>It is clear that the uniqueness claimed by "new-media art"
>will soon enough inflate to include objects that do not bear the look of
>technology -- do not necessarily display cables and circuitry or employ
>monitors and projections -- but which would be inconceivable without
>digital tools and the new visual vocabularies they expose

Now you've got me interested.
I've made art with machines for all my life (photography, serigraphy,
etc.), and I can't think of any art form (excluding the performing arts)
which doesn't use state-of-the-art materials and technologies. New theories
and world-views, along with new pigments, optical tools, papers, albumin,
oil, printer's ink and other media all were high-tech in their day. Good
craftsmen have always demanded the best materials their age has to offer,
and the resulting work has often been shocking to their audience.

My history as a master printer has recently led me to consider working with
a team of artists and craftspeople to create art pieces in this new
century. However, I think this string is going off-topic. What constitutes
Contemporary Art is a purely academic and political question, as Stephen
Nowlin points out above, it is not one that can be defined by the media
used. To be crass, the answer to how do you define "Contemporary Art" is in
someone's wallet.

The making of art will go on regardless of definitions of terms. Of course,
curators, donors, and taste-makers will help define it's look and
direction, but greater historical forces will ultimately create the work
for future scholars to judge and codify.

js
Jerry Shiner
Keepsafe Systems
Microclimate and Oxygen-free storage supplies and solutions
www.keepsafe.ca
toll-free 800 683-4696  fax: (416) 703-5991

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