[ISEA2011] Paper: Annet Dekker – Clickable Art, or what does online participation mean?

Abstract

When talking about representation and reproduction it is hard not to talk about authenticity. The term ‘authentic’ stems from Greek [authentikos], meaning ‘principal, genuine’. It carries a connotation of authoritative certification that an object is what it is claimed to be. In cultural heritage it is most often related to the ‘original’ state of a work. In this paper I will link authenticity to reproduction and representation: I will discuss different attitudes towards the need for the authentic and examine the changing meaning of authenticity and art in the last fifteen years, in which I will pay special attention to the influence of web2.0 strategies used by museums. Underlying questions that I will address: What does the Web 2.0 mean for art and authenticity? And, related, what does online participation mean? How do museums deal with user-generated content? Will this new content become part of documentation archives, and if so what are the challenges? How can museums deal with the different contexts and processes inherent in new these structures? What can be learned from existing internet practices and artists practices? These questions will be answered by looking closely at several works that deal with strategies that are now labeled as Web2.0 or social media tactics. At the same time it will explore the meaning of online participation, collaboration and networking. The examples I show are ‘historical’ artworks, like Nine by Graham Harwood (Mongrel) and Mouchette by Martine Neddam and more recent attempts that raise awareness, use or question ubiquitous social media, for example Naked on Pluto by Dave Griffiths, Aymeric Mansoux and Marloes de Valk, ALLYOURVIDEOAREBELONGTO.US by JODI and You Tube as a Subject by Constant Dullaart. The examples will be analysed from a technical as well as a conceptual point of view to highlight the various participatory possibilities. At the same time they raise awareness to the changing meaning of the “authentic” and address the implications for the future archives of museums.

  • Annet Dekker, The Netherlands, is independent curator, writer and researcher. Subjects of interest are the influence of technology, science and popular culture on art and vice versa. Currently she works as webcurator for SKOR, as researcher on the project ”Born-digital art in collections of Dutch museums” for SBMK, VP, NIMk and DEN, and as lecturer new media theory at Rietveld Academy. In 2009 she initiated aaaan.net together with Annette Wolfsberger. At the moment they organise the Artist in Residence programme at the Netherlands Media Art Institute in Amsterdam and they produced Funware, an international touring exhibition in 2010 and 2011 about fun in software (curated by Olga Goriunova). Since 2008 she is writing a PhD on strategies for documenting net art at the Centre for Cultural Studies, Goldsmiths, University of London, under supervision of Matthew Fuller.  aaaan.net

Full text (PDF) p. 611-616