Postinternet

Postinternet denotes a movement in arts and criticism that refers to society and modes of interaction following the widespread adoption of the internet. It emerged from discussions about Internet Art by Marisa Olson, Gene McHugh, and Artie Vierkant,[1] however the movement has not been thoroughly defined. The term does not imply art after the internet has ceased to exist (and artists such as Rafael Rozendaal have criticized the ambiguity of "post-" in this instance). Rather, it describes art that is about the internet's effects on aesthetics and culture.[2][3]

History and context

The postinternet art movement is a successor to Internet Art, gaining significant traction in the early- to mid-2000s. Much like Internet Art, the postinternet art movement has roots in Dada, Fluxus, and conceptual art. Unlike Internet Art, postinternet art is less heavily influenced, at least in form, by telematic art, being more concerned in commenting on communications technology (the internet) than in being medium-native to the internet.[4]

Postinternet art often shares the aesthetics of the Internet Art, net.art[5] and DataDada Art.[6] It differs in that it does not use the internet only as a tool to produce art, but addresses the internet as a force that has altered social structures in both digital and physical spaces.[7] Postinternet art is not necessarily art produced on the internet, but art that reflects the internet and the internet's effects on culture.

Postinternet art has gained some attention because of Petra Cortright's work.[8] Postinternet art by Harm van den Dorpel has been covered on the Creators Project.[9] In 2014, Shia LaBeouf took part in a collaborative art project that "was partly a response to how post-internet artists were using social media to promote their work and how that promotion became the work."[10]

Criticism and philosophy

Postinternet art has been criticized as being art about the internet, rather than art of the internet, in the manner of Net Art. In doing so, postinternet art loses many of the structural benefits of Net Art, namely that postinternet art exists through the institution of physical galleries. While Net Art sought to redefine a space for its work, postinternet art is more rooted in an older, traditional notion of the role of art.[11] The crisis of postinternet art is often characterized as a question of how the inherently intangible and democratized work resulting from internet content-creation paradigms can be monetized, and in this sense postinternet art is sometimes negatively described as the image of network-native art repackaged for the gallery or for sale.[12]

See also

References

External links