What Artists Contribute to Understanding of the Net

We have examined the community of artists and audience, and we have explored the art that is on the Internet. We also looked at the Internet as an art form and some of the critical analysis that is a part of the network. In this section, we look at the deeper role that artists play in our ongoing development and understanding of the communications era.

Visualizing Cyberspace

I've often wondered why an artist or a musician has not yet been sent to space. I am reminded of the late great jazz musician Sun Ra who said something to the effect that he did not mind, because he had already been there. Space has been a government research venture, and most of the tendencies to revel in the profound impact of space exploration have been relegated to creativity on the ground—with the exception of one or two astronauts who shared their deeper feelings. Fortunately, Cyberspace does not require a pressurized capsule and years of training, and for a growing number of artists, artistic vision goes beyond merely the look and feel of a software's decor. Creative vision is not simply the ability to find the most stimulating pose for a model standing next to a car. Artists frequently deal with issues of meaning and responsibility to our inner being. Art helps to elevate the mundane to where its place in the grander picture is at least confronted, if not understood. As artists experiment with the Internet as a medium, a reflective mirror is raised where we all may look at who and what we are trying to be.

When I first began to play with programming languages, I tried to methodically order each task toward an end. I soon began to realize that the same ideas or modules surfaced again and again and thus, I became an object-oriented programmer. As I learned about using libraries, I began to realize that I wasn't really a programmer, but rather a designer. The task at hand was no longer the logic; it was the usefulness and appeal of the interface. The sum total of all of the programs—both on network mainframes and on your desktop computer terminal—can be viewed as one large software interface. The modules are completely interdependent. Whether you use Eudora or Elm, the mail must use the same routing mechanisms. FTP, whether by Mosaic or in text alone, still must rely on a uniform directory and file structure and means of data transfer. The artistry of how the interfacing brings the various content and program elements together, and makes use of them, is an exceptionally significant aspect of our online activities.

"Hello World!": Self-Image Online

Most people are initially shy on the Net. It is difficult at first to comprehend how and when you are visible. I remember thinking that all of Delphi could see me and that the Sysops spent their time watching their users input and output. It was a while before I realized that system administrators have their hands too full to be involved in voyeurism. For a while, I swung a hundred-and-eighty degrees the other way when I began to realize how invisible we are on the Net. The issues of personal and shared space—especially on a multiuser system—are persistent and important. It is, for example, a challenge sometimes to promote one's existence and abilities to the network community without appearing to boast and inappropriately use this very public domain.

I was reading the local news on Panix, my home base, and discovered a discussion around a proposal to have a new news group called panix.user.artist. Delighted to find others with whom I potentially shared an interest, I posted to the discussion my support of the news group. I then added a comment that artists might also be interested in checking out the art area (New York Art Line) that I created on Panix's Gopher. When I returned to this discussion a few days later, I was taken aback by a severe reprimand that this was not the place to promote my work. I dutifully apologized and felt somewhat embarrassed and somewhat indignant. I thought to myself "touchy person" and let it go. A week later I poked my head back into the thread and there was an admission that I had been treated a bit harshly. I then added "no problem" and further explained my motivation for posting the information.

This sort of thing is not new for artists. When you send out announcements for your exhibitions, concerts, or performances to friends and associates, you hope that they view your call, your card, or your brochure as an invitation to an enjoyable and thought-provoking event rather than an annoying display of ego. It is difficult to separate a work of art from its creator, and the creator usually does want and need an audience. Many great works of art possess a clear presence of the person behind the work. Hitchcock placed himself in all but his earliest films. Escher's face and hands were in his works. I think it is important that people see and feel the personality of the artist whether by actual commentary or by the markings left by the creative process. This is why I, and apparently many others, find an appeal in the often personal nature of the home page. We seek evidence of a human underneath things in almost all activities. Art is the discipline that works to bring that humanity to the surface.

me.com: Getting Your Work Out There

We have already discussed a number of techniques for getting your work seen and known on the Internet. There are further issues about the quality of your presentation or installation. First and foremost is an idea that is as true on the Net as it is in real life—be good at what you do or at least be sincere. Kevin's Prairie Dog Town at gopher skynet.usask.ca seems to have had greater staying power than the infamous lawyers who made their mark (I can't help but think of something in bad taste) on the Net. Although their claim was that they were making a sincere attempt to bring certain legal issues to the floor, it is difficult to see their work as any different from Tony Shafrazi's mutilation of Picasso's "Guernica," which he justified as an expression of art.

Determining what belongs or does not belong in any publicly accessed space has never been easy. The argument that graffiti is art, a hotly debated urban issue of the seventies, has been vindicated by the influence of street style in current advertising trends. Pieces of the Berlin Wall, replete with years of politically intense imagery and words, are collector's items. Yet many of us would not be enthused to find our transportation system, our businesses, and our personal property covered with heavily painted scrawling.

A major debate in the art world took place around the "Tilted Arc" in New York City. This public work by noted steel sculptor Richard Serra was commissioned by the federal government for Federal Plaza, a process that entails greater competition and public scrutiny than a military bid. Once the work, a long curved and tilted wall, was installed, an immediate opposition emerged from workers in the Federal building. Arguments ranged from "it's ugly" to a fear that it would fall or that one could become a victim of a mugging behind the wall. For the artist, the issue went beyond simply pride. A major commissioned work by the federal government is an exceptionally significant stage in even a well-known artist's career. Its permanence and prominence in a public space for time immemorial has an unfathomable value. The debate went to the courts, and the workers prevailed. This was seen as a victory for populist control over the content of art, and at the same time a severe blow to the right of free expression and an artist's right to protect his or her own work.

Graffiti on the Internet seems to be at a minimum. Occasionally, everyone on my access system will receive an unwanted "hey" from a naive user. When America Online began to offer limited Internet access along with limited user support, many long-time Internet users became infuriated with the busloads of "newbies" who appeared to think that every individual and every news group was their new user support. There have been flame gangs who have made it their pastime to attempt to pull the focus of a news group discussion way off of its track, purely for the fun of the exercise.

Some things to think about when seeking to place your work on the Internet include: What groups are interested in the material I am offering? Is it unique? Has the interest for this type of a site or project passed its peak? Has the presence and/or the structure of my work created an obstacle or a mild annoyance for users? Have I designed my project in a flexible manner so that if the need for a major revision arises, I can readily adapt and thereby minimize downtime and any other inconvenience?