In its almost thirty-year long history, Internet art evolved along with the technological platforms and communities supporting it. The playful anarchy and poetic exploration of early browser-based art expanded into the corporate platforms of social media and the so-called post-Internet practices of the past decade that entailed a return to materiality. The talk will outline the aesthetic and conceptual evolution of net-based practices from Web 1.0 to the current wave of crypto art, chronicling their engagement with identity, data frameworks, and collaborative production. Also discussed will be the curatorial models for presenting Web-based art over the decades, as well as approaches to and best practices for conserving the art form.
