Digital Divide in Contemporary Art: A Question of Habitus
This article explores the gap between mainstream contemporary art and new media art through the lens of Pierre Bourdieu's concept of habitus. It revisits Claire Bishop's 2012 Artforum piece "Digital Divide," which argued that contemporary art overlooks new media, inciting responses from artists and scholars, including an open letter by Lauren Cornell and Brian Droitcour. The discussion is linked to earlier debates from 1996, when Lev Manovich differentiated "Duchamp-land" from "Turing-land," and 1998, when Isabelle Graw critiqued net art, a view opposed by Tilman Baumgärtel. Edward Shanken observed "divergent discourses" in these domains. The author proposes a comparison of new media art to street art, concluding that the digital revolution is transforming art's creation, consumption, and dissemination, thus altering habitus.
Key facts
- Claire Bishop's essay 'Digital Divide' was published in Artforum's September 2012 special issue 'Art's New Media'.
- Bishop argued that contemporary art refuses to engage with new media, treating it as a separate specialized sphere.
- The essay sparked immediate backlash via the crumb mailing list and Artforum's comments section.
- Lauren Cornell and Brian Droitcour wrote an open letter accusing Bishop of a 'critical blind spot'.
- Bishop responded by accusing her critics of a 'structural blind spot' and denying any intent to celebrate unrecognized digital art.
- Lev Manovich in 1996 described mainstream art as 'Duchamp-land' and computer art as 'Turing-land', predicting no convergence.
- Isabelle Graw attacked net art in Texte zur Kunst in 1998, and Tilman Baumgärtel countered using Geert Lovink's 'mafia' metaphor.
- Edward Shanken in 2011 described the two fields as having 'divergent discourses' but noted potential for a 'hybrid discourse'.
- Pierre Bourdieu's concept of habitus is used to explain the persistent blind spots on both sides.
- Christiane Paul identified a 'relational aesthetics syndrome' where contemporary art discourse uses digital concepts without referencing new media art.
- The article suggests comparing new media art to street art rather than video or photography.
- Initiatives like s[edition] and vip Art engage with digital media but not digital art.
- The author argues that the digital revolution will force a mutation of habitus in the art world.
Entities
Artists
- Claire Bishop
- Lauren Cornell
- Brian Droitcour
- Lev Manovich
- Isabelle Graw
- Tilman Baumgärtel
- Geert Lovink
- Edward Shanken
- Christiane Paul
- Nicolas Bourriaud
- Domenico Quaranta
- Pierre Bourdieu
- Michelle Kuo
Institutions
- Artforum
- Texte zur Kunst
- crumb
- s[edition]
- vip Art
- Telepolis
- Artnodes
- Postmedia
Locations
- Milan
- Italy
Sources
- artpress —