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Internet Art(art in the age of decentralized networks)

Robert SpahrDepartment of Cinema & Photography

Mass Communication & Media Arts

rspahr@siu.edu

http://www.robertspahr.com

mailto:rspahr@siu.eduhttp://www.robertspahr.com/http://www.robertspahr.com/mailto:rspahr@siu.edu

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60,000 years ago

people

begantospeak

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5,000 years ago

peoplestarted

towrite

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600 years agopeople started to publish

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50 years agopeople created a network of computers

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Two Historical Trajectories

1. Mass Media

2. Data Processing

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Mass Media

Ability to disseminate to millions ofcitizens the same:

texts images sounds

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Data Processing

Ability to keep track of millions ofcitizens:

birth recordsemployment recordsmedical records

police records

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Media / Data Timeline

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Convergence:

All become computable!

graphics

moving images sounds shapes

texts

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Five Principles of New Media

1. Numerical Representation2. Modularity

3. Automation4. Variability5. Transcoding

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Digital Photograph of SIUC

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Examples of the Five Principles

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has no historical precedent

Programmability of New Mediahas no historical precedent

Programmability of New Mediahas no historical precedent

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Media Convergence

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The Internet's Decentralized Design

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80's at&t monopoly is broken up

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Web / HTML

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The Internet

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Centralized vs. Distributed

Networks

WTC vs. Al Qaeda

Wikileaks vs. United States

Eygpt, Internet kill switch

The Occupy Movement

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Art Historical Antecedents:

Marcel Duchamp 1913

Man Ray 1923

John Cage 1946

Sol Lewitt 1970

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Duchamp: 3 StandardStoppages

"If a straight horizontal thread onemeter long falls from a height of onemeter onto a horizontal planetwisting as it pleases[it] creates anew image of the unit of length."

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3 Standard Stoppages by Marcel Duchamp, 1913-14

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3 Standard Stoppages by Marcel Duchamp, 1913-14

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Fountain (Readymade) by Marcel Duchamp, 1917

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L. H. O. O. Q. (Readymade Assisted) by Marcel Duchamp, 1919

M R

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Man Ray:Object of Destruction

In 1932 a second version, called Object of Destruction, was

published in the avant-garde journal 'This Quarter', editedby Andr Breton. This version featured an ink drawing ofthe Object To Be Destroyed with the following instructions;

Cut out the eye from a photograph of one who has beenloved but is seen no more. Attach the eye to the pendulum ofa metronome and regulate the weight to suit the tempo

desired. Keep going to the limit of endurance. With ahammer well-aimed, try to destroy the whole at a singleblow.

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'Indestructible Object', Man Ray (1964 replica of 1923 original)

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John Cage Prepared Piano Score

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Cage: Prepared Piano 1946

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kc3-C7Lnzh0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kc3-C7Lnzh0http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kc3-C7Lnzh0

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Lewitt: Wall Drawings 1970

A Wall Divided Vertically into Fifteen Equal Parts, Each with a DifferentLine Direction and Color, and All Combinations

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"In conceptual art the idea or concept is the most important aspect of the work . . .all planning and decisions are made beforehand and the execution is a perfunctory

affair. The idea becomes the machine that makes the art."

Sol LeWitt: "Paragraphs on Conceptual Art,"Artforum, summer issue, 1967

The Free Software Definition

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The Free Software Definition

The freedom to run the program, for any purpose

The freedom to study how the program works, andchange it to make it do what you wish

The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your

neighbor

The freedom to distribute copies of your modifiedversions to others

Richard M. Stallman, founder of the GNU project

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What is a Hacker?

1960s -70s: Using playful cleverness to achieve a goal

1980s present: A computer criminal; terrorist

Hacker Manifesto

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We explore... and you call us criminals. We seek after

knowledge...and you call us criminals. We exist withoutskin color, without nationality, without religious bias...and you call us criminals...

Yes, I am a criminal. My crime is that of curiosity. My

crime is that of judging people by what they say andthink, not what they look like. My crime is that ofoutsmarting you, something that you will never forgiveme for.

I am a hacker, and this is my manifesto.

The Mentor, 1986

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a centralized network

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a decentralized network

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a distributed network

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Centralized vs. Distributed

NetworksWTC vs. Al Qaeda

Wikileaks vs. United States

Eygpt, Internet kill switch

The Occupy Movement

Selected

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SelectedInternet Art Themes:

Collaboration and participation Appropriation to open source

Hackers and hacktivism Interventions Identity Telepresence and surveillance

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Joan Heemskerk and Dirk Paesmans, 1993http://www.jodi.org

http://www.jodi.org/http://www.jodi.org/

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Mark Napier, Shredder 1.0http://www.potatoland.org/shredder/

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Olia Lialina, My Boyfriend Came Back From the Warhttp://www.teleportacia.org/war/

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Michael Mandiberg, After Sherrie Levine (2001)http://www.aftersherrielevine.com/

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John F. Simon, Jr., Every Icon (1997)http://www.numeral.com/appletsoftware/eicon.html

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Cory Arcangel, Super Mario Clouds (2002)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lzLi4KwMK4

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Anne-Marie Schleiner, Velvet-Strike (2002)http://www.opensorcery.net/velvet-strike/

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Keith Obadike, Blackness for Sale (2001)http://obadike.tripod.com/ebay.html

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Unknown Artisthttp://mouchette.org/

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Marie Sester, ACCESS (2003)http://www.accessproject.net/access11.html

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Caleb Larsen, A Tool to Deceive and Slaughter (2009)http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290498361874

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Caleb Larsen, A Tool to Deceive and Slaughter (2009)http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290498361874

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Selected Bibliography

Lev Manovich, The Language of New Media, 2002Noah Wardrip-Fruin (editor) New Media Reader, 2003Martha Buskirk, Contingent Object of Contemporary Art, 2003Rachel Greene, Internet Art, 2004Mark Tribe (Editor) New Media Art, 2006

Robert Spahr

rspahr@siu.edu

http://www.robertspahr.com

mailto:rspahr@siu.eduhttp://www.robertspahr.com/http://www.robertspahr.com/mailto:rspahr@siu.edu