Electronic art is a form of art that makes use of

electronic media Electronic media are media that use electronics or electromechanical means for the audience to access the content. This is in contrast to static media (mainly print media), which today are most often created digitally, but do not require el ...

. More broadly, it refers to technology and/or

. It is related to

information art Information art, which is also known as informatism or data art, is an emerging art form that is inspired by and principally incorporates data, computer science, information technology, artificial intelligence, and related data-driven fields. The ...

new media art New media art includes artworks designed and produced by means of electronic media technologies, comprising virtual art, computer graphics, computer animation, digital art, interactive art, sound art, Internet art, video games, robotics, 3D prin ...

, video art,

digital art Digital art refers to any artistic work or practice that uses digital technology as part of the creative or presentation process, or more specifically computational art that uses and engages with digital media. Since the 1960s, various names ...

interactive art Interactive art is a form of art that involves the spectator in a way that allows the art to achieve its purpose. Some interactive art installations achieve this by letting the observer walk through, over or around them; others ask the artist ...

, internet art, and

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means (electroac ...

. It is considered an outgrowth of

conceptual art Conceptual art, also referred to as conceptualism, is art in which the concept(s) or idea(s) involved in the work take precedence over traditional aesthetic, technical, and material concerns. Some works of conceptual art, sometimes called instal ...

and

systems art Systems art is art influenced by cybernetics, and systems theory, that reflects on natural systems, social systems and social signs of the art world itself. Systems art emerged as part of the first wave of the conceptual art movement extended i ...

Background

The term ''electronic art'' is almost synonymous to

computer art Computer art is any art in which computers play a role in production or display of the artwork. Such art can be an image, sound, animation, video, CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, video game, website, algorithm, performance or gallery installation. Many tradit ...

and digital art. The latter two terms, and especially the term computer-generated art are mostly used for visual artworks generated by computers. However, electronic art has a much broader connotation, referring to artworks that include any type of electronic component, such as works in music,

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings ...

and performance. It is an interdisciplinary field and so artists often collaborate with scientists and engineers when creating their works. The

art historian Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today, ...

of electronic art

Edward A. Shanken Edward A. Shanken (born 1964) is an American art historian, whose work focuses on the entwinement of art, science and technology, with a focus on experimental new media art and visual culture. Shanken is Professor, Arts Division, at UC Santa Cru ...

works to document current and past experimental art with a focus on the intersection of art, science, and technology. Other writers on the topic of electronic art include

Frank Popper Frank Popper (17 April 1918 – 12 July 2020) was a Czech-born French-British historian of art and technology and Professor Emeritus of Aesthetics and the Science of Art at the University of Paris VIII. He was decorated with the medal of the L� ...

Dominique Moulon Dominique Moulon (born 1962) is a historian of art and technology, art critic and curator, specializing in French digital art. He is the author of the books ''Art contemporain nouveaux médias'' and ''Art Beyond Digital''. Background Dominiqu ...

, Sarah Cook, and

Christiane Paul Christiane Paul (; born 8 March 1974 in Berlin-Pankow) is a German film, television and stage actress. Paul first worked as a model for magazines such as '' Bravo''. She was 17 when she obtained her first leading role in the film '. Prior to ...

. Electronic art often features components of

interactivity Across the many fields concerned with interactivity, including information science, computer science, human-computer interaction, communication, and industrial design, there is little agreement over the meaning of the term "interactivity", but mo ...

.Paul, Christiane (2006). ''Digital Art'', pp. 8, 11. Thames & Hudson. Artists make use of technologies like the Internet, computer networks, robotics,

wearable technology Wearable technology is any technology that is designed to be used while worn. Common types of wearable technology include smartwatches and smartglasses. Wearable electronic devices are often close to or on the surface of the skin, where they detec ...

, digital painting, wireless technology and

immersive virtual reality Immersion into virtual reality (VR) is a perception of being physically present in a non-physical world. The perception is created by surrounding the user of the VR system in images, sound or other stimuli that provide an engrossing total enviro ...

