New Media Art - Generative

A new concept of art has developed from new technologies – new media art. The Australian Council for Art defines this new art form as new technologies to create works of art that explore new modes of artist expression. These new ways of portraying artist expression include interactive digital art, computer graphics, computer animation, internet art and computer robotics. These new art forms are gaining in popularity and on a local front; The University of New South Wales COFA Campus offers a Bachelor of Digital Media and can major in 3D Animation or Digital Imaging or Interactive Motion. Someone can also do a Bachelor of Design majoring in Graphics Media.


This is a recent development and for me personally, is an interesting medium I wanted to know about. Here are some examples of what it means to be classified as a new media art:


You Were in My Dreams (2010) takes a live video feed of your face and combines it into a stop motion dream world.

Watch the art in action here!


Ping Body by Stelarc is a new media art through a series of muscle stimulating electrodes place on Stelarc’s body that responded to remote users login on to the performance’s web interface and therefore stimulating various body parts. Users could then see the results of their effects on a live webcast.

Jackpot by Maciej Wisniewski is an Internet 'slotmachine' that downloads three randomly selected web sites and displays them in the browser's window along with their top level domain names.

5000 Calls is a large-scale multi-channel sound installation installed throughout the Urban Forest, an extensive 4.5 hectare loose grid of eucalyptus trees surrounding the Stadium Australia in Sydney. The point of the new media artwork is for participants to move through this urban forest people hear voices captured while performing numerous tasks including aboriginal children chanting, footballers and weightlifters. A customised computer program allows these calls to interact with each other.

Play Dirty by Australian Theatre Company Arena is more than just a standard narrative through featuring live motor cross action, rapid image feedback and a live band mixed with electronic music. This art work is interactive and further incorporates new media though enabling audiences to view the script at its one year development stage with the participants encouraged to offer their feedback and suggestions.

My Yard Our Message is a user-created yard sign project that was launched in conjunction with the United States Presidential Election. The project invited designers to submit political yard signs that explore ideas about what it means to actively participate in democracy. Votes were cast on favourite and the Walker Art Centre printed the yard signs and places them in neighbourhoods throughout the local area.  


These Australian based and other worldwide examples of new media show the importance of new technologies in art and how it has created new genres. What an important element of these new media artworks is not only the new technologies that are incorporated but also interactivity by participants.