Net Art

Net art (net.art) refers to an art movement that uses the internet as a new medium. In the provided context, it is described as having Fluxus as an ancestor and as emerging in Eastern Europe during the collapse of the Soviet Union and the fall of the Berlin Wall. A key role was played by mailing lists such as Nettime and Syndicate, which helped artists build global connections and collaborative practices. Net art works formed a diverse body of experiments: some embraced new technologies, others resisted them, and the range extended from playful pieces to works intended to provoke debate.

Examples mentioned include Vuk Ćosić, known for works using ASCII characters; JODI, who launched extreme sites that could crash browsers; and 0100101110101101.org, which attempted to subvert public media by copying, modifying, and republishing websites. In the early 2000s, the NEEN Manifest defined a new tendency within internet art, and around Rafaël Rozendaal a movement emerged that differed from the more political and critical tone of the 1990s. This later tendency was lighter, playful, and more personal in sensibility. Based on the context alone, net art can be understood as a broad and evolving set of practices centered on the web and internet communication, rather than a single fixed style.