Mark Napier (artist)
Encyclopedia
Mark Napier is an early pioneer of net.art
in the United States, known for creating interactive online artwork that challenged traditional definitions of art. He is author of potatoland.org, his online studio where many of his net artworks can be found.
from Syracuse University
.
, Napier worked as a self-taught programmer
in New York
's financial markets until 1995, when a friend introduced him to the web
. With Levi Asher
, Napier collaborated on his first website and began several experiments with hypertext
in which he explored juxtaposing meanings and pop culture symbols. In the The Distorted Barbie site, Napier created a family of Photoshopped Barbie
also-rans that riffed on the "sacred cash-cow" status of the capitalist icon. Mattel
was not amused and threatened Napier with a cease-and-desist letter, which prompted a wholesale copying of the site by enraged fans.
In 1997, shortly after the Distorted Barbie episode, Napier opened potatoland.org, an online studio for interactive work
where he explored software
as an art medium with such pieces as Digital Landfill and Internet shredder 1.0 (1998). Both pieces were included in the seminal "net_condition" show at ZKM in Karlsruhe
and attracted critical attention: Shredder was shown at Ars Electronica
and Digital Landfill was written up in the Village Voice. Over the next five years Napier explored the networked software environment, creating work that challenged the definition of the art object. The salient features of these pieces: 1) The artwork can be altered by the viewer/visitor, 2) it responds
to actions from the viewer/visitor and 3) typically relies on viewer/visitor actions to enact the work. The work can change, possibly unpredictably, over time, and often appropriates other network property to use as raw material, e.g., websites, flags, images. The art is "massively public": it is accessible to and can be altered by anybody with access to the network.
These pieces exist in part as performances, in part as places that a viewer visits, in part as compositions, like music, that unfold differently when played under different circumstances. The overriding experience is that the art object is disembodied, existing in many places at once, with many authors contributing to the piece, with many appearances, over time, with no clear end point. The artwork is in the algorithm
, the process, which manifests itself in an unending series of appearances on the screen.
During this time Napier produced Riot, an alternative browser
shown in the 2002 Whitney Biennial
, Feed, commissioned by SFMOMA and shown in the "010101" show at SFMOMA (2001), and net.flag
, commissioned by the Guggenheim Museum
. In 2002 net.flag and John Simon
's Unfolding Object became the first network-based artworks
to be acquired by a major museum.
These pieces turn the structure of the software/network environment inside out, hacking
the inner workings of virtual space, and often collide physical metaphors with the insolidity of the net environment, i.e. shredding (Shredder), decaying (Digital Landfill), breaking down neighborhoods (Riot), creating a flag (net.flag
). By hacking the http protocol he turns the web into an abstract expressionist
painting or a meditative color field
. Matt Mirapaul writing in the New York Times described Feed as "a digital action painting
, albeit with actual action."
This repurposing of the matter of the web
continues in Black and White (2003), a transitional piece in which Napier reads the text of the Old Testament
, New Testament
and Koran, as a stream of zeroes and ones, then treats the stream of binary data as two forces that drive a black and white line on the screen. The lines are propelled by the 0 and 1 values from the data, and are mutually attracted to one another, creating a swirling, orbiting dance as the black and white points seek equilibrium. The Black and White algorithm translates writing from a form that is meaningful to human beings into a form that is equally precise, but that can only be understood as a gestalt: a moment of insight that points to experiences that cannot be transcribed into text.
In the period following 2003, Napier explored a more private side of software, making meditative pieces and drawing on the history of painting for inspiration. In three solo shows at bitforms gallery
in Manhattan
, Napier leaves the browser
and moves towards a more tactile interactivity
, showing work that is graphically rich and minimally interactive. Still addressing the expression of power in the global network, Napier turns to the Empire State Building
as a symbol of nationalism
, military
and economic might. By transliterating the monument into software, Napier creates a contradiction: a soft, malleable, bouncing skyscraper. Flexible where the original is rigid, small where the original is huge, at once delicate and unbreakable, Napier's skyscraper collides the worlds of steel with the world of software, and reveals the anxiety of transitional time.