. As the technologies used to deliver works of electronic art become

obsolete Obsolescence is the state of being which occurs when an object, service, or practice is no longer maintained or required even though it may still be in good working order. It usually happens when something that is more efficient or less risky r ...

, electronic art faces serious issues around the challenge to preserve artwork beyond the time of its contemporary production. Currently, research projects are underway to improve the preservation and documentation of the fragile electronic arts heritage (see DOCAM - Documentation and Conservation of the Media Arts Heritage).

Art festivals that use the term "electronic art" in their name

* International Symposium for Electronic Art (ISEA), organized annually since 1988, international * Ars Electronica Symposium, organized yearly since 1979 by

Ars Electronica Ars Electronica Linz GmbH is an Austrian cultural, educational and scientific institute active in the field of new media art, founded in Linz in 1979. It is based at the Ars Electronica Center (AEC), which houses the Museum of the Future, in the ...

Linz Linz ( , ; cs, Linec) is the capital of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. In the north of the country, it is on the Danube south of the Czech border. In 2018, the population was 204,846. In 2009, it was a European Capital of ...

, Austria * Dutch Electronic Art Festival (DEAF), organized yearly since 1994 by V2 Institute for the Unstable Media in Rotterdam, the Netherlands * Electronic Language International Festival (FILE) organized yearly since 2000 in São Paulo, Brazil *The

Prix Ars Electronica The Prix Ars Electronica is one of the best known and longest running yearly prizes in the field of electronic and interactive art, computer animation, digital culture and music. It has been awarded since 1987 by Ars Electronica (Linz, Austria). ...

, a major yearly award for several categories of electronic art

Artists

Notable artists working in electronic art include: *

Laurie Anderson Laurel Philips Anderson (born June 5, 1947), known as Laurie Anderson, is an American avant-garde artist, composer, musician, and film director whose work spans performance art, pop music, and multimedia projects. Initially trained in violin and ...

Roy Ascott Roy Ascott FRSA (born 26 October 1934) is a British artist, who works with cybernetics and telematics on an art he calls technoetic by focusing on the impact of digital and telecommunications networks on consciousness. Since the 1960s, Ascott ...

* Maurice Benayoun * Maurizio Bolognini *

Angie Bonino Angie Bonino (born 1974, in Lima) is an artist and graphic designer. She studied at the ENSABAP Escuela Nacional Superior Autónoma de Bellas Artes del Perú (National School of Fine Arts), and has a degree in Painting. She has done an artistic lab ...

Mez Breeze Mez Breeze is an Australian-based artist and practitioner of net.art, working primarily with code poetry, electronic literature, mezangelle, and digital games. Born Mary-Anne Breeze, she uses a number of avatar nicknames, including Mez and Net ...

* Miguel Chevalier * Heiko Daxl *

Elizabeth Diller Elizabeth Diller, also known as Liz Diller, is an American architect and partner in Diller Scofidio + Renfro, which she co-founded in 1979. She is also an architecture professor at Princeton University. Life Elizabeth Diller was born in 1954 in ...

David Em David Em (born 1952) is an American artist known for his pioneering breakthroughs in computer art. Early life David Em was born in 1952 in Los Angeles, California. His father was a petroleum engineer and his mother was an illustrator and water ...

Ken Feingold Kenneth Feingold (born 1952 in USA) is a contemporary American artist based in New York City. He has been exhibiting his work in video, drawing, film, sculpture, photography, and installations since 1974. He has received a Guggenheim Fellowship ...

* Ingeborg Fülepp * Peter Gabriel *

Pietro Grossi Pietro Grossi (15 April 1917, in Venice – 21 February 2002, in Florence) was an Italian composer pioneer of computer music, visual artist and hacker ahead of his time. He began experimenting with electronic techniques in Italy in the early sixt ...

