Eduardo Kac was born in 1962 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil began his artistic career as a traditional performance artist but eventually moved on to investigate technology artistically through an exploration of poetry. After becoming dissatisfied with the uni-dimensionality of the printed word, Kac turned to holography. In 1983, he coined the term "holopoetry" to describe his three-dimensional floating texts at which point he began an intense relationship between artistic practice and the possibilities of technology. Throughout the years he has continued to push the boundaries that lie between networks and telecommunications as well as biological technology and art.His transgenic works dating back to 1998 include pieces where rabbits, fish, plants and mice glow in the dark not because they are virtual or digital but because they are genetically engineered to do so. To this day he continues to not only make a social commentary on where technology is taking society but also create dynamic and interesting pieces that leverage his performance arts background and combine it with present day technology.

Society & Virtual Museums

Throughout history, art objects have been placed in a variety of spaces, works of art have been part of churches, caves, libraries, malls, parks, galleries and museums. In each of these environments, art objects have acquired a variety of functions and meanings: religious, ritualistic, commercial, decorative, historical.

The virtual museum is the most recent cultural space to have emerged in the art world. The birth of the virtual museum dating back to the 1990s with the advent of the internet have created a new cultural space. In many ways, the cyberspace museum has redefined the functions of the museum and the relationships between the museum, the art object and the public.

This fascinating paradigm shift has peeked the interest of not only artists, technologists but asko sociologists such as María-José Moreno of the Department of Social Sciences, College of General Studies at the University of Puerto Rico has dedicated her career to the affects of technology on altering our traditional views of art.

Connection Progression - Visual and Media

With the economy where it is now I began thinking about how artists go about marketing themselves or connecting with galleries, other artists and prospective buyers - for networking or just as means of social media

MySpace connected musicians or let me re-phrase that, connected music lovers to bands that they might have never had a listen to before. Twitter came into popularity by people "twitting" about new artists at the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas a few years back. But I had never really heard of social media sites for artist until I did a little bit of research. I came across several sites that seemed pretty credible although I'm not really one to judge.

The site VisualProgression is one of the many I came across and seems to provide an environment that makes digital art accessible for artists to sell their work and for buyers. Its an environment for graphic designers and digital artists where they can learn from others and share their knowledge, upload portfolios, blog, ask and answer questions and discuss equipment.

I also came across a list Nicholas Forrest of artmarketblog.com recently put together of the top ten social networks that would be of benefit to art collectors and art investors. Below is his list of the top ten social networking sights that cater specifically to people interested in visual art:
http://www.myartspace.com/ is an online community with more than 50,000 artists, collectors, students, teachers, gallerists, curators, critics and art appreciators across the world.

http://www.artreview.com/ is a new social networking site for the artworld, "creating a global forum for discussion, interactivity and debate. artreview.com is a unique blend of editorial and community content, combining the insight and critical weight of some of today’s most important art world voices with the input and opinions of everyday enthusiasts from around the world."

http://www.artmesh.org/ is an inspiring and innovative network for those who live and love the fine arts. The difference to other art communities is the fact that "artmesh is about communication and collaboration, about inspiration and the exploration of the boundless possibilities of a progressive and innovative virtual art network."

http://www.artslant.com/, is the #1 contemporary art network, launched in Los Angeles in February, 2007. It is a sophisticated website that brings a local and in-depth focus to the contemporary art scene.

http://www.artlog.com/ "Artlog is the place for you to connect with folks, share your work and discover innovative new art & design". Artlog is for art makers, insiders, organizations and art lovers.

http://www.independent-collectors.com/ is an online tool targeted at modern and inquisitive collectors. It makes building a personal network and sharing information about topics like artists, galleries or events much easier and faster.

http://www.artselector.com/ The artselector contemporary fine art collective was originally set up by MA Fine Art graduates of Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design and the Royal College of Art.

http://www.rhizome.org/ community includes thousands of artists, academics, curators, critics, and other new media art enthusiasts.

http://www.labforculture.org/en/labforculture/browse brings members of the visual art community together to network, advance careers, and to foster a community with exclusive benefits where information about artists and designers is provided by artists and designers.

Ligths, Camera, Screens - Protect Protect

Lee Frank says "Jenny Holzer thrives outside the more traditional, brick-and-mortar art world of paint and photography, using LED and light projection as her medium."

Starting today, her exhibit PROTECT PROTECT lights up the Whitney. As with past works where she beamed poems on buildings throughout New York, Holzer continues using poetry in her work. However, thanks to the Freedom of Information Act, this show also includes manipulations and projections of government documents, and covers her craft from the '90s to the present.

The show goes on from Thursday Mar 12 (11am–6pm) at the Whitney Museum of American Art (945 Madison Ave, 800.944.8639).

Computer Age Generated Art

This morning the New York times reported on the The New Museum of Contemporary Art's next month inaugural triennial exhibit of an international sampling of 50 artists who were born after 1976 and raised in the computer age. The show "Younger Than Jesus” will begin to examine the visual culture this generation has created to date.

In order to select the artists for this show the curators relied on their Internet savvy, reaching out to 150 writers, teachers, artists, critics, curators and bloggers worldwide, for recommendations. From around 600 suggested names, the team including Adjunct Curator; Massimiliano Gioni, and Laura Hoptman cut the group down to the group to 50 artists spaning mediums from painting, drawing, photography, film, animation, performance, installation, dance, Internet-based works, and video games.
Kerstin Brätsch, a 30-year-old German-born artist and a part of a collective called Das Institute who will show computer-generated images that “can become anything."

“Younger Than Jesus” will capture the signals of an imminent change, identify emerging stylistic trends and provide the general public with an in-depth look at how the next generation conceives of our world. Revealing new languages, technologies and attitudes, the exhibition will comprise a portrait of the agents of change at the beginning of the twenty-first century.

Arts Education

I got to thinking today - as we venture more and more into the "Digital Age" where technology and knowing how to use continues to becomes paramount, how is arts education effected?

Does teaching children how to use educational software's such as Kid Pix or Photoshop at a young age rather than how to use traditional materials such as clay and paint benefit or harm them? Do they get a broader world view by being exposed to virtual museums and exhibits online or are we creating unrealistic expectations as to what art looks like and what mastery really is.

The use of technology as a creative tool is occurring more and more in art classrooms across the country. Lessons in computer graphics, animation and multi-media design are increasingly being taught to younger age students. At a recent conference of Arts Educators of New Jersey a session on computer graphics curriculum for K-8 was one of the best attended.

Organizations such as The Visual Thinking Strategies and Arts Education 2.0 promote a curriculum and teaching method that ask educators to facilitate learner-centered discussions of visual art while using art to develop critical thinking, communication and visual literacy skills.

Needless to say as we are exposing younger and younger kids to art through technology their social dynamic and technological consciousness are changing as are the way they communicate, understand and interact with the world around them.