Ars Electronica 2017: Digital Art's Identity Crisis in Linz

Ars Electronica 2017 in Linz expanded to the Postcity, a 10,000 sqm former industrial space, hosting hundreds of exhibitors including innovators, Arduino fans, bio-ethicists, designers, techno-music makers, and activists. Notable works included Juri Hwang's Somatic Echo, which transmits electronic music through cranial bone conduction, referencing John Cage; Mimi Son and Elliot Woods' Light Barrier 3D Edition; and Paul Vanouse's DNA extraction from saliva. Dimitri della Faille and Cedrik Fermont won first prize for Not your world music-Noise in South East Asia. For the first time, an art fair featured galleries from Europe, Asia, and the US selling digital works, often reduced to GIFs. Key symposia addressed the durability of digital art and its relationship with contemporary art, highlighting challenges of conservation and format obsolescence. The GLUON SESSION invited art world figures like Paul Dujardin, Rachel Rose, and Hans Ulrich Obrist to discuss art and media. Obrist's critical stance contrasted with Dujardin's conciliatory tone, reflecting tensions between contemporary art criticism and new media art. The festival questioned the costs and gains of digital art's transition from public to private spheres and its integration into the broader contemporary art system.