Genco Gulan Genco Gulan ( (born 1969 in Turkey) is a contemporary conceptual artist and theorist, who lives and works in Istanbul. His transmedia contextual work involves painting, found objects, new media, drawings, sculpture, photography, performance and ...

Garnet Hertz Garnet Hertz (born 1973) is a Canadian artist, designer and academic. Hertz is Canada Research Chair in Design and Media Art and is known for his electronic artworks and for his research in the areas of '' critical making'' and DIY culture. Work ...

Perry Hoberman Perry Hoberman (born 1954), is an installation artist who has worked extensively with machines and media. His career has included stints with Laurie Anderson and the USC Interactive Media Division. He has taught at the Cooper Union School of Ar ...

Jodi (art collective) Jodi, is a collective of two internet artists, Joan Heemskerk (born 1968 in Kaatsheuvel, the Netherlands) and Dirk Paesmans (born 1965 in Brussels, Belgium), created in 1994. They were some of the first artists to create Web art and later sta ...

Eduardo Kac Eduardo Kac �dwardoʊ kæts; ĕd·wâr′·dō kăts(1962) is a contemporary artist of dual nationality (American and Brazilian) whose artworks span a wide range of practices, including performance art, poetry, holography, interactive art, digita ...

* Knowbotic Research * Marc Lee *

George Legrady George Legrady (''Légrády György, Tamás, Antal, Tivadar'', born January 8, 1950) is a multidisciplinary digital media artist and university professor in photography and computational media arts. Early life and education Legrady was born in Bu ...

Golan Levin Golan ( he, גּוֹלָן ''Gōlān''; ar, جولان ' or ') is the name of a biblical town later known from the works of Josephus (first century CE) and Eusebius (''Onomasticon'', early 4th century CE). Archaeologists localize the biblical ci ...

Liu Dao Liu Dao (a Pinyin phrase meaning "island number 6" – , ) is an international multidisciplinary art collective based at the island6 Arts Center in 50 Moganshan Road M50, contemporary art district Shanghai, China. History Liu Dao was founded i ...

Rafael Lozano-Hemmer Rafael Lozano-Hemmer (born 1967 in Mexico City) is a Mexican-Canadian electronic artist who works with ideas from architecture, technological theater and performance. Lozano-Hemmer lives and works in Montreal and Madrid. Biography Rafael Loza ...

* Chico MacMurtrie * Sergio Maltagliati *

Jennifer & Kevin McCoy Jennifer and Kevin McCoy are a Brooklyn, New York-based married couple who make art together, and still continue to make projects together. They work with interactive media, film, performance and installation to explore personal experience in rel ...

Yucef Merhi Yucef Merhi (born February 8, 1977) is a Venezuelan artist, poet and computer programmer based in New York.Carlo Zanni''INTERVIEW WITH YUCEF MERHI'', Centre international d'art contemporain de Montréal's online magazine, No.18, 2004. Early lif ...

* Joseph Nechvatal * Yves Netzhammer *

Graham Nicholls Graham Nicholls (born 30 July 1975) is a British author, installation artist and specialist on out of body experiences. He speaks widely on parapsychology, ethics and art at institutions ranging from the London Science Museum, The Society for P ...

Simon Penny Simon Graeme Penny (born 19 October 1955) is an Australian artist, theorist, curator and teacher in the fields of digital cultural practices, embodied interaction and interactive art. Early life Penny was born in Melbourne, Australia in 1955. ...

* Melinda Rackham *

Martin Rev Martin Reverby, better known by his stage name Martin Rev, (born December 18, 1947) is an American musician and one half of the influential synth-punk band Suicide. Rev has also released several solo albums for a number of record labels, includi ...

Ken Rinaldo Kenneth E. Rinaldo (born 1958) is an American neo-conceptual artist and arts educator, known for his interactive robotics, 3D animation, and BioArt installations. His works include Autopoiesis (2000), and Augmented Fish Reality (2004), a fish-dri ...

