6 Further Information 6.1 Sub-Topics 6.2 References 6.3 Contributors to this entry include:

Definition

New Media Art is an umbrella term which generically describes artwork that incorporates an element of new media technology. New media technologies are defined as technologies that were invented, or began integration into society from the mid 20th Century (Wikipedia, 2005).

A standing principle which helps to define new media forms combines the three Cs: Computing, Communication and Content. (Miles, 1997; Rice, 1999; Barry, 2000 quoted by Flew, 2002, p.2). Therefore, any combination of these three Cs leads to technologies that contribute to the New Media Art revolution. Examples include:

• Communications Networks + Computing = Mobile Phones
• Communications Networks + Content = Cable TV, interactive TV
• Content + Computing = CD-ROM, DVD
• The culmination of these Cs is the World Wide Web and Internet.

(Barr, 2000 quoted by Flew, 2002, p.3).

When these resulting new media technologies are used to either create or contribute to an artwork, the artwork is then classified as New Media Art. This classification also applies when a new media technology is used as a medium to display an artwork to its audience.

Practices within New Media Art range broadly from conceptual to virtual art, and from performance work to instillation pieces (Wikipedia, 2005).

The cultural objects which sit under the umbrella of New Media Art can be distinguished in more than one way. Firstly, some can be grouped by their original old media art forms (such as traditional drawing, painting or sculpting). Conversely, they can be categorised by their new media product (for example, Digital Art or Video Art).

Associated Terms

• Multimedia Art:
  Multimedia artists use a range of media (both traditional forms and new media forms) in their artworks.
• Digital Art:
  Digital Art refers to art that is either completely computer generated, or art that has been digitised (for example, by scanning a traditional painting into a computer form, or digitally photographing a 3D art work.)
• Internet/Web Art:
  This term refers to art or a cultural product that uses the internet as a primary medium or as its primary subject.
• Interactive Art:
  An artwork that has an element of viewer participation can be classified as an interactive piece of art.
• Media Art:
  Media Art is a synonym for new media art.

History

While there are many significant influences and events that shape the history of new media art, the true history of new media art would not be easy to document and therefore little has been written on the topic (Rush, 1999, p.9).

In fact a history of new media art can only be described as a culmination of the history of technology and computer science with the history of art itself. This would create a very complex and non-linear stretch of history, hence the lack of academic writing (Rush, 1999, p.9).

[edit] Examples - Documenting Change

Visual Art

Traditionally, paintings have always been the privileged medium of representation in visual art (Rush, 1999, p.7). The first major invention to counteract this notion was photography, which from the mid 1900s, allowed images to be captured and reproduced exponentially (Lovejoy, 2004, p.22).

The most significant new technology which has affected visual art is computer software, which enables individuals to digitally manipulate images (Wikipedia, 2005) . This has enabled art works to be altered to a point where they may become unrecognisable, as they are seen in different contexts from their original periods and settings (Lovejoy, 2004, p.24). Some artists believe digital manipulation enables their work to “represent a different reality,�? and “expand the visual possibilities of their work,�? (Lovejoy, 2004, p.192). Nevertheless, digital art is still yet to gain widespread recognition as a “serious�? art form, due to the common impression that no inherent skill is involved, and that the computer does all the work (Wikipedia, 2005).

Interactive Art

Another art form which has become prevalent in the digital age is interactive art. In this genre, the aim of the artist is to stimulate a two-way interaction between his works and the spectator. This process has become increasingly possible via new media technologies (Popper, 1993, p.8). It implicates creative activity in a context which now not only includes professionals such as graphic artists and composers, but the wider public as well. Spectators today are no longer situated within a pure passive role (Popper, 1993, p.9).

Audio Art

Audio art, a popular component of interactive art, has emerged as another significant new media art form. From the advent of recorded sound in 1877, to the sampling techniques in the 1990s, new media developments have had a myriad of effects on music (Middleton, Buckley, Walser, Laing, Manuel, 2001). Innovations with instrumentation, online collaboration, a rise of amplification, and changes of consumption patterns have revolutionised the way the majority of music is disseminated nowadays (Middleton, Buckley, Walser, Laing, Manuel, 2001).

