Internet art: An interactive timeline resource

Authors

Laurel Vaccaro, James Madison UniversityFollow

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.

Date of Graduation

7-15-2022

Semester of Graduation

Summer

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

School of Art Design and Art History

Second Advisor

Hannah K. Sions

Third Advisor

Diane Wilcox

Abstract

Link to Interactive Timeline Resource (ITR): https://sites.google.com/view/itr-internet-art/home

The purpose of this study was to first collect and summarize the history of internet art from its inception to current day and, second, to create an interactive timeline resource (ITR) designed for K-12 art application. Current approaches to internet art include recommendations that students engage with social media in the K-12 setting, yet gaps in the literature have neglected to address the actual history of internet art as a feature of a student’s K-12 art experiences. Initial research started from a preliminary hypothesis that highlighted the irony of students using the internet in art class and daily life, yet receiving little to no teaching on the history of the internet and related art. The related research questions aimed to present a chronology of internet art and to produce an ITR for curricular implementation through three research questions. First, what is the history of internet art and what key figures, communities, and subcultures exemplify the phenomenon? Second, how are contemporary online artist’s behaviors in communicating, collaborating, and discussing art influenced by previous iterations of internet art? Third, in what ways can internet art and its history inform K-12 art education theory and practice? The study was conducted following grounded theory, showcased in the generation of a literature review punctuated by reflections on the initial hypothesis, and borrowing from historical analysis, demonstrated in the construction of a chronology on internet art. The main conclusions of this study found that not only were there gaps in art education literature regarding internet art in K-12 art teaching, but these gaps have been previously highlighted by art education researchers who have called for its inclusion in K-12 art education curriculum.