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Practice and Explorations with Internet Technology of Three Selected Artists Ying-Yi Chou

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Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2003 The Internet as Creative Environment: Practice and Explorations with Internet Technology of Three Selected Artists Ying-Yi Chou Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF VISUAL ARTS AND DANCE THE INTERNET AS CREATIVE ENVIRONMENT: PRACTICE AND EXPLORATIONS WITH INTERNET TECHNOLOGY OF THREE SELECTED ARTISTS By YING-YI CHOU A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Art Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Degree Awarded: Summer Semester, 2003 Copyright © 2003 YING-YI CHOU All Rights Reserved The members of the Committee approve the dissertation of Ying-Yi Chou defended on April 29, 2003 __________________________ Sally McRorie Professor Directing Dissertation __________________________ Ithel Jones Outside Committee Member __________________________ Tom Anderson Committee Member __________________________ George Blakely Committee Member Approved: ____________________________________________ Marcia L. Rosal, Chairperson, Department of Art Education ____________________________________________ Sally McRorie, Dean, School of Visual Arts and Dance The Office of Graduate Studies has verified and approved the above named committee members ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Writing a dissertation would have been impossible without the support and advice of my friends, family, and mentors. Certainly it would have been impossible without the excellent mentoring and supervising I have received over the years from Dr. Sally McRorie; she has been, in every way, an excellent and deeply encouraging advisor . I owe her not only my study under her supervision, but an important part of my well-being, and my education as an educator as well. I cannot thank her enough for the time and care she took with me and my work. Several professors were kind enough to read early drafts of my dissertation and made very helpful comments. Dr. Tom Anderson, a preeminent scholar in art education, his thought- provoking comments with my work were invaluable; Professor George Blakely also reviewed every chapter and has been very generous in giving his time and insights; and Dr. Ithel Jones, who has served as an outside committee member, made several useful suggestions that I kept in mind. For participation in the data collection of this study, I am grateful to artist Shu-Lea Cheang, Juliet Martin, and Michael Oliveri. I have found my conversations with them about artistic creativity very helpful. For the mentorship and friendship over the years I am deeply indebted to Professor Tan-Huei Liang. Her support and belief in me have been a strong mental support for me. I owe my family my greatest debt. All meaningful relationships are complicated, yet I cannot imagine choosing any family other than I have: my father, Chun-Ming Chou; my mother, Chia-Ying Lee, my grandfather, Dr. Sung-Yang Lee; my grandmother, Man-Ling Liao; and my sister, Yi-Wen Chou have been more than one could ask for in a family. My debt to my husband, John Fleming, is beyond words. He encouraged and supported me to write this dissertation through all of my doubts and anxieties about doing so. I am grateful to him for a love that has endured and been wonderful. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT..................................................................................................................... viii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION........................................................................................ 1 1.1 Statement of the Problem.............................................................................................. 1 1.2 Overview of the Study.................................................................................................. 2 1.3 Rationale of the Study................................................................................................... 3 1.4 Limitations of the Study................................................................................................ 6 1.5 Definition of Terms....................................................................................................... 6 1.6 Summary....................................................................................................................... 9 CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF LITERATURE ..................................................................... 11 2.1 Introduction................................................................................................................. 11 2.2 Philosophical Foundation............................................................................................ 12 2.2.1 Creativity and its System Model.................................................................. 12 Definition of Creativity........................................................................ 12 Systems model...................................................................................... 13 Domain................................................................................................. 14 Fields .................................................................................................... 14 Persons and Internalization.................................................................. 15 2.3 Domain........................................................................................................................ 15 2.3.1 Context of Internet Culture .......................................................................... 15 2.3.2 Social/Cultural Context................................................................................ 17 Culture and the Self.............................................................................. 17 Marxism and cultural industry............................................................. 19 The Aura and the Evaporation............................................................. 22 The Public Sphere and the Social/Psychological Impact..................... 25 2.3.3 Aesthetic and Philosophical Context ........................................................... 28 Traditional aesthetic discourse............................................................. 29 Expression and Interpretation of Art.................................................... 33 Family Resemblance ............................................................................ 34 Institutional Theory and Interpretation of Art...................................... 35 Between Essentialism, Expressionism and Institutionalism................ 38 2.3.4 Context of Art and Postmodernism.............................................................. 39 Bringing Internet Art to Life ................................................................ 39 The Divorce of Art and Aesthetics....................................................... 40 iv The Loss of Real .................................................................................. 41 Nostalgia............................................................................................... 42 The Death of Author ............................................................................ 44 2.4 Field ............................................................................................................................ 44 2.4.1 What is Internet Art and what is not............................................................ 44 Problems of Defining Internet Art ....................................................... 44 Interactivity and Forms ........................................................................ 46 2.4.2 Theoretical Positions of Art Education in Technology................................ 52 Technology Determinism and Substantive Theory.............................. 52 Current Practice of Internet Art and Art Education............................. 53 2.5 Conclusion.................................................................................................................. 55 2.6 Chapter Summary....................................................................................................... 57 CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ............................................................... 58 3.1 Introduction................................................................................................................. 58 3.2 Framework of the Study.............................................................................................. 59 3.2.1 Utilizing a Model of Creativity for Data Collection.................................... 59 3.3 Criteria for the Selection of Internet Artists................................................................ 60 3.4 Setting ......................................................................................................................... 61 3.4.1 Interpretation of Internet Artworks.............................................................. 61 3.4.2 Data from Interviews with Artists................................................................ 62 3.5 Summary..................................................................................................................... 62 CHAPTER 4 ARTISTS’ INTERNALIZATIONS OF THEIR EXPERIENCES............. 64 4.1 Introduction................................................................................................................. 64 4.2 Inquiry of Internet art professionals...........................................................................
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