There is little doubt that the internet has changed much of how the world functions. The term “Post-Internet” was coined to describe an idea that how society interacts with both arts and criticism has changed significantly since the internet has been adopted so widely. Keep in mind the word “post” is not meant to mean after, but rather about. The term came from a discussion by Artie Vierkant, Marisa Olson, and Gene McHugh about the internet and art. Although the term has been accepted, the movement behind the term is not fully defined. It assumes the center of network and often takes things from physical to social bifurcation of internet as fodder. For the age of internet, changing image’s to circulation of cultural objects and from the politics of participation to new understanding of materiality. Post-internet art often shares aesthetics of pre-Internet Art. However, it addresses internet as a force that has altered social structures for physical and digital spaces, not just using internet only as a tool to produce art. It reflects internet and the effects of internet on culture, and it does not have to be art produce on the internet. It also serve as an important semantic distinction from Conceptualism and New Media Art. The post-Internet world has left its influence on the type of art produced, how it is produced and how it is viewed by the audience.
Artie Vierkant is a Post-Internet artist. He was born in 1986 in Brainerd, Minnesota and is now living and working in New York. He makes art about the importance of representation across media. He has an essay, “The Image Object Post-Internet” where he did a survey on how we engage images at the post-internet age, which is very easy to share and reproduce than in the past. He argued that due to the old technology for scanning, printing, photographic and display were not exist yet, so it was very difficult to reproduce artwork. Nowadays, he makes Technicolor sculptural pieces with photographic “Image Objects” that refer to their infinitely reproducible and ephemeral. “Image Objects”, are a series of works that are between images and physical sculptures. Each art piece begins as a digital file, then it is made into UV prints on disband, then cut to the form of the piece to create photographic prints and present them as a sculpture. He use different materials such as aluminum, stainless steel and fiberglasses to build his works. Also, the pieces are also documented by Vierkant or a gallery. Those documentations photos will become a new form of works that build upon the initial objects, which does not represent as physical objects. They become separate works which with different elements of collage that used in professional image retouching. “Vierkant subverts the conventional teleology of art, which usually ends with the exhibition. This speaks to the evolution of an increasingly digitized culture, in which online interactions are rapidly overtaking physical encounters.”3 Vierkant is just one example of an artist using internet technologies to create his beautiful artwork.
One major issue facing post-internet artists is digital art theft. DeviantArt is a web site that allows artists to showcase their work; they have a whole web page dedicated to educating people about using the artist’s work legally and without committing theft. This is because from photographs to stock images, artists have to worry constantly about someone taking their art without permission thanks to the internet. While art theft once made one think about someone trying to walk out of the Smithsonian with a famous Madonna painting under their arm; suffice to say this is no longer the case. Art theft is a daily struggle in the post-internet world. Many online art distributors have pages explaining what different way there are that you can use their artwork. For instance, there is copyright laws which a person does not allow anyone to use their work; should a person take a picture of their work and reproduce it in any way they are stealing the artwork. There are further forms of copyrighting where it is a partial copy write; this means that a person can use the art on their site, and possibly make changes to it depending on the copy write allowances. Despite a lot of art being available for free download on the internet, people often seek higher quality work and therefore steal other people’s artwork to put on their pages. Some artists have begun to use watermarks of their photos, images and other online art they own in order to deter theft. While this effectively ensures that an original design will not end up on someone else’s t-shirt, some artists will not use a watermark because they feel they take away from the visual impact of the image.
Photography has undergone a massive change in the post-internet age. While cameras with actual film seem like a distant memory, it really was not that long ago that every picture taken had to be developed. Ken Rockwell has been a photographer since the 1970’s, winning many awards and having his work displayed in museums, private collections and various publications. He has worked with film and digital, and writes about the differences in each. He still uses film for some of his art, but speaks to the benefits of digital and being able to take thousands of pictures while only printing the ones you actually want. Not only that, digital photo programs like Adobe Photoshop make it so that digital photos can be changed very easily. The downfall of digital photography is that so many amateurs can take excellent photo’s now, which challenges the work of artists like Ken who have had years of training and experience. This inundation of amateur photographers as a result of the post-internet world has also re-opened the debate about whether photography is legitimate art, since so little skill is needed to produce excellent photos now. This is especially distressing to photographers like Ken who have worked for years to have their art recognized and appreciated.
