EJ: Is it also your intent to use the attributes of electronic media/the Internet to provide a moment of self/cultural reflection with respect to information delivery systems and media culture?

NW: Yes.

EJ: With regards to cleverly playing with the viewer's expectations, I noticed that the headlines do not run consistent with the newspaper format headings (sports, travel, etc). Do these inconsistencies intend to play on viewer expectations and/or depict society as gullible?

NW: I wanted to play with the hierarchy of information that is deemed important and how the media conglomerates use this power. It is interesting to me how really hot issues disappear suddenly or will be found buried deep in the newspaper, sometimes in a totally unrelated section. It seems that some American politicians create 'issues/news' to overpower other issues that the voters are vocal and concerned about. The media pick it up and before you know it the rights of the people and future generations have been diminished without challenge or mainstream media attention. But also I am finding that many people are most interested in local concerns, things that happen in their neighborhood. With six primary media conglomerates, which really mean corporate control, and, thus, dominance/continuance of corporate interests, these big guys often decide what constitutes front page news - even in small community papers. I wanted to give local headlines equal opportunity for front-page display.

EJ: Avant-garde art can be perceived as art that has never manifested itself before. Moreover, with avant-garde art, viewers may have never seen or experienced a particular artistic expression/method of displaying information/ideas. Do you feel that your work can be categorized as parody in an avant-garde sense?

NW: No. I think this work is very much of its time.

EJ: There are many ways in which art can be consumed and interpreted by its viewers. The artist’s intended meaning and the viewers perceived meanings might be at odds. What type of perceived meanings have you previously received with respect to your Web project?

NW: This project is still very new for me to answer this question. It will be interesting to find out what reactions are evoked and how meaning evolves. It is also about having fun.

As Net art continues to gain popularity in today’s ‘technology-driven’ society, it is important to highlight issues that are brought forth from the interview with respect to using this particular medium for expressing ideas. Through using one of the media in which she parodies – the computer/electronic media, Nanette Wylde has incorporated its attributes to both convey and compliment her ideas of truth, media culture, and society. The interactive aspect of Wylde’s project does not render her project as pure entertainment, rather, it is an attribute that helps the artist create unique user experiences by which social/cultural practices are brought into light. She has created for the viewer/participant an information delivery system that fosters active engagement, rather that passive engagement.

With computer-driven art, time and space has been compressed which gives way to instantaneous distribution/access to information, including the ability for the artist to reach a global audience. Wylde utilizes the Web’s instantaneous distribution of information to immediately display her participants’ entries. In this respect, she hopes to provide her viewers/participants with the idea that the media is capable of empowering individuals, however, the media chooses to remain selective when dictating ‘important’ information to the masses. The global reach of the Internet also plays an important role in Wylde’s Net art project, for her parody of information delivery systems and (American) media culture move across cultures.

Wylde is conscious of the idea that her site’s longevity/effectiveness is contingent to artist investment. She takes measures to respectively update and ‘clean-up’ relevant information/entries that would make her site most effective to her viewers. Wylde also acknowledges that participant investment is a key attribute in keeping her site feasible and, therefore, plans to market her site in the future. In addition, she is much aware that technological advances and participant entries may possibly render her piece as belonging to a particular time.

In all artistic productions, an artist’s intended meaning may run counter to viewers’ perceived meaning. As the computer/Internet increasingly gains popularity as a medium for artistic expression, its technological advances make it possible for individuals to produce Net art that viewers may have never experienced before. As a result, we look to the attributes of the computer to make sense of ideas that are presented before us.

Written by: Elizabeth Joe