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ABSTRACT
This article examines the thematic scope and media-specific characteristics of media art by analysing it through one of this art exhibitions practices: the annual specialized media art exhibitions–festivals–conferences. An overview of media art terminology and a study of the evolution of technological art festivals provide a framework for exploring the themes of the three major festivals, Ars Electronica, SIGGRAPH, and the RIXC Art Science Festival. Comparative and contrastive analysis of the data has revealed that in many cases the festivals address specific themes in their calls for submissions of papers and artworks. This allows for a better assessment of the place of technology-oriented media art in the overall mainstream contemporary art and opens up a space for discussions about the pending recognition of media art that can broaden the thematic range of the entire art field.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Conflicts of interest
The author report there are no competing interests to declare.
Availability of basic data
Archival material from Ars Electronica Festival, SIGGRAPH Art Show and RIXC Art Science Festival can be found here:
Archive. Ars Electronica Festival. All Festivals since 1979. Available online: https://ars.electronica.art/festival/en/archive/ (accessed on 28 November 2022).
ACM SIGRAPH Art Show Archives. Available online: https://digitalartarchive.siggraph.org/exhibitions/siggraph-art-gallery/ (accessed on 28 November 2022).
RIXC Festival Archive. Available online: http://rixc.org/en/festival/festivalarchives/ (accessed on 28 November 2022).
Notes
1 For more research on the complicated relationship between media (also called as new media, digital art) and mainstream contemporary art, see: ‘Digital Art Now: Histories of (Im)Materialities’ (Paul Citation2020) or Ed. Shanken’s article investigating the topic: ‘Contemporary art and New Media Art. Digital Divide or Hybrid Discourse?’ (Shanken, Citation2016), to name but a few examples.
2 Hannes Leopoldseder, co–founder of Ars Electronica, states in that: “The example of the Prix Ars Electronica 97 shows that digital and online are increasingly becoming characteristic features of this development. Traditional media and computer art is on the way to becoming cyberart.” (Citation1997).
3 For more information on the archives, see the section ‘Availability of Basic Data’ and the references.
4 Open Fields is also a part of Renewable Futures, a biannual traveling conference series in the Baltic and Northern European region. (POSTSENSORIUM. RIXC Art and Science Festival Citation2021).
5 For example, Baltan Laboratories (The Netherlands) in 2017 and the European Media Art and Culture Platform ‘GREEN Revisited: Encountering Emerging Naturecultures’ (GREEN) in 2021, among others.
6 The European Union only adopted the General Data Protection Regulation in 2016. (European Data Protection Supervisor, available online).
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Solvita Zarina
Dr Solvita Zarina is a professor and senior researcher at the Faculty of Computing, University of Latvia. Her teaching focus is on graphic design for user interfaces and visual communication. She holds a PhD in Art History and a Master's degree in Fine Arts from the Art Academy of Latvia. Her research is related to art and technology, media art and aesthetics.