Issues

New-v-Old

While new media technologies have enabled widespread changes among various art genres, often applauded as progress, there are deeper consequences which should be considered. Some argue that traditions are good and should be reconnected with, while others believe that tradition is a hindrance to be undermined or discarded (Timms, 2004, p.119). Such opposing convictions have been prevalent in art for centuries, since the development of photography, and will continue to be debated today.

Preservation

New media art depends on forms of technology to present itself, therefore issues of preservation arise. As new technologies relatively age, they become obsolete, leaving dependent art forms no longer active. (Wikipedia, 2005)

Australian Cultural Attitudes

"Art’s transformation into a dematerialised state" has deeply changed the viewing and consumption experience of art, along with its distribution and collection by private individuals (Suchin, 2004, p.68). Melentie Pandilovski, director of Adelaide’s Experimental Art Foundation, has observed a lack of acceptance for new media art in Australia compared to that of mainstream Europe (Lloyd, 2005, p.13). Art galleries and the public alike (especially purchasers and collectors) are trapped in the mindset that new media art is different because it does not conform to traditional genres (Lloyd, 2005, p.13).

Although a number of growing new media industry bodies dedicate much of their existence to bringing events and festivals to Australia, a resistance to new media art still restricts mainstream outlets in Australian society.

Festivals such as Electrofringe and This Is Not Art encourage young and developing artists to explore technology and its creative possibilities (This is not art, 2005). The festivals provide a much needed exhibition space as new media art is often excluded from other art festivals.

Connectivity and Interactivity

Curating is a term that describes the work undertaken by a curator, a role that has developed and shifted since the emergence of new media art. Thomas Nordanstad from the Sorbonne University in Paris (2005) defines curating today as making "audience(s), artists, ideas and organisation meet, introducing, presenting (and) lecturing … about what goes on culturally". Curating also embodies the process of negotiating between the many parties required in the creation of a new media art work. This is in contrast to the more traditional role where curators collated and re-presented existing work or published research around historical work (Cook and Graham, 2004, p. 86).

Exhibition and curating of new media art is affected by issues of connectivity and interactivity. Connectivity in particular, to the internet or other technology-based projects means that art is a flow instead of an object (Cook and Graham, 2004, p.87). Screen-dependent projects require the right software and a suitable environment for interpretation. As such, curators must consult with the artist for the exact context of their work.

Interactivity presents a serious challenge for curators working within arts venues. Audiences often find engaging in an artwork within a group of people difficult because of social factors (bashfulness, peer pressure etc) (Cook and Graham, 2004, p.88). Curators find themselves having to place their trust in artists and the public more to maintain creative participation.

Authenticity and Collaboration

New media art has pioneered the way for a new form of authorship based around collaboration and the concept of a negotiated space. Art projects that are technology-dependent require intense collaboration between artists, scientists and technologists (Diamond, 2003, p.8). New media art is dependent upon collaboration that is over a network or in person to create new media projects (Lev Manovich, 2005).

However, artists often mistakenly assume individual authorship despite the fact that their final project is “highly dependent on their deep collaboration with computer scientists (and) designers�? (Diamond, 2003, p. 7). Since the creative space is shared with scientists and other technologists, curators are challenged this time by the necessity to understand the new media authoring process and not apply individual creation assumptions (Diamond, 2003, p. 7).

As such, artists and creators of new media projects are faced with Intellectual Property issues which can have legal ramifications should they be breached.

Further Information

Sub-Topics

• New Media Art - History: (User:Heike Herrling)
• New Media Art - Audio Art: (User:Amy robinson)
• New Media Art - Interactive Art: (User:Amy robinson)
• New Media Art - Visual Art: (User:Amy robinson)
• New Media Art - Online Comics: (User:Marnie-Anne Snow)
• New Media Art - Photography: (User:Amy robinson)
• New Media Art - Performance Art: (User:Heike Herrling)
• New Media Art - Artist: STELARC: (User:Heike Herrling)
• New Media Art - Artist: Jon McCormack: (User:Heike Herrling)
• New Media Art - Virtual Communities: (User:Heike Herrling)
• New Media Art - Preservation: (User:Heike Herrling)
• New Media Art - Collaborative Authorship: (User:Marnie-Anne Snow)
• New Media Art - Authenticity: (User:Amy robinson)
• New Media Art - New Media Curators: (User:Marnie-Anne Snow)
• New Media Art - New Media Culture in Australia: (User:Marnie-Anne Snow)
• New Media Art - Festivals: (User:Marnie-Anne Snow)

