Art and identity on the web
In a world increasingly mediated by technology and
images, everything directly lived has moved away into a representation. What
Guy Debord calls “the spectacle,” a social
relationship between people mediated by images, has become the dominant way of
life. (Debord,1983) In this age of the spectacle, the
definition of art has been blurred, stretched and distorted to accommodate
different agendas. The internet as a virtual parallel to the physical world
makes evident questions of the relationship between art in technology and
issues of identity, power and control therein. Who creates art on the internet?
For whom? To what purpose? Many
people now have the freedom to express themselves creatively through personalized
homepages such as MySpace with custom colours and designs, furthering their self identity through
artistic practices and self expression. However, from another point of view,
perhaps this is just a demonstration of our commodity driven society; a process
of self commodification. Not only has the internet allowed
the further joining of art and commodity in an effort to entice consumers, but
on the other end of the spectrum, the long standing ties between art and
activism have been reinforced and the line between the two further blurred by
the opportunity for collaboration across time, distance and social groups.
The personal homepage, reflective of personal values,
beliefs and taste enables the construction of the self through negotiations of
identity. “Constructing a personal home page can be seen as shaping not only
the materials but also (in part through manipulating the various materials)
one’s identity.”(
This makes evident the question of where image for
the purpose of (artistic) enlightenment, aesthetic value and self expression end
and image as (self) advertisement begins. Through association with desirable
images in order to enhance the appeal of the self, the process of self commodification begins. In this respect, personal web pages
can be said to mirror real world corporate strategies. Corporations make
extensive use of the association between image ideal and commodity to stimulate
desire and consumption. Maragret Crawford describes
this strategy as a process of “indirect commodification”
which allows non commodified values (such as art,
cultural representations) to enhance commodities. “But it also imposes the
reverse process – previously non commodified entities
become part of the marketplace.” (Crawford, 1992) The HollisterCo. Website integrates art and a specific
(west coast) style of living with their clothing line to stimulate desire. Such
artistic mediums as (Indy) music and film- a live beach cam- are featured
prominently on the site and used to create an identity. The website is not only
a store but a conductor of cultural ideals and purveyor of aestheticism. Similarly,
“communities of fans (of different forms of media) are linked to aesthetic and
cultural choices made by subordinate groups.” (Kirsten Pullen,2004)While
corporations are using cultural practices and art to infuse their brands with
an identity, the creation of art and online cultural movements such as fan art
and spinoff plots (fan fiction) created by fans are
under attack by large corporations for copyright infringement. (Kirsten pullen,2004) Do corporations now own culture, art, ideas and
products of inspiration? Are corporations and institutions the only ones worthy
of creation and influence?
Although art is frequently implicated in processes of
corporate and official image making, the internet has also facilitated coalitions
between activists across time and space, and the production of politically
charged art. In addition to corporate
strategies has emerged net.art, a tactical response
by activists characterized by art on the internet. “The internet becomes an
enabler for artist/activist groups to devise tactics and engineer situations
which question and potentially upset existing power relations between the
individual and the establishment (art institutions, corporate power, traditional art market).” (Dzuverovic-Russell,2003) An internet community called ‘The Yes Men’ is one of
many such organizations, who make evident the facility with which media can be
manipulated, “Impersonating Big-Time criminals (leaders and big corporations)
in order to publicly humiliate them.” – www.theyesmen.org. The dynamic
nature of the web facilitates anonymity and the creation of multiple identities
or in some cases, the creation of fictional identities as was the case in the
creation of the artist known as ‘Darko Maver.’ By creating a fictional artist who supposedly
staged and photographed murder scenes -generating much attention online and
subsequently offline- only to reveal his non existence, the group
0100101110101101.ORG “tried to show the mechanisms which hold contemporary art,
to make clear that critics and curators are able to create an artist, apart
from the value of his works; this phenonmena is
currently accepted or taken for granted and peoples undervalue it’s impact.”(Caronia,2000 – cited in Dzuverovic)
In a world where our public space is becoming
increasingly privatized and works of art are displayed not on artistic merit
but to further corporate or institutional agendas, the internet offers the
potential to reclaim space as publicly generated and used, passive consumers
have a greater opportunity to become active users and creators. In a commodity
driven society dominated by ‘idols’ and corporations, where fame is as simple
as following a generic formula and celebrity status equals talent, e.g. Paris
Hilton ‘the artist, musician and actress,’ the internet provides an outlet for
those not incorporated in packaged culture, and an opportunity for international
recognition. Websites such as not- for- profit Rhizome (www.Rhizome.org) are invaluable in the
creation of public art space on the net. The notion of anonymity afforded by a
web presence facilitates personal expression enabling in depth negotiations of
identity, community and associations on a global scale.