Before PERRIER was Called PERRIER
Did WiFi kill the gallery star? Hardly. Meet the visual artists of the Digital Age.
Because the Internet. It’s not just the name of a Childish Gambino album, it’s the sentiment behind an entire artistic movement. In a time when we live as much of our lives online as we do off, the line between Internet culture and culture IRL has long since been erased, and naturally, the art world has something to say about it. It’s time to start following Post-Internet Art, the movement serving up a proverbial a comments section on the cultural side effects of the Internet. Forget about Internet trolls, these virtually influenced virtuosos are trolling the Internet itself.
Jon Rafman
Ever feel like you’re being watched? That’s because you are… and not just by your crazy ex. Job Rafman is a digital artist best known for his work using Google Street View. Rafman takes on the role of Big Brother in a series of voyeuristic shots, appropriated from Google’s service. And just like family, these shots can feel a little too close for comfort. In the age of the Internet, privacy may be dead, but Rafman’s work proves that art is here to stay.
Amalia Ulman
Generation Y might as well be called Generation S… for selfie. A selfie artists of sorts, Argentine millennial Amalia Ulman turned her Instagram feed into an art gallery. Talk about
#goals. Anointed by Elle as the “first Instagram artist,” Ulman herself is frequently the subject of her own work. If Amalia’s life is imitating her art, or if her art is imitating her life is anyone’s guess. And if her work makes you uncomfortable, Amalia DGAF. According to her, that’s the whole point. In a recent interview, Amalia said she hopes her work makes viewers feel “uneasy with the world as they know it.” Mission accomplished.
Addie Wagenknecht
Who better to comment on the effects of computers on culture than a computer scientist cum visual artist?
Meet: Addie Wagenknecht. While the rest of us are getting using technology to send emails and tweet, Addie is using to make art– like when she used a drone as a paint brush. Make art not war, indeed. The self-described “anti-disciplinary” artist refuses to constrained by her medium and much less the Internet. From still life to sculpture and prints to painting, Wagenknecht is a true artist wunderkind of the Post-Internet movement.
