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| New Media art | |
|---|---|
| Name | New Media art |
| Years active | Late 20th century–present |
| Countries | International |
| Notable people | Nam June Paik; Laurie Anderson; Roy Ascott; Jenny Holzer; Bill Viola; Ryoji Ikeda; Rafael Lozano-Hemmer; Marina Abramović; Olafur Eliasson; Hito Steyerl |
| Movements | Video art; Net art; Interactive art; Glitch art; Bioart; Post-Internet art |
New Media art New Media art is an umbrella term for artistic practices that use digital, electronic, networked, and emerging technologies to produce works situated within contemporary art contexts. Originating in experiments that intersected with institutions such as Museum of Modern Art and Tate Modern, practitioners like Nam June Paik, Bill Viola, and Jenny Holzer expanded the gallery and festival circuits exemplified by Venice Biennale and Documenta to incorporate time-based, interactive, and networked forms. Contemporary New Media art engages platforms associated with MIT Media Lab, Zentrum für Kunst und Medien, Eyebeam, Rhizome, and festivals such as Ars Electronica, Sónar, and SIGGRAPH, producing hybrid practices that relate to other fields represented at Sotheby's auctions and university programs at Goldsmiths, University of London and UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture.
New Media art encompasses works that employ tools and infrastructures developed by institutions including Bell Labs, CERN, NASA, and DARPA as well as commercial platforms like Apple Inc., Google, Microsoft, Adobe Systems, and Facebook in their production, distribution, or reception. Its scope includes time-based practices linked to Video art, networked pieces connected to Internet Archive and World Wide Web Consortium, interactive installations exhibited at venues such as Science Museum, London and Whitney Museum of American Art, and bio- and techno-art practices affiliated with labs like SymbioticA and The Centre for Genomic Gastronomy. Practitioners often collaborate with research units including MIT Media Lab, Fraunhofer Society, SRI International, and Bell Labs Holmdel to explore modalities associated with festivals like Ars Electronica and markets represented by Art Basel.
Early precursors include experiments by László Moholy-Nagy and institutions like Bauhaus and BBC Radiophonic Workshop, while mid-20th-century developments involved figures such as John Cage, Marcel Duchamp, and Bruce Nauman exhibited at venues including Guggenheim Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, and Hayward Gallery. The 1960s–70s video art movement, driven by artists like Nam June Paik and organizations such as Electronic Arts Intermix and Experiments in Art and Technology, led into the 1980s–90s rise of digital art practices tied to SIGGRAPH conferences and galleries such as ZKM. The late 1990s dot-com era saw Net.art collectives like Jodi (artist) and platforms including Rhizome and Turbulence.org influence biennials like Venice Biennale and institutions such as Centre Pompidou and Haus der Kulturen der Welt. The 21st century introduced work engaging social media platforms from Twitter to Instagram and research networks connected to CERN and European Organization for Nuclear Research visible in exhibitions at MoMA PS1 and Serpentine Galleries.
Practices utilize hardware and software innovations from companies such as Intel, NVIDIA, ARM Holdings, and Apple Inc. alongside open-source projects like Linux, Processing, Arduino, and Raspberry Pi. Artists deploy technologies including virtual reality headsets from firms like Oculus VR and HTC Vive, augmented reality systems linked to Niantic, Inc. and Google Glass, 3D printing platforms commercialized by MakerBot, and machine learning frameworks from OpenAI, Google DeepMind, and TensorFlow. Sound and audiovisual practices reference instruments and systems produced by Moog Music, Roland Corporation, Ableton, and broadcast infrastructures such as BBC and NPR. Bioart utilizes facilities associated with CRISPR research and institutions like Broad Institute and artist-run labs such as SymbioticA.
Genres include time-based work by artists like Bill Viola and Peter Campus, interactive installations by Rafael Lozano-Hemmer and Jenny Holzer, algorithmic and generative art associated with practitioners such as Casey Reas and Joshua Davis, immersive VR pieces by Marina Abramović collaborators at The Creators Project, glitch and circuit-bending practices linked to Kim Cascone and Reynaldo Young, data-driven projects by Tactical Tech and Forensic Architecture, and bioart by Eduardo Kac and Stelarc. Net.art producers such as Olia Lialina and Jodi intersect with post-Internet artists exhibited at MOCA Los Angeles, ICA London, and Hammer Museum. Collaborative formats include hacker collectives like Illegal Art and institutional residencies at Eyebeam and ZKM.
Key institutions include ZKM, Rhizome, Eyebeam, Ars Electronica Center, Tate Modern, Museum of Modern Art, Centre Pompidou, Serpentine Galleries, Whitney Museum of American Art, Zentrum für Kunst und Medien, and university programs at Goldsmiths, University of London, MIT Media Lab, and UCLA. Major exhibitions and events that have shaped the field include Venice Biennale, Documenta, Ars Electronica Festival, SIGGRAPH Art Gallery, Sónar+D, Transmediale, and ISEA International. Commercial platforms and markets intersect via Art Basel, auction houses like Christie's and Sotheby's, and online platforms such as eBay and Etsy for circulation.
Scholars and critics including Lev Manovich, Bruno Latour, Vilém Flusser, Nicolas Bourriaud, Claire Bishop, and Hito Steyerl have theorized relationships among technology, spectatorship, and institutions represented by Museum of Modern Art and Tate Modern. Discourses draw on methodologies from fields associated with Media Studies programs at University of California, Berkeley, Goldsmiths, University of London, and New York University and critique ties to platforms like Google and Facebook. Debates address commercialization visible at Art Basel and ethical concerns raised in forums at Transmediale and Ars Electronica with case studies involving Marina Abramović, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, and Eduardo Kac.
Legal questions involve intellectual property regimes governed by laws such as Berne Convention and institutions like World Intellectual Property Organization, and cases adjudicated in jurisdictions including United States Supreme Court and European Court of Human Rights. Ethical debates engage bioethical frameworks from Belmont Report and regulatory bodies like Food and Drug Administration and European Medicines Agency when practices intersect with biology. Preservation challenges require protocols developed by archives such as Internet Archive, museums including MoMA and Tate, and research initiatives at ZKM and Digital Preservation Coalition to address obsolescence of hardware from companies like Apple Inc. and software dependencies such as Adobe Systems and Flash.