A web browser is the execution environment through which web-based artworks and information are displayed and interacted with, and it plays a central role in web art. The exhibition “Web as a Medium” emphasizes that works using the web as their primary medium are deeply dependent on the browser’s specifications and on the characteristics of the web itself. For example, Kitasenju Design’s Brutal Divs builds graphics with CSS directly in the browser, while Leander Herzog’s Downloads animates HTML tags programmatically to create a minimalist but complex abstract work. In these cases, the browser is not merely a display tool; it actively shapes the structure and appearance of the artwork.
The browser also appears as a symbolic motif of the web. In Yehwan Song’s work, windows are treated as “windows” for displaying information and become visual elements that convey pressure and oppression in online space. That, since the early experimental period of the web, there have been exhibitions and artworks designed to be accessed through browsers. The web browser can therefore be understood as a foundational medium for web art: it enables viewing, interaction, and the realization of works whose form depends on the web’s own conditions.