Introductory Statement by Mark Amerika >> The "Histories of Internet Art: Fictions and Factions" web site is an online-only exhibition of the early (and continuous) history of Internet art. Produced by students in the Digital Art area located in the University of Colorado's Department of Art and Art History, and in conjunction with the Alt-X Online Network and blurr_ digital innovation center, this ongoing exhibition showcases a student-designed web interface that takes readers to online art work created by both internationally celebrated and emerging Internet artists. The site also provides much-needed original content to help contextualize the sudden rise of Internet art into the mainstream art world. Original content on the site includes video and email interviews with many important figures in the net art culture, explanations of current trends in the field, and capsule reviews of the work selected for our exhibition site. The site also features an area devoted to critical theory and the history of digital art as well as significant student work composed during their course of study in the new Digital Art curriculum being developed at CU-Boulder.

This project grows out of a new practice-based research initiative called TECHNE that enables students and faculty to investigate the most efficient and rewarding ways to augment the creative process as it relates to a digital arts practice in an unfolding network environment. As is often the case with heuristic learning environments, producing sites like "Histories of Internet Art" allows students both a hands-on experience in creating complex digital designs as well as an opportunity to develop critical thinking skills via self-motivated personal discovery and group collaboration.

-- Mark Amerika