This article discusses the origins and development of Internet art, or Net.Art. It shows how the definition has evolved, how the art has evolved along with advances in technology, and how the artists themselves evolved.
The article also explores the many different types of net art, especially in its early days. Photos compiled to form a meaning, certain sets of code, pixel art, gifs, interactive websites, writing, and more, all fit under the umbrella of the growing Net.Art scene. And, this art was used for all sorts of purposes. Much of it was fun, playful, joking, made by pranksters or people simply experimenting with the technology. However, a lot of it also had social involvement. There was a wave of cyberfeminism, feminists expressing themselves via net art and banding together online. There were also chat rooms and forums for exploring gender and sexuality- essentially, the world of Net.Art was a very diverse place with a niche for anybody seeking some expression, freedom, or practice coding.
It also gave way to the development of things like cyber law, manifestos and writing projects from scholars and scientists, and of course the beginnings of software programming. As well as the types and uses of net art, the article shows how the artists developed. In the beginning, there was no real definition of Net.Art nor examples of what could be created. So, at first, it was all about trying out different things to see what people liked, to see what worked.
Then, it started catching on, and small communities started forming as more net artists joined the movement. Finally, as Net.Art kept growing in popularity and relevance, many of the artists felt empowered and passionate about their work and began making use of various ecommerce platforms to earn from their work.
