Week 12: Response to “Web Work: A History of Internet Art” – Hanna Rinderknecht-Mahaffy

While reading Greene’s article, I was particularly interested in the impacts of Jodi.org’s artistic influence. These projects showcase interactive websites that center around lines of HTML code, speaking to the user “in the language of network and hardware.” I like the concept of these type of projects, because for the average internet user, the code behind the webpage is not prominent in their minds.  By bringing the code to the forefront of the sites and in one case, hacking the user’s IP address, Jodi.org brings an awareness to the power of the technology behind a website. 

One aspect that the article addressed that I never considered much in the topic of ‘internet art,’ was the idea of using internet art to address social and political topics/tensions. When I think of ‘art’ in general, the first thing that comes to my mind is colorful paintings/drawings, etc. I initially thought about internet art as an extension of this, however after reading about the filmmaker Cheang’s projects on the topics of technology and access in Asia and a website on the life of Brandon for the Guggenheim, I realize that internet art can be powerfully used as a medium to create a dialogue around prevalent social, cultural, and political issues of our time. 

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