Net Art died but is doing well

ENGLISH

Is net art (or web art, or even internet art), following in the footsteps of its pioneers, still alive? Or, more directly, how does artistic creation thrive in opposition to algorithms controlled by big tech companies? It’s clear that as long as the Internet exists – and its end has already been announced –  there will always be an artist who keeps alive the spirit of the early creators of art “for” and “by” the World Wide Web.This production has never ceased to exist, but up until 2020, acknowledging its existence seemed like a nostalgic daydream. After all, net art peaked two decades ago. Oh, let’s reserve the networks for digital commerce and social media, because who needs the utopia of a democratic and free network, right? But, despite our irony: during the COVID-19 pandemic, the world was forced to rediscover the web as an Art space, reviving a production that had not been so prominent until then.

Since the pandemic, we have been observing the current dynamics of art production on the Internet: on the one hand, the resilience of historical creations that remain alive, often due to the artists’ own initiatives; on the other hand, a wave of new creations that use the Internet as a medium, under seemingly transient circumstances imposed by a period of social distancing. In this context, under the thought-provoking title “Net art died but is doing well”, we launched an open call to artists from all over the world to join an online pavilion for The Wrong Bienniale 2023/24. The call was specifically open to recent works created since 2021. As a result, we now have one of the most extensive recent exhibitions dedicated to art on the Internet, with over 50 artworks from different countries. While it’s a cross-section of an incredibly diverse production, the sheer number of pieces allows us to say that artists are still creating work specifically for the web in a meaningful way today. In other words, net art is alive and well. Long live to the web artists!

PORTUGUÊS BRASILEIRO

A net art (ou web arte, ou ainda, internet art), aos moldes dos pioneiros desta linguagem, ainda vive? Ou mais diretamente, como vive a criação artística na contramão dos algoritmos controlados pelas bigtechs? É claro que enquanto houver Internet – e seu fim anuncia-se – sempre existirá algum artista honrando o espírito dos primeiros criadores da produção de arte “para” e “pela” World Wide Web. Esta produção nunca deixou de existir efetivamente, mas até 2020, apontar a sua existência soava como um devaneio nostálgico, afinal, a net art alcançou seu ápice a duas décadas atrás. Ora, deixemos as redes para o comércio digital e as redes sociais, afinal, para que serve a utopia de uma rede democrática e livre, não é? Mas, deixando nossa ironia de lado: o mundo sob a Pandemia de COVID-19 foi forçado a redescobrir a rede como espaço de arte e, por extensão, acabou revigorando uma produção até então distante dos circuitos de arte. 

Desde então, a partir da Pandemia, temos acompanhado as dinâmicas presentes das produções de arte para a Internet: de um lado, a resiliência de criações históricas que permanecem vivas, muitas vezes por iniciativa dos próprios artistas; de outro lado, um movimento de novas criações que passam a utilizar a Internet como suporte, em circunstâncias aparentemente transitórias, diante das condicionantes de um período de distanciamento social. Diante desse contexto, lançamos uma chamada a artistas de todo o mundo sob o título-provocação A net art morreu mas passa bem, a dar forma a um pavilhão online para a The Wrong Biennale 2023/24. A chamada foi aberta especialmente a trabalhos recentes, criados a partir de 2021. Como resultado, temos uma das maiores exibições recentes dedicadas a arte para a Internet, reunindo mais de 50 trabalhos de diferentes países; mesmo sendo um recorte de uma produção bastante eclética, o volume de obras nos permite dizer que artistas continuam criando obras especialmente para a rede de forma significativa, ainda hoje; em outras palavras: a net art continua em plena vitalidade. Vida longa aos ímpetos dos artistas da rede!

Fabio FON and Soraya Braz, curators.

CURATORS

FABIO FON (Brazil)

Fabio FON (Fábio Oliveira Nunes) is a Brazilian artist-researcher focused on contemporary languages, working on experimental art, visual poetics and art-technology. He holds  Arts PhD from the School of Communications and Arts of the University of São Paulo, a post-doctorate in Arts from the Institute of Arts of Unesp, a Master in Multimedia (Multimedia) at UNICAMP and Bachelor of Fine Arts at UNESP. He is the author of the books “CTRL+ART+DEL: distúrbios em arte e tecnologia” (Ed. Perspectiva, 2010) and “Mentira de artista: arte (e tecnologia) que nos engana para repensarmos o mundo” (Cosmogonias Elétricas, 2016) . He is currently a researcher linked to Grupo cAt: science / ARTE / technology at UNESP, São Paulo. http://www.fabiofon.com .

SORAYA BRAZ (Brazil)

Soraya Braz is a Brazilian artist and researcher, graduated in Arts from São Paulo University (USP) and Master of Visual Arts from São Paulo State University (UNESP). Her creations are visual poetry, digital art, installations and computer graphics. Took part in exhibitions such as FILE, FILE PAI, MOBILEFEST, Mostra SESC de Artes, FACTORS, Artéria 40 anos, etc. She works in partnership with the artist Fabio FON with whom produced Roaming (2007), Grampo (2007), CAPTAS (2010), Via Invisível (2011), Deliberator (2014), and Deletério (2021). https://fabiofon.com/bio-soraya-braz/

ARTISTS

PRESS KIT: NET ART DIED BUT IS DOING WELL

ABOUT THE WRONG BIENNALE

The Wrong Biennale is an art driven, innovative and collaborative global event, online and offline, aiming to nurture digital culture, bringing together curators, artists and institutions, open to participation and awarded with SOIS Cultura 2o19 and an honorific mention at S+T+ARTS 2o2o. Celebrating digital art culture since its first edition in 2o13, more than 8ooo artists and curators from all over the world have officially participated at The Wrong Biennale. https://www.thewrong.org

ABOUT WEB ARTE NO BRASIL

Web arte no Brasil (Web Art in Brazil) is an independent initiative led by Fabio FON since 2000, which was born with the purpose of promoting and analyzing the production of Brazilian artists on the Internet. Currently, WAB is one of the few Brazilian websites specifically dedicated to internet art, providing a compilation of websites, scientific articles, and videos aimed at new audiences.More: https://www.fabiofon.com/webartenobrasil. (Brazilian Portuguese only).