Essay

Student no:607s0625

This essay will briefly discuss the impacts of web 2.0 on the world and what it offers as a communication tool. Then it will explain the specific issue that will be discussed in relation to the three blogs. This topic will then be explored by discussing how it has been represented by the South African, African and the international blogs respectively. The differences in style will be examined and show the various functions that a blog can serve for in relation to art and its practice.

Web 2.0 has revolutionized the way in which people communicate. Communication via the web is extremely fast and messages can be sent almost instantly. Our physical location is no longer important as our communication is not limited by it, the World Wide Web as our global playground. The internet is everywhere all one needs is a connection or even a new cellphone, and then one can have unlimited access to an ever expanding store of information. This has had major impacts on the ways in which we send and receive information, as well as giving birth to social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace. These sites have enabled people to link up with others from all over the world and converse it also allows for people with similar interests to interact for example via joining groups. Blogs have also emerged out of the creation of web 2.0. Blogs are similar to a web diary, it is a space where one could discuss a topic and people may respond to your post. Like an interactive forum where your comments are uncensored. Blogs have allowed for less formal debate and discussion in almost any topic one can imagine. This has impacts for contemporary art as artists are able to use this space to promote their works, but also allows for a whole lot of critical debate and discussion about art and its place in society.

The specific issue that I have chosen to explore is a conference called Sessions eKapa which is hosted each year by Cape Africa Project. At this conference artists, curators, writers and academics come together to discuss the practice of contemporary art on the African continent. This discussion forum was set up as it was thought necessary for African art to be discussed by Africans in order to address and change the notion of being on the periphery. It also interrogates the power relationships between the local art scene and the global art world as well as possible new spaces for art to impact. This includes rethinking the art institutions and how they function in the African art world. This conference makes a space available for people involved in African art to engage with each other about issues pertinent to art in Africa such as; identity, centre and periphery and the appropriateness of the art institutions in promoting African art. I decided to choose this topic as I found it interesting the way in which each blog expressed views on this concept. I also found it intriguing the way blogs have further served to offer valid critiques of the manner in which this discussion is held as well as the possibilities it has to offer.

The South African blog which has explored this topic is Art South Africa. This blog has a post on Sessions eKapa which is written by Edgar Pieterse who was involved in the discussions at the sessions. Pieterse is critical of the sessions as he believed that the discussions became bitchy. He suggests that this is because the participants were unable to put aside their individuality, that comes with being a creative producer, and think in a collective manner that would be required to solve the problems that were being discussed. Pieterse makes clear that what he states is his opinion, that his article is subjective, and also discusses what he thinks a possible solution to this problem could be. So in relation to this topic the blog has allowed for individual opinion to be expressed but also offers some constructive criticism on how the Sessions eKapa could produce better results going forward. This post uses rather sophisticated language but is still at the same time an informal discussion of an individual’s experience at the conference.

The African blog which mentions this topic is African Colours. This blog has a series of short posts on this topic that serve a different function to the other blogs. The posts supply skeletal information about Sessions eKapa, its purpose and the technical details. This blog also supplied links so that one could research further on the topic and also details about where one could apply to attend the conference. Even though the blog has a number of posts on this issue, there is no critical engagement with the topic. Instead of functioning as a space for critique and debate this blog gives the reader useful information about when and where. So it can be seen that a blog can function in various ways in the art world, it can be a space for debate, discussion and involvement but also provide a means for accessing useful information about the happenings in the art world, as African Colours does in relation to this topic.

The international blog that discusses Session eKapa is the Bag Factory. This blog provides a detailed critical engagement with the topic. However it differs for the South African one as it forms a very engaged discussion with the topic, not just one persons opinion having attended the conference. The article does not only criticize the sessions but also allows the viewer to engage in the debate they put forward. It encourages the reader to take part in the debating process and poses questions. The post is broken down in such a way that, the author has taken extracts from official Sessions eKapa publications and then analysed and questioned what was being said and whether or not things actually functioned that way. Links are also provided to this original text. Also this post did not only critique the way in which the sessions were held, but explored issues about what it meant for the conference to be held in Cape Town and how the sessions were set up in relation to the idea of a biennale. These are deeper critical issues that go over and above the manner in which the participants discussed the issues.

To compare and contrast these blogs it is necessary to explore the different uses for blogs and their fluid function as a space for information and critical engagement, both of which are important in the contemporary art space. In relation to the chosen specific topic one can see the different functions of a blog. The African blog provides information about what is going on in the contemporary African art scene. The South African blog allowed for individual opinion to be expressed on the issue. The international blog provided a space for thought and critical engagement on the topic, emphasizing the importance of people in the art world entering into the debate. Also both the African and international blogs offered links so that the reader is able to go to the original source of information and find out more or further develop an opinion. This shows the diversity of functions that blogs can serve to the art world and discussion about art practice.

In conclusion, the use of web 2.0, social networking tools and interactive websites like blogs has totally changed the way in which we engage with art and the art world. This has led to so many available opportunities whether it be exhibiting ones art on the net or engaging in a discussion about the future of the art world and the overcoming of barriers that are faced by the contemporary art world. The possibilities are endless and most definitely worth exploring.