Conceptualist photography has according to the artist has affected the way in which he delivers his work. The direct engagement between conceptual photography and the net art piece may be abstract; however, when one considers the process rather than the actual art piece, Hamilton's concepts are understood. After al, the art piece is cimple in its delivery and conviction. What becomes more important is the message behind the interaction. The piece is a medium to inform users about how we communicate.

Hamilton does not openly see his work as net art but as something more fluid. "I don't think we need net art as a discipline. We still call a board with some paint on it a "painting" for example, but not necessarily because we think it needs to be looked at as a painting first. We look at paintings and sculptures and video in the same rooms, under the broader category of "Art." Though there are a few things I like about the avant-garde, for the most part I'd rather not see it around anymore. I think art suffers when it is expected to progress humanity or elevate our spirits/being. I would like to see people's expectation of art lower, I would like to see the objects less valued. In my ideal viewing scenario, the viewer doesn't even know that they are looking at art when they first encounter it - the art is simply an unexpected or unfamiliar alteration of everyday life. I like net art that spreads through blogs and memes, and emails, not through websites and online museums. I like it when art is saleable only as a part of the works design."* s a part of the works design."*

The limited communication frame presented to the user remains this project's core. The impersonal nature of the site spurns frustration and alienation. It heightens awareness about how culture is becoming both impersonal and unattached. The work forces the viewer to contemplate communication from its most simple form and reinforces concepts that other cumminication routes are possible as well as other geographies. The project further asserts that the desire for affirmation is never satisfied, thus the user is bound to "continuously update" their status, For Hamilton, when asked if the project has been successful, the response is optimistic: "I would call it successful so far, but it would be better to see more activity."* And this is the project's key, since being launched in 2003, and accompanied by a large email send-outs. It has been slowly growing, but it is still hard to find "someone out there". I will conclude with the hope that the project will convince the viewer leave the computer and go out and meet someone face to face.

Kevin Hamilton's background is in studio art. Having trained as a painter at the Rhode Island School of Design, he soon jumped over to site-based projects preferring to focus on video, web, and/or digital photography applications. Through his graduate work at MIT's Visual Studies Program he "began to more closely identify with how artists engage in urban space," and took a particular interest in the history of the European avant-garde movement. Since then he has pursued work in and out of the gallery setting. His work has been featured in festivals in Madrid, Bilboa, and Vancouver, and in solo and group exhibitions in Chicago, Memphis, and Champaign.

He currently holds a post at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, where he lectures on contemporary art and theory, teaches video and sound, and advises graduate students.

Kevin Hamilton's website: http://www.synchronaut.net
Contact: Kevin Hamilton via email at: kham@iuic.edu

Footnotes:
* Quotes taken from the interview with Kevin Hamilton