:: Saturday, March 01, 2003 ::

The net (used generically here to mean all networked mediums) has become a social construct, a place to meet, socialise and work together. A place where people bring their identities or have the freedom to create new ones. Whether this is simply the use of a chosen name, more complexly the usage of numeric/symbol based names or the complete re-working of their identity through trans/non genderisation, all of these inhabitants have become what Michael and Ronda Hauben call "Netizens".

Their online book "Netizens: On the History and Impact of Usenet and the Internet" is a free to download book presenting "the history and impact of various aspects of the Net: the Internet, ARPANET, Usenet, etc".
:: Garrett Lynch [+] ::
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A good companion website to netartreview is the french based b-l-u-e-s-c-r-e-e-n.net's netartconnexion. Essentially this is a database listing of net.art free for you to browse however "ANY RESEMBLANCE TO AN EXISTING DATABASE IS PURELY COINCIDENTAL!".
:: Garrett Lynch [+] ::
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030303 is the official launch date of the new Farmers Manual release "rla" consisting of every locatable live recording and more dating from 1995 until now and beyond on one special hybrid dvd. This dvd is a versatile archive documenting the live development of one of the most innovative computer based groups of the last 10 years. What makes this release so special is that it is accompanied by a comprehensive website that is mirroring all of the disc's content plus extra material, in other words you can download over 10 hours of music and video for free. Interesting to note is that the copyleft license that comes with the release is completely reverse to any known license record or movie companies put with their cds or dvds. Download all the Farmers Manual material from rla.web.fm or buy the DVD from MEGO.
:: Peter Luining [+] ::
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First made popular through mass emailings and internet gossip in 2000, UK programmer, Ed Burton's Soda Constructor is the first java toy on the Sodaplay site.
With Soda Constructor you are able to build interactive creations from a sparse framework of limbs and muscles. By tweaking physical characteristics such as gravity, friction, etc. you truely get a unique, ethereal creation.
This site is more about the art we the viewers can make ourselves. I find it truely interesting to see the infinite possibility of creations that can be made from such a limited set of the same tools. Great fun.

Artist (er..Programmer): Ed Burton
:: Kristen Palana [+] ::
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And now something completely different... Since 1999 the French netartists collective PAVU (aka Popular Arts Value Upgrade) has created wagonloads of netart pieces that aren't comparable with anything else on the net. It's use of blown up gif images, midi tunes and word humor with a French (surrealistic) touch make their pieces stand out from the rest. Have a look at their latest project "Pine2Pine" that is now on their frontpage. As with all their projects this one is also hard to describe, so I only can advise to experience it yourself.
:: Peter Luining [+] ::
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NINE(9) is Graham Harwood's (Mongrel) latest piece of art software. It is a storytelling tool that uses a basic grid of nine images that in turn offer room to personal stories build from pictures, texts, sounds and video-images. Clicking around gives you the experience of what the situationists called dérive (literally: “drifting”), a technique of passage through varied ambiances, next to that you can be part of the work itself by uploading pictures, text, etc. in a grid of 9 pieces. For a full description of the project click the info page.
:: Peter Luining [+] ::
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A website which demands a literal reading through constant self-reference can often be dismissed as a formulaic design strategy. This may be true until the balance between content and form relies on precise minimal layouts using non-sensical statements aesthetically dependent on conceptual strategies. temporaryinternetfilez is a website achieving this and much more. From the very moment one arrives, alert windows inform how long it takes to download the splash page. The mousing over images and links become experiences on their own as carefully designed colored boxes describe and/or contradict what textual links already state. Moving the mouse has never revealed so much with so little. Prepare to get lost in nothingness.
Artist: unknown
:: Eduardo Navas [+] ::
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KALX is one of those sites that has been around for years. It has a mysterious way of navigation and an image language that over the years didn't seem to change a bit. The site throws up a lot of questions: is it about graphics, is it about navigation or is about a net- entity called KALX? But more interesting is that the site, just because it seems to exist without any functionality, questions the concept of how a site should look and function. Visiting KALX therefore always is a surprising and positive experience.
:: Peter Luining [+] ::
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"Be Avantgarde - Buy Net.Art" with this slogan Mario Hergueta launched his netart gallery Artcart 3 years ago. What once started as a conceptual project that was about strategies to sell netart, became soon after it's launch a serious netart gallery, complete with a virtual gallery space, a showroom, a bookstore and visits to real art- fairs. And the nicest thing, you can buy works from a wide range of netartists (like Mouchette, Blank & Jeron or Heath Bunting) directly, the only thing you need is a creditcard.
:: Peter Luining [+] ::
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"Whats going on in hyperliterature" you cry out? Well pop over to slope17 to see their exhibition on that very topic! Some good works here, there are all the usual suspects in hyperliterature, Mez, Lewis Lacook etc and a few newer faces such as Brandon Barr. If your feeling a bit lost Carrie McMillan's article on "Hypertext / Hyperhype" is a good introduction to what the whole thing is about.