These pieces, with names like KingKong, Cyclops Birth and Smoke, deal with the expression of power in the age of information
. The seeming permanence of steel
, the formative material of the Industrial Revolution
, appears almost quaint as we navigate an environment that is increasingly made of electricity
, magnetism
and light
.
As they comment on the condition of human media in transition, these pieces also upset the conventions of visual art, long dominated by permanent unique objects. By creating virtual "objects" Napier's work exists in a space that is visible, yet forever just out of reach. These objects teeter on the edge of solidity and tempt the viewer to freeze them, hold them, to return them to the familiar and comfortably solid world.
Net.art
"net.art" refers to a group of artists who worked in the medium of Internet art from 1994. The main members of this movement are Vuk Ćosić, Jodi.org, Alexei Shulgin, Olia Lialina, and Heath Bunting...
in the United States, known for creating interactive online artwork that challenged traditional definitions of art. He is author of potatoland.org, his online studio where many of his net artworks can be found.
Education
Mark Napier graduated in 1984 with a Bachelor's degree in Fine ArtsBachelor of Fine Arts
In the United States and Canada, the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, usually abbreviated BFA, is the standard undergraduate degree for students seeking a professional education in the visual or performing arts. In some countries such a degree is called a Bachelor of Creative Arts or BCA...
from Syracuse University
Syracuse University
Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
.
Life and work
Trained as a painterPainting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
, Napier worked as a self-taught programmer
Programmer
A programmer, computer programmer or coder is someone who writes computer software. The term computer programmer can refer to a specialist in one area of computer programming or to a generalist who writes code for many kinds of software. One who practices or professes a formal approach to...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
's financial markets until 1995, when a friend introduced him to the web
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
. With Levi Asher
Levi Asher
Levi Asher is a New York-based writer, blogger and web developer responsible for Literary Kicks, one of the earliest popular literary websites and now the oldest continuously-running literary website on the Internet...
, Napier collaborated on his first website and began several experiments with hypertext
Hypertext
Hypertext is text displayed on a computer or other electronic device with references to other text that the reader can immediately access, usually by a mouse click or keypress sequence. Apart from running text, hypertext may contain tables, images and other presentational devices. Hypertext is the...
in which he explored juxtaposing meanings and pop culture symbols. In the The Distorted Barbie site, Napier created a family of Photoshopped Barbie
Barbie
Barbie is a fashion doll manufactured by the American toy-company Mattel, Inc. and launched in March 1959. American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration....
also-rans that riffed on the "sacred cash-cow" status of the capitalist icon. Mattel
Mattel
Mattel, Inc. is the world's largest toy company based on revenue. The products it produces include Fisher Price, Barbie dolls, Hot Wheels and Matchbox toys, Masters of the Universe, American Girl dolls, board games, and, in the early 1980s, video game consoles. The company's name is derived from...
was not amused and threatened Napier with a cease-and-desist letter, which prompted a wholesale copying of the site by enraged fans.
In 1997, shortly after the Distorted Barbie episode, Napier opened potatoland.org, an online studio for interactive work
Interactive art
Interactive art is a form of installation-based art that involves the spectator in a way that allows the art to achieve its purpose. Some installations achieve this by letting the observer or visitor "walk" in, on, and around them; Some others ask the artist to become part of the artwork.Works of...
where he explored software
Software art
Software art refers to works of art where the creation of software, or concepts from software, play an important role; for example software applications which were created by artists and which were intended as artworks. As an artistic discipline software art has attained growing attention since the...
as an art medium with such pieces as Digital Landfill and Internet shredder 1.0 (1998). Both pieces were included in the seminal "net_condition" show at ZKM in Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe
The City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states...
and attracted critical attention: Shredder was shown at Ars Electronica
Ars Electronica
Ars Electronica is an organization based in Linz, Austria, founded in 1979 around a festival for art, technology and society that was part of the International Bruckner Festival. Herbert W. Franke is one of its founders. It became its own festival and a yearly event in 1986. Its director until 1995...
