6/12/2018

Exploring The New Age 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.

The non-profit now promotes the use of technology on a year round basis rather than continuing to host the festival. However, much of the work shown at past festivals along with newer pieces are often on display a the CyberArts Gallery. Located at what was once the Axiom Center for Experimental and New Media, the group continues host shows art on a regular basis.

For those whom can not make it to the gallery, there is also a website on which the non-profit posts a number of past and present artwork and shows. The gallery hosts online exhibits, archived work and is free to browse. While the festival is no longer in operation, artists are still invited to submit work on an ongoing basis throughout the year.

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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