An example of a website that embodies the community driven realm of art on the internet is that of popular user generated media sharing site ‘Deviantart.com.’ The sites integration and use of media can be seen by how they incorporate images, text, video and music to reach their target audience. The site is driven primarily by the users and the content that they create and then post on the website. This model differs from the traditional means for artists to share work and ideas, which were traditionally magazines, manifestos or gallery exhibitions or meetings. These were the only place where artists could display and discuss their work and audiences alike could exchange opinions on both the works and underlying concepts. The constant updating of content and the flexible nature of Deviant art means it never gets old or outdated and it costs the users nothing!
Another art based community site that is that of 'Etsy.com', Etsy is much like Ebay, except it specialises in exclusively hand made products. The website boasts over a hundred thousand sellers and moved twelve million dollars worth of goods. The purpose of Etsy is an online revival of the arts and crafts movement which originated in the late 19th century. The internet has given the artists who use Etsy the ability to reach customers from over 80 countries and earn a living producing handmade arts and crafts.
The possibilities of the internet, are limited only by the imagination of the artist so speculating on the direction it shall take in the future is mere guess work. But the benefits of the technology presently are unmistakable, the low cost and cheap maintenance makes exhibiting works and the constant updates to sites economically feasible for artists. The advancements made in broadband technology have allowed high definition quality reproductions available to a much larger number of users than traditionally possible. The distribution and exposure for artists is both free and made available to every user with a pc worldwide. The internet has also given a vehicle to a number of communities that support a variety of movements and genres; this would not have been possible without the current technologies available. Most importantly the internet allows for an intellectual and emotional exchange amongst artists and audience alike, the interaction users experience by navigating the site becomes part of the work.
References:
Deviant Art, (2006), www.deviantart.com (accessed 22nd April 2008)
Dunkley, W. (2004) Creating Space: Web Art Practices.,
Etsy Your Place to buy and sell all things handmade, (2008) http://www.etsy.com (accessed 23rd April 2008)
Miller K. (2007) An EBay for the Arts and Crafts set; An online marketplace for handmade goods has carved itself a cozy little niche Business Week.
Weintraub A. (1997) Art on the Web, the Web as art Association for Computing Machinery. Communications of the ACM.
1 comment:
It’s interesting that you say this “In traditional art, one looks at the interrelationship of form and content; in multimedia art the interface usually cues you to the content of the piece. On the Web, interface does not act as a façade or a portal to the content, but may directly determine the structure and character of a piece.” (Weintraub, 1997), because the general fact is that visual arts was geared towards the ‘white cube’, the ‘white facia’, the gallery space, and the physical space enthralled within. It’s this general reliance on this physical space that completely disrupts the physical form, function, and context of the artworks, it completely deteriorates the façade of the physical into digital, it effects how many people look at each individual artworks, and how they view each of the artworks also. In the digital realm of web 2.0 the context the eye of the beholder is free to blog, comment, download artwork and recontextualise it as there own (considering its abiding by the laws of both regular copyrights and intellectual copyrights), there is welcome ability for the viewer to link back and network in consisted loops, it’s a determined advancement for artists in the case not every artist can fit into every gallery or have the resources, links, or chains of friendships within the art community to become so forward noticed, it’s a perfect example of the web 2.0 through participation and produsage.
References:
Weintraub, A. (1997) Art on the Web, the Web as art Association for Computing Machinery. Communications of the ACM. New York: Vol. 40, Iss. 10; pg. 97, 5 pgs
Paparoulas, J. (2008). Myobsessionwithfire’s Deviant Art Profile. http://myobsessionwithfire.deviantart.com/ (Accessed May 9, 2008)
Post a Comment