and Digital Landfill was written up in the Village Voice. Over the next five years Napier explored the networked software environment, creating work that challenged the definition of the art object. The salient features of these pieces: 1) The artwork can be altered by the viewer/visitor, 2) it responds
Generative art
Generative art refers to art that has been generated, composed, or constructed in an algorithmic manner through the use of systems defined by computer software algorithms, or similar mathematical or mechanical or randomised autonomous processes....
to actions from the viewer/visitor and 3) typically relies on viewer/visitor actions to enact the work. The work can change, possibly unpredictably, over time, and often appropriates other network property to use as raw material, e.g., websites, flags, images. The art is "massively public": it is accessible to and can be altered by anybody with access to the network.
These pieces exist in part as performances, in part as places that a viewer visits, in part as compositions, like music, that unfold differently when played under different circumstances. The overriding experience is that the art object is disembodied, existing in many places at once, with many authors contributing to the piece, with many appearances, over time, with no clear end point. The artwork is in the algorithm
Algorithm
In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm is an effective method expressed as a finite list of well-defined instructions for calculating a function. Algorithms are used for calculation, data processing, and automated reasoning...
, the process, which manifests itself in an unending series of appearances on the screen.
During this time Napier produced Riot, an alternative browser
Web browser
A web browser is a software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web. An information resource is identified by a Uniform Resource Identifier and may be a web page, image, video, or other piece of content...
shown in the 2002 Whitney Biennial
Whitney Biennial
The Whitney Biennial is a biennale exhibition of contemporary American art, typically by young and lesser known artists, on display at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City, USA. The event began as an annual exhibition in 1932, the first biennial was in 1973...
, Feed, commissioned by SFMOMA and shown in the "010101" show at SFMOMA (2001), and net.flag
Net.flag
net.flag is a work of internet art created in 2002 by Mark Napier. Along with Unfolding Object by John Simon, it was commissioned by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City, and was among the first works of internet art to enter the permanent collection of a major museum.net.flag is an...
, commissioned by the Guggenheim Museum
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum is a well-known museum located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States. It is the permanent home to a renowned collection of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, early Modern, and contemporary art and also features special exhibitions...
. In 2002 net.flag and John Simon
John F. Simon Jr.
John F. Simon Jr. , is a new media artist who works with LCD screens and computer programming. He currently lives and works in New York....
's Unfolding Object became the first network-based artworks
Internet art
Internet art is a form of digital artwork distributed via the Internet. This form of art has circumvented the traditional dominance of the gallery and museum system, delivering aesthetic experiences via the Internet. In many cases, the viewer is drawn into some kind of interaction with the work...
to be acquired by a major museum.
These pieces turn the structure of the software/network environment inside out, hacking
Hacker (computer security)
In computer security and everyday language, a hacker is someone who breaks into computers and computer networks. Hackers may be motivated by a multitude of reasons, including profit, protest, or because of the challenge...
the inner workings of virtual space, and often collide physical metaphors with the insolidity of the net environment, i.e. shredding (Shredder), decaying (Digital Landfill), breaking down neighborhoods (Riot), creating a flag (net.flag
Net.flag
net.flag is a work of internet art created in 2002 by Mark Napier. Along with Unfolding Object by John Simon, it was commissioned by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City, and was among the first works of internet art to enter the permanent collection of a major museum.net.flag is an...
). By hacking the http protocol he turns the web into an abstract expressionist
Abstract expressionism
Abstract expressionism was an American post–World War II art movement. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve worldwide influence and put New York City at the center of the western art world, a role formerly filled by Paris...
painting or a meditative color field
Color Field
Color Field painting is a style of abstract painting that emerged in New York City during the 1940s and 1950s. It was inspired by European modernism and closely related to Abstract Expressionism, while many of its notable early proponents were among the pioneering Abstract Expressionists...
