Introduction and chapter one of Internet Art

The introduction makes the claim that individuals who do not like internet art generally think that it is, "too unfamiliar both conceptually and physically, and the technical steps necessary to access it simply do not reconcile with 'art' experiences like browsing in quiet galleries of navigating vast museum collections." I agree that traditional art looses a lot of its appeal on the computer screen. There are certain physical properties that can only be experienced in the physical presence of the piece. Just clicking on a link to view a piece of art devalues the art work unless it is digital art. Internet art also gives access to works that could be lost or just local. It globalizes art as well as communication. I thought  it was interesting that Russia and Eastern Europe used the Internet as a means to express art: whereas, the U.S. mainly used it  for economic purposes. The internet boom came just as the Soviet Union ended in the early 1990's. This helped these countries reconnect with the world with speed never before used.  I thought it was interesting how feminist, such as the VNS Matrix 'cyberfeminist', arose out of the net. I hadn't ever thought that the net was "male dominated". This chapter showed me that the internet was a revolutionary tool for art, economy and communication. 

This chapter made me realize that digital art can be expressed in many mediums. I always thought of digital art on the internet or magazine, but never displayed in a museum next to paintings and other traditional art. Digital art also makes the pieces interactive in another level. Some by detecting motion and others with the use of a mouse, audiences can manipulate the art in a way never before possible. This is displayed in Rafael Lozano-Hemmer's work with the moving hand projected onto the facade of a building. The chapter also makes the statement that digital art is a new representation of physical space. Recognizing a digital image of what it is supposed to represent is really a matter of perception and cognition, according Peter Anders. I think that digital art is much more capable of tricking the illusion of reality in that it has new elements that replicate the physical world, such as motion and interaction, that other genres are not capable of simulating. I also learned what an avatar is, and how it is a representation of the person who created it. Digital art really took off in the mid 1990's. From using different media for the art to making much more complex pieces of art. I didn't think that digital art was even being explored in the 60's. It is interesting to see the progression of digital art spike in the mid nineties compared to the much slower progression in previous decades.