
Rachel Greene's article "Web Work: A History of Internet Art" provides an insightful overview of the evolution of internet-based art, highlighting its emergence in the 1990s and its development into a recognized artistic movement. She discusses how artists began utilizing the internet as a medium to create interactive, participatory, and often politically charged works that challenged traditional art forms and institutions.
Greene emphasizes the global nature of internet art, noting that it allowed artists from diverse backgrounds to collaborate and share their work with a wide audience, transcending geographical and cultural boundaries. She also addresses the challenges faced by internet artists, such as issues of preservation, commodification, and the rapidly changing technological landscape.
One notable aspect of Greene's analysis is her discussion of the "net.art" movement, which included artists like Vuk Ćosić, Jodi.org, Alexei Shulgin, and Olia Lialina. These artists explored the unique possibilities of the internet, creating works that were often interactive and challenged the conventional understanding of art. For instance, Lialina's work "My Boyfriend Came Back From The War" utilized hypertext to create a nonlinear narrative, exemplifying the innovative approaches of net.artists.
Greene's article underscores the significance of internet art in expanding the boundaries of artistic practice and its role in reflecting and critiquing the digital age. By examining the history and development of internet art, she highlights its importance as a medium that fosters innovation, accessibility, and global connectivity in the art world.