Another major difference the post-internet world has made with art is how it is sold. While artists once had to use galleries, or set up on busy streets, they now can reach a global audience. Facebook is often used to display one’s art like Andrea’s Art Gallery does. Other’s use websites like eBay or Etsy to showcase their art. Etsy is very popular because it is specifically for handmade goods, so a lot of people look there for unique items first. Other artists choose to have their own website to show their work; this is the option that presents the most work for the artist since all the advertising and everything would be on them. The benefit to old style galleries is that the artist could do what they do best, create, while allowing someone else to be the salesperson for them. Nonetheless, utilizing a web site also means getting more funds from a sale than of one used a traditional gallery.
Not only has the way that physical pieces of art are displayed and sold changed, so has the art of movie making and distribution. YouTube allows professional and amateur videos to be shared with the world, creating YouTube stars such as Michelle Phan and PewDiePie have taken advantage of an internet platform where almost anything goes and now are millionaires because of it. In addition, streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu and Amazon allow people to watch all sorts of movies and television shows without commercials. People want to quickly see a movie go from screen to the Redbox to be rented, and then to their favorite streaming service. Marketing a movie has changed dramatically as a result.
The post-internet society has created a world where anyone can see great art. Virtual tours are available for many museums and major places. For instance, if one wanted to see the Parthenon in true detail, spending thousands of dollar to go in person was the only option for many of us. Now a virtual tour is available at http://acropolis-virtualtour.gr/#. In this tour, the user can pan around the entire scene and zoom in and out. It is the closest one can get to seeing the Parthenon in detail without actually going. Also, most major museums showcase their art online. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York allows internet users to see a picture of each piece of their art, along with any facts and history of the painting. This allows anyone to see artwork by famous artists, such as Picasso, at any time. This kind of ease of access was unheard of before the internet age. Now, the history of art can be viewed with ease as long as one has an internet connection. This allows for much more appreciation of ancient and historical arts, as well as an easier way to educate the masses. Also, it ensures these amazing works of art are at least preserved in images should anything ever happen to the original.
One major change in types of art produced is the movement from old style animation to computer animation. As an example, old Disney movies such as Snow White or Bambi were drawn piece by piece by hundreds of artists. Each individual frame was hand drawn; each had miniscule changes so that when the frames were run together quickly it looks as if the scene is moving. This wonderful art is hardly used in the post-internet age. Instead, computer animation is used. With computer animation, the same idea is present, but everything is created on the computer. It has a different look and feel compared to traditional animation. For instance, traditional is always 2-D, while computer animation can create 3-d images. These computer images are often transmitted over the internet to other artists in order to be more refined or receive criticism as necessary. While it would be easy to assume that computer animation is better, that is not always true; some of the most beautiful movies made were in the old style. It is hard to imagine Beauty and the Beast or Pocahontas being as gorgeous in computer animation. Either way, computer animation is easier, and allows for more collaboration through the use of the internet.
The internet has left an undeniable mark anywhere it has touched. Artists have whole new media types to include within their work, changing the idea of what art should look like. The theft of artists work is much higher than ever, with many people using images illegally on the internet. On the other side, artists have more control over where they sell, and how much they profit from their sales. The art of photography has changed as digital has become the way to go. The movie business has had to change how it markets because of expectations created by the use of the internet. In addition, people with a little ingenuity can create a YouTube channel and make more than most television stars do. The internet also has allowed anyone access to fine art through online museums and virtual tours. Finally, the beautiful art of traditional animation has almost entirely been replaced by computer animation. These are just a few of the changes the post-internet world has created for art. There is little doubt the art world will continue to change and grow as new ways to use the internet become available, and even as the internet itself grows and changes. In reality, there was no way to stay with traditional methods when the internet offers so much and is so dynamic. It will be interesting to ee how the post-internet world continue to change and improve the world of art and our access to it.
References
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