. Matt Mirapaul writing in the New York Times described Feed as "a digital action painting
Action painting
Action painting sometimes called "gestural abstraction", is a style of painting in which paint is spontaneously dribbled, splashed or smeared onto the canvas, rather than being carefully applied...
, albeit with actual action."
This repurposing of the matter of the web
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
continues in Black and White (2003), a transitional piece in which Napier reads the text of the Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
, New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
and Koran, as a stream of zeroes and ones, then treats the stream of binary data as two forces that drive a black and white line on the screen. The lines are propelled by the 0 and 1 values from the data, and are mutually attracted to one another, creating a swirling, orbiting dance as the black and white points seek equilibrium. The Black and White algorithm translates writing from a form that is meaningful to human beings into a form that is equally precise, but that can only be understood as a gestalt: a moment of insight that points to experiences that cannot be transcribed into text.
In the period following 2003, Napier explored a more private side of software, making meditative pieces and drawing on the history of painting for inspiration. In three solo shows at bitforms gallery
Bitforms gallery
bitforms gallery is a gallery in New York City, New York, United States of America devoted to new media art practices. Breaking new ground in 2001, bitforms gallery has become a destination for artists, curators, and collectors exploring new art forms that lie at the intersection of software and...
in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, Napier leaves the browser
Web browser
A web browser is a software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web. An information resource is identified by a Uniform Resource Identifier and may be a web page, image, video, or other piece of content...
and moves towards a more tactile interactivity
Interactivity
In the fields of information science, communication, and industrial design, there is debate over the meaning of interactivity. In the "contingency view" of interactivity, there are three levels:...
, showing work that is graphically rich and minimally interactive. Still addressing the expression of power in the global network, Napier turns to the Empire State Building
Empire State Building
The Empire State Building is a 102-story landmark skyscraper and American cultural icon in New York City at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street. It has a roof height of 1,250 feet , and with its antenna spire included, it stands a total of 1,454 ft high. Its name is derived...
as a symbol of nationalism
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
, military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
and economic might. By transliterating the monument into software, Napier creates a contradiction: a soft, malleable, bouncing skyscraper. Flexible where the original is rigid, small where the original is huge, at once delicate and unbreakable, Napier's skyscraper collides the worlds of steel with the world of software, and reveals the anxiety of transitional time.
These pieces, with names like KingKong, Cyclops Birth and Smoke, deal with the expression of power in the age of information
Information Age
The Information Age, also commonly known as the Computer Age or Digital Age, is an idea that the current age will be characterized by the ability of individuals to transfer information freely, and to have instant access to knowledge that would have been difficult or impossible to find previously...
. The seeming permanence of steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
, the formative material of the Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
, appears almost quaint as we navigate an environment that is increasingly made of electricity
Electricity
Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
, magnetism
Magnetism
Magnetism is a property of materials that respond at an atomic or subatomic level to an applied magnetic field. Ferromagnetism is the strongest and most familiar type of magnetism. It is responsible for the behavior of permanent magnets, which produce their own persistent magnetic fields, as well...
and light
Light
Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that is visible to the human eye, and is responsible for the sense of sight. Visible light has wavelength in a range from about 380 nanometres to about 740 nm, with a frequency range of about 405 THz to 790 THz...
.
As they comment on the condition of human media in transition, these pieces also upset the conventions of visual art, long dominated by permanent unique objects. By creating virtual "objects" Napier's work exists in a space that is visible, yet forever just out of reach. These objects teeter on the edge of solidity and tempt the viewer to freeze them, hold them, to return them to the familiar and comfortably solid world.
Notable projects
- The Distorted Barbie (1996)
- Digital Landfill (1998)
- Shredder 1.0Shredder 1.0-Influences and Technique:Though each website is different and will thus generate a different image, Napier's code is programmed to create aesthetically similar images. Although pieces of the original page often survive the shredding, such as images and some text, the new page closer resembles a...
(1998) - Riot (1999)
- ©Bots (2000)
- net.flag (2002)