* David Rokeby *

Stefan Roloff Stefan Roloff (born 1955 Berlin) is a German-American painter, video artist, filmmaker, and pioneer of digital video and photography, living and working in New York and Berlin. Roloff's documentary, ''The Red Orchestra'', a portrait of his late fa ...

* Lillian Schwartz * Ricardo Scofidio * Paul Sermon *

Scott Snibbe Scott Snibbe (born 1969 in New York City) is an interactive media artist, entrepreneur, and meditation instructor who is currently the host of A Skeptic's Path to Enlightenment meditation podcast. He has collaborated with other artists and musici ...

Michael Snow Michael Snow (born December 10, 1928) is a Canadian artist working in a range of media including film, installation, sculpture, photography, and music. His best-known films are '' Wavelength'' (1967) and '' La Région Centrale'' (1971), with the ...

Stelarc Stelarc (born Στέλιος Αρκαδίου ''Stelios Arcadiou'' in Limassol in 1946; legally changed his name in 1972) is a Cyprus-born Australian performance artist raised in the Melbourne suburb of Sunshine, whose works focus heavily on ext ...

* Survival Research Laboratories *

Gianni Toti Gianni Toti (Rome, 24 June 1924 - Rome, 8 January 2007) was an Italian poet, writer, journalist, and cineaste. In the early 80s he created " Poetronica" (poetry and cinema elaborated with electronic art). Biography Graduated in Law, he published ...

* Tamás Waliczky *

Norman White Norman White (born January 7, 1938, San Antonio Texas) Canadian New Media artist considered to be a pioneer in the use of electronic technology and robotics in art. Life White was born in San Antonio Texas in 1938. He grew up in and around Bosto ...

Notes

References

* Sarah J. Rogers (ed), ''Body Mécanique: Artistic Explorations of Digital Realms'', Columbus, Ohio, Wexner Center for the Arts, The Ohio State University, 1998 *

Christine Buci-Glucksmann Christine Buci-Glucksmann is a French philosopher and Professor Emeritus from University of Paris VIII specializing in the aesthetics of the Baroque and Japan, and computer art. Her best-known work in English is ''Baroque Reason: The Aesthetics o ...

, "L’art à l’époque du virtuel", in Frontières esthétiques de l’art, Arts 8, Paris: L’Harmattan, 2004 * Frank Popper, Art of the Electronic Age, Thames & Hudson, 1997 * Joline Blais and

Jon Ippolito Jon Ippolito is an artist, educator, new media scholar, and former curator at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. Ippolito studied astrophysics and painting in the early 1980s, then pursued Internet art in the 1990s. His works explore digitally ind ...

,
At the Edge of Art
', Thames & Hudson, 2006 *

Oliver Grau Oliver Grau (born 24 October 1965) is a German art historian and media theoretician with a focus on image science, modernity and media art as well as culture of the 19th century and Italian art of the Renaissance. Main Areas of Research are: Digi ...

(2003). ''Virtual Art: From Illusion to Immersion'' (Leonardo Book Series). Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press/Leonardo Books. . *

(Ed.): ''Media Art Histories'', MIT Press/Leonardo Books, 2007. *

, ''Digital Art'', Thames & Hudson * Donald Kuspit "Del Atre Analogico al Arte Digital" in Arte Digital Y Videoarte, Kuspit, D. ed., Consorcio del Circulo de Bellas Artes, Madrid, pp. 33–34 & 3 color images * Lopes, Dominic McIver. (2009)
''A Philosophy of Computer Art.''
London: Routledge *

Robert C. Morgan Robert C. Morgan (born 1943) is an American art critic, art historian, curator, poet, and artist. Biography Robert C. Morgan received his M.F.A. in sculpture from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in 1975 and his Ph.D. in art education ...

