Tensions between politics and Aesthetics in Cyberculture

Abstract

We begin by examining the tensions between political and aesthetic aspects of cyberculture. Initially, we discuss the early utopian aspirations which saw the Internet as a democratic instrument, motivating the practice of artists who created net.art and, more recently, groups associated with the antiglobalization movement and cyberfeminism. These groups focused on the use of technology to mobilize actions and discussions about the impact of the digital culture on the life of marginalized communities, questioning the role of the Internet in the global market economy, articulating forms of resistance to neoliberalism. We then examine artistic productions of a more lyrical nature connected to the interactive installation. Upon examining the political and aesthetic aspects of cybercultural practices separately, we find it easy to identify groups with a strong tendency either for political activism or for involvement in research on sensorial perception, but we conclude that a strict division between “aesthetic versus political” approaches should be avoided.