The extensive use of flash frankly leaves me slightly puzzled. Net.art in a sense could be seen as a subset of hypertext or vice versa but what is certain is that hypertext work is more focused. Here its the text that is everything! So why create a work that locks what potentially is a huge part of that text or certainly is text that defines the mechanics of the thing itself, the code, into any plugin where the viewer / user can't read it?
:: Garrett Lynch [+] ::
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Artists often experiment with small studies in order to develop more complicated art works. Sometimes, these small projects can turn out to be quite interesting as well. Isabel Saij has created several small flash pieces that when first encountered appear to be simple studies for bigger projects, but after interacting with the net pieces one realizes that the work does not always have to be technically or conceptually complicated in order to be considered a major art work. Some of her more interesting pieces include No Trespassing, Wall, and Curiosity. There are, however, other pieces in her website that do feel like they should be further developed.
Artist: Isabel Saij
:: Eduardo Navas [+] ::
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Very good opportunity for anyone state-side to get involved in an exhibition in New York's ps122 gallery. The gallery is making a call for two-person or group shows, no apparent theme here. However for those who apply individually, jurors for the gallery will pair them another artist which could result in some very interesting exhibitions. More info on the site.
:: Garrett Lynch [+] ::
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Impakt are making a call for two new media proposals for participation in their festival this June. The works ideally will of a hybrid form using both the internet and real space...

"to examine how technology and the internet manifest themselves on the human level by asking such questions as; where do such on-line concepts as navigation, avatar, or algorithm find their place in the 'real world' outside the computer? And, similarly, how can such physical activities such as performance, protest, or love maintain their "real-ness" in a virtual environment?"

more info can be found in the form of a downloadable pdf on the website.
:: Garrett Lynch [+] ::
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Wow David Still, such a nice guy!! David still is having his birthday at the Cargo art gallery on the 9th of March 2003 in his neighbourhood, in Almere, Holland and your all welcome to come. Taking the net.art world by storm over the last year, David has gone from strength to strength. This could be the event / exhibition of the year, so don't miss it!!

True / False?

Who knows? David Still, does he in fact exist or is this yet another pseudonom created for the web like so many of use in chatrooms, icq etc? Surely the banality of his name and everything on the site indicate that this is just someone's normal homepage, where's the art let alone the net.art? and why should we care who David Still is? Or is he in fact a hyper postmodernist not afraid to use his real identity online and make his space, his mark? This is surely one of the more interesting and amusing works of identity (crises), online existence, social awareness, personality displacement and unabashed self-publicity i've seen in the last year and deserves a look in!

:: Garrett Lynch [+] ::
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Keep up with the New York Times. Download the Okay News plug-in and receive an alert window with a headline every few minutes. A button reading "okay" needs to be clicked in order to keep using the computer. This software art piece can be sarcastic, lighthearted, and overtly banal depending on the contextualization provided by random headlines. Works on Mac OS X only.
Artist: Rebecca Ross
:: Eduardo Navas [+] ::
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Artists are experts at things that do not always fit practical production. It was with this type of thinking in mind that expertbase.net was developed. Read Herbert Franke's revealing interview where he explains his exploration of scientific language and its crossover to art making -- and how he was doing research in Ars Electronica while the institution became famous.
:: Eduardo Navas [+] ::
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Following are some net resources that should be noted. Two eloquent newsletters are CREAM "an irregular newsletter reacting to the limitations imposed by limited cultural menu offered by a dominant european techno-political new media criticism" (Cream's own statement quoted), and Kultureflash an event newsletter based in London. Two websites which should be visited often are The Thing in Frankfurt -- the European version of The Thing based in New York, and Betacity.de. For more Resources look under "New Media Fix."
:: Eduardo Navas [+] ::
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With Soundtoys's recent open call for submissions, it is appropriate to highlight one of their exhibiting pieces. Springtails makes music in a round about way. The user can mouseover small abstract devices which shoot up and hit 'spring-like' objects. Trying to hit a particular spring may at times resemble playing pool, only in this piece it is impossible to tell where the small objects will fly.
:: Eduardo Navas [+] ::
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Ever wondered where those cool kids (or not so cool) who edit reviews such as rhizome get their listings of opportunities for artists, you know festivals, competitions and calls for participation. Well wonder no more because you too can have the insider track thanks to Michael Maniberg. Theredproject is a listing of opportunities for artists mainly in new media that goes out once a week, see the website to subscribe!
:: Garrett Lynch [+] ::
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