''Digital Hybrids'', '' art press'' volume #255 * Frank Popper
From Technological to Virtual Art
MIT Press/Leonardo Books, 2007 * Alan Liu ''The Laws of Cool'', Chicago Press, pp. 331–336 & 485-486 * Bruce Wands ''Art of the Digital Age'', London: Thames & Hudson * Donald Kuspitbr>''The Matrix of Sensations''
''VI: Digital Artists and the New Creative Renaissance'' * Frank Popper, ''Origins and Development of Kinetic Art'', Studio Vista and New York Graphic Society, 1968 * Frank Popper, ''Die Kinetische Kunst-Licht und Bewegung, Umweltkunst und Aktion'', Dumont Schauberg, 1975 * Frank Popper, ''Le Déclin de l'objet'', Le Chêne, 1975 * Lev Manovich (2001). eonardo Books, ''The Language of New Media''Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press/Leonardo Books. * Dick Higgins, ‘Intermedia’ (1966), reprinted in Donna De Salvo (ed.), Open Systems Rethinking Art c. 1970, London: Tate Publishing, 2005 *

Nicolas Bourriaud Nicolas Bourriaud (born 1965) is a curator and art critic, who has curated a great number of exhibitions and biennials all over the world. With Jérôme Sans, Bourriaud cofounded the Palais de Tokyo in Paris, where he served as codirector from 19 ...

, (1997) Relational Aesthetics, Dijon: Les Presses du Réel, 2002, orig. 1997 * Rainer Usselmann, (200
"''The Dilemma of Media Art: Cybernetic Serendipity at the ICA London''"
, Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press/Leonardo Journal - Volume 36, Number 5, October 2003, pp. 389–396 *

Charlie Gere Charlie Gere is a British academic who is professor of media theory and history at The Lancaster Institute for the Contemporary Arts, The University of Lancaster and previously, director of research at the Institute for Cultural Research at The ...

, (2002) Digital Culture, Reaktion * Lev Manovich, Ten Key Texts on Digital Art: 1970-2000 Leonardo
Volume 35, Number 5, October 2002
pp. 567–569 * Paul Brown,

, Nicholas Lambert, Catherine Mason (editors) (2006) White Heat Cold Logic: British Computer Art 1960–1980, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press * Mark Hansen, (2004) New Philosophy for New Media, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press * Frank Popper, Art—Action and Participation, New York University Press, 1975 * Frank Popper, Origins and Development of Kinetic Art, New York Graphic Society/Studio Vista, 1968 * Frank Popper, ''Réflexions sur l'exil, l'art et l'Europe : Entretiens avec Aline Dallier'', Klincksieck, 1998 *

, Artists' Fellowship - 2009 Digital/Electronic Arts, New York Foundation for the Arts, 2009 *

Margot Lovejoy Margot Lovejoy (21 October 1930 – 1 August 2019) ...

''Digital Currents: Art in the Electronic Age'', Routledge, 2004 * Frank Popper ''Ecrire sur l'art : De l'art optique a l'art virtuel'', L'Harmattan, 2007 *

Fred Forest Fred Forest (born July 6, 1933 in Mascara, French Algeria) is a French new media artist making use of video, photography, the printed press, mail, radio, television, telephone, telematics, and the internet in a wide range of installations, perform ...

''Art et Internet'', Editions Cercle D'Art / Imaginaire Mode d'Emploi *

Selected Writings on Art and Technology http://artexetra.com *

''Art and Electronic Media''. London: Phaidon, 2009. * Norman M. Klein, "Spaces Between: Traveling Through Bleeds, Apertures, and Wormholes Inside the Database Novel," in ''Third Person: Authoring and Exploring Vast Narratives,'' Pat Harrigan and Noah Wardip-Fruin (eds), Cambridge, A: MIT Press, 2009.

External links

Stephen Wilson: extensive list of "information arts" links

list of prominent digital artists
New Media Art book (wiki edition)
{{Digital art Computer art Electronics and society Robotic art Visual arts genres Contemporary art Digital art Postmodern art Conceptual art