I love the idea of net.art because it perfectly encompasses the ability of art to evolve with the times. There is so much technology at our fingertips and exploring the artistic capabilities of mediums such as the web allows the evolution of art to continue. I think that there is a pretty distinct aesthetic to most of the art that started this style, they look like a time capsule of the early 2000s. From the characters they include, to the colors and general feeling the art gave me. I also find it super interesting that these artists began using the web as a medium before it was taken over by mainstream companies and became what we know today. I also like that women had a strong presence in this art form and made cyber manifestos about feminism. In the late 90s there was a lot of pressure for everyone to be super shocking, they used the example of an e-zine that had articles telling you how to clone human skin. I think that can be seen as well today in our own web culture. On YouTube and social media, people seem to feel a lot of pressure to do very shocking or dangerous things so it might say something larger about society. Things like the Heritage Gold website freak me out a bit because it puts into question where the line is of appropriation/racism and just fun fantasy. I am interested to see how the movement continues to try and reject commercialism and establishment.
