[spectre] debate net art and art criticism

[Josephine Bosma]

A  N  N  O  U  N  C  E  M  E  N  T


Debate:

net art and art criticism

Friday January 25, 2002

De Balie, Center for Culture and Politics, Amsterdam

Grote Zaal

Start: 20.00 hrs.


Ever since documenta X 1997 in Kassel, internet art has been placed on
the map of the contemporary art world. Artists such as the duo jodi.org
or Marko Peljhan were suddenly launched into the international art
world.
Meanwhile, however, artists working primarily with the internet have
remained rather exotic creatures in the art zoo. Why? Are these artists
misunderstood? Does net art also demand a new set of criteria? What is
the relevant context in which these works should be discussed and
analyzed; that of contemporary visual arts, or rather the context of the
internet itself and the turbulent developments of the new communication
and information technologies?

It begs the question how art criticism should deal with these phenomena.
Is internet art or "net art" simply another art form as there are many
others, a genre, which then can be a normal part of regular art
criticism? Do these works in the admittedly special context of the
internet require their own criteria and their own discourse, in order
that they can be appropriately understood and valued? Or do we maybe
need a new way to look at art in general? 

Participants in the debate are; Frederic Madre (F), writer; Tilman
Baumgaertel (D), writer, critic, author of "net.art Materialien zur
Netzkunst"; Sarah Cook (UK), Curator, writer and researcher, University
of Sunderland; Graham Harwood (UK), media artist (ex-Mongrel) and
currently artist in residence at De Waag Society for Old and New Media;
jodi (B&NL) artist duo, creators of the famous jodi.org net art web
site, SOD a radical adaptation of the 3D game Wolfenstein and the "Wrong
Browser" project. Moderation: Josephine Bosma (NL), writer and critic. 


It is also possible to follow the debate via the internet, at:
http://www.balie.nl/live


URLs:

* Jodi.org Home Site and Wrong Browsers
http://www.jodi.org
http://www.wrongbrowser.com

* Artist Collective Mongrel:
http://www.mongrelx.org

* Web Pages of Frederic Madre
http://pleine-peau.com

* Web Pages of Tilman Baumgaertel:
http://www.thing.de/tilman/

* Web Pages of Sarah Cook
http://www.newmedia.sunderland.ac.uk/sc/sarahc.htm

*Web Pages of Josephine Bosma:
http://www.laudanum.net/bosma

* Cream - newsletter for net art criticism:
http://www.laudanum.net/cream

____________________

tickets & reservations:
price: Euro 7,50 (f 16,50) / E. 5,00 ( f 11,00)
opening hours box office: work days 13.00-18.00 hrs or until the start
of
the program.
In the weekend 1 1/2 hour before the programs starts.
Reserve by phone: 31.20.55 35 100 during opening hours until 45 minutes
before the program starts.


De Balie
Kleine-Gartmanplantsoen 10
1017 RR Amsterdam

http://www.balie.nl