Boston ICA Examines Internet's Impact on Art in Major Survey

The Institute of Contemporary Art Boston opens 'Art in the Age of the Internet, 1989 to Today' on February 7, 2018, a major survey of 60 artists exploring how digital networks have reshaped visual art. Curated by Eva Respini, Barbara Lee, and Jeffrey De Blois, the exhibition spans 1989 to the present and includes painting, photography, performance, video, virtual reality, and web-based works. It is organized into five sections: 'Networks and Circulation,' 'Hybrid Bodies,' 'Virtual Worlds,' 'States of Surveillance,' and 'Performing the Self.' The show features pioneers such as Nam June Paik, Dara Birnbaum, and Harun Farocki alongside contemporary figures like Jon Rafman, Cory Arcangel, and Hito Steyerl. A new virtual reality installation by Jon Rafman was commissioned for the exhibition. The accompanying catalog includes critical essays, and a web platform will be updated throughout the run, which ends May 20, 2018. The exhibition is part of 'Art + Tech: A Citywide Collaboration,' involving 14 cultural organizations in the Boston area, including MIT in Cambridge. Notable absences include Robert Adrian X, Douglas Davis, Roy Ascott, Jeffrey Shaw, and Italian artists such as Maurizio Bolognini and Eva and Franco Mattes. Two related exhibitions are upcoming: 'The Body Electric' at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis in 2019, and 'I Was Raised on the Internet' at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, opening June 23, 2018, curated by Omar Kholeif.