References

• BOOKS

Cook, S., and B. Graham. (2004) "Curating New Media Art: Models and Challenges", in L. Kimbell (ed.) New Media Art: Practice and Context in the UK 1994-2004, Manchester: Cornerhouse Publications, pp.85-91. ISBN 0948797886

Flew, T. (2005) New Media- An Introduction, Melbourne: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195550412

Lovejoy, M. (2004) Digital Currents: art in the electronic age, New York: Routledge. ISBN 0415307805

Paul, C. (2003) Digital Art, London: Thames & Hudson, ISBN 0500203679.

Popper, F. (1993) Art of the electronic age, New York: Thames and Hudson. ISBN 0500279187

Rush, M. (1999) New Media in Late 20th-Century Art, New York: Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0500203296

Suchin, P. (2004) "Conceptual Art and Its Legacies in the 1990s", in L. Kimbell (ed.) New Media Art: Practice and Context in the UK 1994-2004, Manchester: Cornerhouse Publications, pp.67-73. ISBN 0948797886

Timms, P. (2004) What's wrong with contemporary art? Sydney: University of New South Wales. ISBN 0868404071

• WEB DOCUMENTS

Australian Government: Culture and Recreaction Porthal (2005) New Media Art retrieved September 8, 2005, from http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/newmedia/

Barton, L. and Goodman, K. L. (2004) Interactive TV retrieved September 8, 2005, from http://newmediawiki.ci.qut.edu.au/index.php/Interactive_TV#Interactive_TV

Diamond, S. (2003)Curating the Flow—the Challenges of Collaborative Exchange and the New Media, retrieved August 30, 2005, from http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:cPXvzdYUZIcJ:www.eciad.ca/~rburnett/curating.pdf+%22new+media+art%22+authorship&hl=en

Herrling, H. and Porter, L. (2005) Multimedia Art, retrieved September 8, 2005, from http://newmediawiki.ci.qut.edu.au/index.php/Multimedia_Art

Lin, S. (2004) Mobile Phones, retrieved September 8, 2005, from http://newmediawiki.ci.qut.edu.au/index.php/Mobile_Phones

Manovich, L. (2004) Who is the Author?: Sampling / Remixing / Open Source, retrieved September 1, 2005, from http://www.manovich.net/DOCS/models_of_authorship.doc

Middleton, R., Buckley, D., Walser, R., Laing, D, and Manuel, P. (2001) “Pop: Implications of Technology,�? The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians Online, retrieved September 7, 2005, from http://www.grovemusic.com.ezp01.library.qut.edu.au/shared/views/article.html?section=music.46845.2#music.46845.2

Nordanstad, T. (2000) "Interview: Thomas Nordanstad interviewed by Sarah Meoule," retrieved September 8, 2005, from http://nordanstad.tripod.com/int.htm

This is Not Art (2005) "What is it?," retrieved September 7, 2005, from http://www.thisisnotart.org/AboutUs/WhatIsIt/tabid/75/Default.aspx

Webopedia Computer Dictionary (2005) Internet retrieved September 8, 2005, http://www.pcwebopaedia.com/TERM/I/Internet.html

Webopedia Computer Dictionary (2005) World Wide Web retrieved September 8, 2005, from http://www.pcwebopaedia.com/TERM/W/World_Wide_Web.html

Wikipedia (2005) Retrieved September 8, 2005, from http://www.wikipedia.org

• NEWSPAPER ARTICLES

Lloyd, T. (2005) "Visual Arts; Out of this World," The (Adelaide) Advertiser: Magazines, 11 Jun., p.13.

Contributors to this entry include:

User:Marnie-Anne Snow, User:Amy robinson & User:Heike Herrling
Minor editing done by: User:Caroline Jende

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