Generative Topic

My group's generative topic was based on the idea of integrating traditional media with new technology. I did some research into art that I thought exemplified this, and why. I feel that the work that is most successful at combining traditional and new media were pieces that tended to incorporate both, equally.
For example, Brian Knep's work is almost entirely programmed and can be considered new media; meanwhile the work of a painter is considered traditional. One way to encourage the use of both mediums is to find where they intersect.
Ben Benjamin is a graphic artist whose work is a good example of this strategy. In 1997 he started uploading some of his graphic design work and web design projects onto a site called Superbad. It was supposed to function as a testing area for pieces he was working on for clients, using bold graphics and images that are manipulated with HTML and javascript code. It eventually evolved into a sort of bizarre online installation, with at least 143 interconnected pages of art.

There's no fixed entry point, so each experience is different and non-linear. Curiosity and word-of-mouth eventually led to more traffic and greater publicity. In 1999, Superbad won a Webby award, and in 2000 it was featured in the Whitney Museum Biennial. The website is a good example of traditional media (random drawings and photos, graphic) combined with new media (HTML and programming).

The second site I found was Absurd.org. There was very little information about it, other than that it is a zine, so the content is probably submitted by multiple people. The site is more organized than Superbad, with a main page and table of contents, but it emphasizes the language of HTML more. Windows open randomly, and the screen divides itself into sections; at one point your monitor is turned off for a second. One segment, When Windows Attack, convincingly pretends to infect your computer with a virus, manipulating the browser window while soberly narrating the event. The site combines pixelated graphics with manipulated text; while it doesn't exactly balance between new and traditional media, Absurd.org still counts as a good example of integration. It uses basic 2D art and then manipulates it with a computer.

Sources:
Review of Absurd.org



Internet art on display at Whitney Biennial

April 18, 2000. Web posted at: 12:20 p.m. EDT (1620 GMT)
By Jamie Allen CNN Interactive Senior Writer

Art on the Go--An Interview With Ben Benjamin of Superbad.Com
Posted by Rhizomer on September 4, 2000 12:00 am