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GLOSSARY

BETA

Beta is the second of the Greek letters. Beta version is in the second version stage of software development. The first phase of the internal version Alpha was not stable enough and was only tested internally, as well as many features were not yet fully developed. Compared to the Alpha version, the Beta version is tested for the public and is more stable, but still needs to be completed and new features and content added

Blockchain

Blockchains, also known as "distributed ledgers", can be used to store information. Information is stored in "blocks" that are distributed in a way that links the end of the previous block like a chain. The birth and development of blockchain have been influenced by cryptography, where cryptographers aim to create a record that cannot be tampered with in order to achieve a trustworthy system construction. Due to the important role of technologies such as “timestamp technology” and “blind signature” algorithms in its development, blockchain technologies are thought to be untamperable. The blockchain is also decentralised compared to the widely used of storing information of today. Currently, our information is stored in a number of servers, which can simply be physically stored in a building. If a fire broke out in the building and destroyed the servers, the information would be lost. The decentralised distribution of the blockchain would avoid this massive loss of data, as the servers would not be stored centrally in one building.


Computer art

The term originated in the magazine Computers and Automation in 1963. It refers to art forms that incorporate computer technology into the creation of art. Computer art is often used as an early precursor to “digital art”. It usually is spoken about in the context of early experimentation with computer painting, drawing and image processing, and refers to a specific group of artists who pioneered and contributed greatly to the creation of such digital technologies that we use today for visual processing. Computer art was developed in the early 1970’s through collaborations between artists and technological laboratories. The most famous of which is Dell laboratory that included such pioneering figures as: Claude Shannon, Ken Knowlton, Leon Harmon, Lillian Schwartz, Charles Csuri, A. Michael Noll, Edward Zajec, and Billy Klüver, an engineer who also collaborated with Robert Rauschenberg to form Experiments in Art and Technology (EAT)


Crypto Art

Crypto Art It is an emerging term and there is no very clear and unambiguous explanation or concept of it. From reading and comparing the contexts in which the term appears, it can be tentatively concluded that crypto art is often used to denote the art of linking into a cryptography-based distributed database (blockchain), and therefore crypto art is also equated with NFT art in many cases.


Crypto Mining

Crypto mining is the process of verifying cryptocurrency transactions and adding them to the blockchain. The person who completes this process is known as a "miner". In simple terms, miners use equipment to perform work in support of the blockchain and are rewarded with cryptocurrency by creating a “Proof of Work”. This is a complex term involving computer concepts such as "Hash" and "Peer-to-Peer". Read more: Hash Functions and Cryptocurrency Mining.


Cryptocurrency

Cryptocurrency is also known as a digital asset. Cryptocurrency transactions are based on a decentralised blockchain and are secured using “smart contracts” and other cryptographic technologies, as opposed to the central bank model. Because transactions are carried out by smart contracts and an untamperable record of transactions is recorded on the blockchain, transactions in cryptocurrencies do not need to be regulated by other authorities or guaranteed by third-party institutions.


Digital Technology

Digital technology is characterised by its use of binary code, to emit electronic transmissions that are translated into image, sound and other faculties. . It is usually referring to technology that is developed with the use of computers. The premise of digital technology is related to what is called ‘the multimedia revolution’ - the ability to directly translate different inputs such as light, sound, movement etc. into one language that can then be translated back to an image, sound or a set of data - all on the same device. Digital technology allows us to consume different outputs with one compact device- like our computer or phone - and translate sound to image, image to sound, movement to a set of data that can be translated as an image - etc. Since the conversion of most of our electronic tools and appliances to digital technology, it has become integrated into our day-to-day life, and adopted for various artistic interventions..


Digital art

The concept of digital art is a broad term that had a profound meaning in the early days of the digital revolution but had become ubiquitous as it progressed. Generally speaking, it could be defined as art that is created with the use of digital technology and is presented in forms such as, but not limited to, audio, video, digital painting, digital sculptures, or 3D printing, text, programmes, interactive platforms etc. Read more: V&A: Digital Art.
Interactive art
In traditional art forms, viewers are seen as passive entities in relation to the artwork's shape and interpretation. Subsequently, in such artworks, interaction is largely limited to viewing objects as inanimate and stationary. Interactive art, on the other hand, looks at the artwork as an event, a platform or a space within which the viewer may take an active role. The viewer not only has a direct “contact” with the artwork but also becomes part of it. Interaction can take many shapes and forms, such as sculptures that can be touched and installations that can be moved. Interactive artworks often capture and process live information with the use of computers and a range of sensors, for example.


The Internet of Things

The internet of things refers to the connection of a physical object, or group of physical objects, in reality to the Internet via information sensing devices. It is used in a wide range of industries such as healthcare, construction and industry, for example using devices to monitor patients' physical signs and to process and feedback this data according to agreed protocols. Feel like this needs more explaination.


New media art

New media art is a broad concept that incorporates contemporary media technologies in its creation: video, digitisation, sound, 3D printing and so on, and is therefore distinct from traditional art forms. New media art began to emerge in the 1950s and the quantity and quality of work grew rapidly in the 1990s with the development of internet technology. Maybe say where, Europe?

Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT)

NFT is often thought to denote artworks that attracted attention around 2020 and that can be traded on the blockchain (see next entry). However, NFT is not an artwork, but is used to record and verify the existence of certain projects and transactions. In other words, the NFT is a credential used to record and prove that the artwork is linked into the blockchain. Not only artworks, but any documents, applications can be stored to the blockchain and mint NFTs.

Post-Internet

This term is closely related to Internet art and is somewhat controversial in the art world. In the absence of a description of the art form, Post-Internet can often only represent an artistic idea and lead to a wider discussion of the Internet age. Post-Internet is also often considered to represent the 21st century art movement that originated from Internet art. I feel like this needs more explanation. What or who triggered this discussion?

Sound art

Sound art does not only refer to pleasant sounds (music, poetry, etc.) but also to forms of artistic creation using sound as a medium. It encompasses a wide range of sound forms: noise, music, etc., and advocates respect for sound and the sense of hearing.

Virtual art

Virtual art is often thought of as the virtualization what is virtualization? of art. VR technology was introduced to art as a result of the huge technological advances of the 1990s. It allows for the creation of a simulated reality for the viewer, capturing their physical information to create an interactive sensory experience. Virtual art is the type of art that is created on the basis of this technology World Wide Web.
The World Wide Web is the "www" in web address. “www” is stored on the Internet as a document, presented as a "page" and displayed by a "web browser The "Web browser" displays these documents on the Internet. These documents on the Internet are linked by a "Hyperlink" and arranged and organized by a "Website".

THIS WEBSITE MUST BE USED ON A COMPUTER. IF YOU WANT TO CONTACT US, WRITE US ON THEBETATOOLKIT@GMAIL.COM

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RESOURCES


Here is a little reading list recommendation for you, it’s just the beginning ︎


Rethinking Curating art after New Media by Beryl Graham and Sarah Cook

Both authors have extensive curatorial experience and the book provides a wealth of examples of artworks and exhibitions that provide useful lessons for curators and artists.This book is divided into two main parts, the first part explores the unique attributes of new media art, as well as video art, conceptual art, socially engaged art, and performance art. The second part explores the modes or methods of new media art, extending to new networked and collaborative modes such as publishing, broadcasting and festivals. ︎︎︎Read the essay


Curating Immateriality by Joasia Krysa

Curating Immateriality: the work of the curator in the age of network systems is the third volume of DATA browser series. As Krysa stated in her introduction to the book,

“The site of curatorial production has been expanded to include the space of the Internet and the focus of curatorial attention has been extended from the object to processes to dynamic network systems. As a result, curatorial work has become more widely distributed between multiple agents including technological networks and software. This book reflects on these changes and asserts that the practice of curating cannot be dissociated from social and technological developments.” ︎︎︎Read the essay


Curating digital art : from presenting and collecting digital art to networked co-curation by Annet Dekker

Annet Dekker is a curator and researcher. A collection of interviews with more than twenty artists and curators over the past decade, this book presents a series of interviews on the potential of exhibiting digital art both offline and on the web,reflecting on the gaps between various curatorial discourses.The reader of this publication is given an insight into the discourse on digital art and its curation today. ︎︎︎Read the essay


Mass Effect: Art and the Internet in the Twenty-First Century Edited by Lauren Cornell and Ed Halter

Mass Effect is a state-of-the-art compilation on the ongoing debates on the relationships between art and the internet.The book features 38 articles, five of which are transcriptions of round tables, interviews and discussions, an artist's work commissioned for the volume and a selection of images from DIS Magazine. The book has a variety of perspectives: some articles implement a more art historical approach, some analyze the work of artists,some talk about their own work and interests as artists, etc. ︎︎︎Read the essay


Internet Art by Rachel Greene

Rachel Greene offers the reader a historical overview of net.art and briefly defined what it stood for “Net.art stood for communications and graphics, e-mail, texts, and images, referring to and merging into one another; it was artists, enthusiasts, and technoculture critics trading ideas, sustaining one another’s interest through ongoing dialogue”. ︎︎︎Read the essay


A Companion to Digital Art by Christiane Paul

Combining fresh, emerging perspectives with nuanced insights from leading theorists, the book covers the evolution, aesthetics and practice of digital art today.The book is divided into four main parts: histories of digital art, aesthetics of digital art, network cultures, digital art and the institution. ︎︎︎Read the essay



Articles


Too Much World: Is the Internet Dead? by Hito Steyerl

︎︎︎Read the essay


Agents Of Change: The Internet. Net Art and How The World Wide Web Has Created A New Medium by Benedetta Ricci

︎︎︎Read the essay


NFT art—a sales mechanism or a medium? by Christiane Paul

︎︎︎Read the essay


The Image Object Post-Internet by Artie Vierkant

︎︎︎Read the essay


Surfing with Satoshi. Art, Blockchain & NFTs by Domenico Quaranta

︎︎︎Read the essay


#EXSTRANGE: Curatorial And Artistic Interventions on Ebay by Marialaura Ghidi and Rebekah Modrak

︎︎︎Read the essay


The First Life of Net Art: UBERMORGEN, JODI, Vuk Ćosić, Olia Lialina by Domenico Quaranta

︎︎︎Read the essay


Feel inspired? Keep on reading! ︎