The History of Art on the Internet

      Katlin Jones presented a talk on the history of art on the Internet. The Internet in terms of its use within the artistic community is still  relatively new. Like any new medium some hesitation and apprehension still exists concerning its place within the artistic community. During the early nineteen ninety's North American artists was relatively behind when it came to using the Internet as a medium.  Many European countries  began accessing and using this new platform. The idea of sharing and broadcasting the artist experience appealed to Europeans more because of their idea of sharing the artist experience.
        The artist  Bruce Sterling in nineteen ninety three asked the question, "Why do people want to be on the Internet?" He used this vast unknown environment to help artist create a dialog. This idea of the "Dialog" was again illustrated by the artist Heath Bunting. His work "King Cross Phone" was a site that listed a collection of phone numbers, as well instructions on specific actions the viewer was supposed do. The results were then published online were they could be access by anyone arguing  the idea of  "conversation" even further.
      During this time the Internet was a group of sites under construction. It was the place that every person wanted to be but still had not reached. For example,  early art was created on the network. This was a place only accessible with a knowledge of code writing.  The writing of code was the general way of expressing anything on the Internet through numbers and text. The artist Jodi wanted to challenge our perceptions about the Internet, made us feel uneasy by placing hidden messages and images in html code. Jodi.org is considered the godfather of art on the Internet.
       The idea of ownership on the Internet was challenged by the second generation of artist in an attempt to showcase artwork outside the network. Bringing the Internet into the gallery was a challenge. The artist Cory Acangle hacked into a Super Mario cartridge and systematical recorded and edited the chip so it would only display clouds. This piece was then brought into the gallery and displayed on large screens, while leaving the hacked cartridge visible to the viewer. What made this interesting was that he documented and expressed some delight that everything he did was accessible to the public through the Internet.
      Another artist who continued to explore the idea of ownership was Petra Cartright. Today with YouTube anybody can upload their own self expressions, with the click of a mouse. Before this the idea of broadcasting self expression was a new idea. In one of Petra's works she would sit in front of a camera and play with multiple images that would appear across the screen. Today this has evolved into a phenomenon of self expression with various avenues, such as Face Book and Twitter. These sites allow the ultimate experience in self expression. Contemporary artists can look back at these artists and see how they each played an intricate role in shaping art on the Internet.