No Rules: Eryk Salvaggio's Prescription for Net Art
I want to use a photo of Judy Garland (as Barry Smylie does in his piece Unreel Dreams); I want, in my piece, to reference Judy Garland. Should I draw her? I could, but would that drawing actually be original to me, or did I really appropriate it (after all, I didn't create what Judy looks like; I didn't make Judy)? These are the problems one runs into when one wades into the dubious waters of image appropriation.
5. Technology is not a subject. The internet is not a subject.
"New net.art cannot be 'reflective of the internet or technology or its
impact.'These subjects are irrelevant; as the internet is not "new"
and its impact has been largely explored."
To this I say: RIGHT ON!!! I've felt for a while now that too much net art is "about" net art, that the work is too reflective and self-referencing. While I do feel that we had to go through a period in which the network itself was both medium and message, it's time to USE the tools we have instead of writing about them.
6. The work stands alone.
"No CV may be included in the promotion or distribution of communications
art. The CV is irrelevant to the experience of any art and should not be included
in any materials used to promote the site."
I'm ambivalent here. On the one hand, I whole-heartedly agree with Eryk; CVs do distract from the experience of the work itself, and it's rare that I bother looking at an artist's CV before I plunge into the piece. But sometimes one does want information on the artist, if simply for historical perspective.
While there are plenty of people writing about new media at the moment, CVs may provide history with more information...information that may very well enable future generations to identify artists and trace their evolution.
Otherwise, I agree with Eryk. I don't need to know what commissions an arist has under her belt in order to appreciate the work.
While Eryk's manifesto brings up a number of great points, I feel ultimately that manifestos and rules are anathema when it comes to art in general. To follow a set of externally-imposed rules in the creation of an artwork may inspire new ways to work
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