Monday, June 11, 2018

Understanding The Definition Of Cyber Art

By Dennis Stewart


Artists can often work in one or multiple genres and media formats. For many, the computer and internet have opened up opportunities never before present in the art world. When it comes to cyber art, the artist typically works with computer based applications to create paintings, enhance photographs or use various applications and tools to create video performance or poetry.

The term is relatively new and somewhat vague with no solid definition. However, there are a number of artists whom now create all work online. Whether using an application to create multiple pieces at once, a performance artist who shoots video of a performance, then uploads the file to YouTube, or someone whom uploads and edits photographs with tools such as Photoshop or other photo editing tools, all would be considered artists of this nature.

The most well known event involving this type of art was the Boston CyberArts Festival which was the only event of its kind. In the early 1990s, a non-profit group started the festival which ran through 2011. During that time, digital art and video were at the forefront of technology. For, long before YouTube and other video sharing sites, performance and digital artists were providing work to the festival.

In 2007, approximately twenty two thousand people were in attendance with over 200 artists showing work from around the world. The festival was held in Boston once every two years from the last week of April into the first week of May. During that time, artists from all over the world held art openings, galas and shared work with those interested in the new age of digital art and technology.

While still in existence, the non-profit now focuses on showing digital art and other projects on a year round basis. The organizers still host a website in which the last effects of the festival can be viewed. Whereas, the popular CyberArts Gallery is still housed in a building which used to be the Axiom Center for New and Experimental Media in the south Boston neighborhood of Jamaica Plain which is easily accessible via the Orange line on the MBTA, the city's mass transit system.

For those whom can not make it to the gallery, the non-profit also hosts an online presence in the art world. Whether showing work from past festivals or newer digital art, the website has been a success. As a result, even though the festival is no longer in existence, artists can still submit work on a regular basis.

Originally located in Boston, Massachusetts, with a centralized office where artists could find information on events while attending opening night parties, the office has since moved. Whether due to MIT or the local art school, the festival ran successfully from the early 1990s to 2011. After which, the organization closed up shop and moved to Jamaica Plain, a neighborhood just south of the city which is a convenient location on the Orange line of the Boston MBTA mass transportation system.

While some events were held at the office, others were held at a number of renown locations such as public spaces, museums, galleries and universities. During this time, the organizers would also host a number of virtual events on the internet which was still a new idea at the time. As a result, the CyberArts festival become one of the most well known in the country.




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