Intertextualities and Permanent Cyber Art
The artwork that “From Wagner the Virtual Reality” deems representative of 1986 is the “intertextualities” advocated by George Landow. The notion of hypertext came from the idea that computers could be tools for communicating with words and experimenting with interactive writing, More importantly, this kind of text was no longer words attached by the author in a specified order, but an artistic montage where the reader was bound only by his or her decision of what words to read first. This added a new dimension to the art of creative writing. It seems similar is some ways to the way poetry is written on page in a non-traditional, non-linear structure, yet the hypermedia allows for even more fluidity. Robert Wilson’s work from the previous decade also toyed with the notion of texts and other mediums that freed the spectators mind to wander freely through the sensory experience without being led down a preconceived path. In Wilson and Philip Glass’ operatic collaboration “Einstein on the Beach” the movement of the piece through time and space is completely non-linear, and it greatly impacted contemporary performing arts. We can see then that the transition to a greater use of computers might carry this concept of breaking the bounds of a strait line into the cyber world of hypermedia.
Computers, information technology, and the internet make the global community at large appear closer and closer to our daily lives. The art put forth using multimedia and the network of the internet is available all over the world. Once the multimedia art is online, it becomes a permanent, indestructible piece of work that may float in cyberspace for eternity. I imagine that a decade from now, artists will anticipate that wider and more diverse audiences will be viewing their work. Art will be greatly influences by how artists want their work to be seen and by whom. I believe that the tactics used in getting the multimedia art scene will be similar to tactics used by consumer marketing groups trying to find the most appealing image with which to catch the target audience. Spectators can be targeted in ways that were once impossible before computers and the internet were widely available. In an age where multimedia can easily be disseminated, artists will find new ways of reaching spectators that look for inspiration simply by clicking a mouse.