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Cyberspace, not biological space, may be eco-art’s most
effective medium and venue because it is tuned to the sensibilities and habits of
contemporary folk, whereas materials like compost, soil, humus, and manure are alien.
Contemporary civilization is reducing many of the sensual
complexities of lived experience into data. Spaces that were once occupied by
smells, temperatures, weight, and mass, and that were identified by longitude and
latitude, have been relinquishing their functions to the immaterial realm of
cyberspace. Cyberspace is where more and more people shop, bank, socialize,
play, work, research, communicate, daydream, laugh, seek enlightenment, give
advice, and receive advice. In all these ways, cyberspace is the equivalent of
the great cathedrals of the Medieval period. Both are sites where the
masses congregate for custom and excitement.
The cathedral served as the artistic center during the
Medieval era. Art was created for,
situated within, and inspired by these places of worship. Because the cathedral
was so integral to life, and art was so integral to the cathedral, an affinity
prevailed between medieval artists and their audiences. Common folk understood
art’s symbols, resonated with its aesthetics, agreed with its message, and
appreciated its techniques. While few contemporary artists enjoy this kind of
rapport with their viewers, artists creating their work with electronic
hardware and software, and displaying their work in cyberspace, are not among
them. Like their medieval predecessors, they are utilizing the tools and
imagery that are intrinsic to their cultural context. Furthermore, these
artists have selected a venue where the masses are already converging.
There is a growing legion of artists expanding art’s
potential on the web. Like their Medieval predecessors, they are communicating
the core issues of the time in history – not the threat of eternal damnation in
Hell, but the threat of imminent environmental collapse on Earth.
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