ABOUT THIS SITE
This website serves as an archiving project focusing on Hungarian internet Art and Internet culture during the 1990s and 2000s. The web-specific online artworks and projects displayed chronologically intend to represent the visual and contextual specificities of the Hungarian art scene during the emergence of the internet as one of the most significant scientific, technological, cultural and social transformations of recent decades. Besides the web-based artworks the collection also includes the documentation of offline works that reflect on the nature of the online network during this early period. Functioning as a digital archive of this particular field of art, known as net art, this website seeks to shed light on the origins of today’s internet culture, characterized by online vulnerability, platform capitalism, digital surveillance, and A simultaneous general nostalgia for the 1990s worldwide.
In Eastern Europe, the 1990s not only marked the decade of the development of publicly accessible internet but also the establishment of new liberal democracies. Following the post-war period, characterized by limited and controlled accessibility to Western technological products, the emergence of the World Wide Web as a public domain since 1993 reinforced positive expectations of becoming part of a new global network and thereby equalizing center-periphery relations within the new political circumstances. These conditions highlight the value of examining the region’s internet culture within its unique cultural context.
In regard of terminology, I draw on Josephine Bosma’s book Nettitudes – Let’s Talk Net Art and use the term ‘net art’ to describe artistic practices related to the context of the internet. As Bosma emphasises, ‘net art’ is to be distinguished from ‘net.art’, denoting the activist art movement, as well as from ‘web art’, ‘online art’ and other terms.
The materials presented on this site form part of my PhD research, which explores the evolution of art practices in Hungary during the 1990s within the context of technological advancements and the establishment of new liberal democracies in Eastern Europe. The timeframe of my research spans from 1989 to 2001, encompassing the regime changes in former Eastern bloc societies and the appearance of Web 2.0, marking the marketization of the internet. As the Phd is still an ongoing research, the website is also under constant development (Beta version). However, the site aims to serve as a complete collection, an archive of artworks related to early Hungarian Internet art and culture.
Inspired by the concept of a ‘living archive’, the website’s future evolution also relies on your contributions. Don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any suggestions. I hope the publicity of these materials can generate a discourse about media art of the 1990s in Hungary and abroad.
About the methodology
The collection primarily consists of websites created as artworks in the 1990s and 2000s, archived in JPG/PNG screenshot format. This format was deemed the most reliable means of preserving these visual materials. The methodology is grounded in a media archaeological approach, ensuring the preservation of these materials within their original technological context. However, certain aspects, such as the interactive nature of the web itself, browser interfaces or specific multimedia content no longer accessible, could not be archived within the scope of this research project.
The creation of screenshots would not have been feasible without The Internet Archive, which preserved many of these websites in their earlier phases, most of which are unavailable in the same format today. Additionally, browser extensions such as Flash Player Emulator enabled the playback of specific content in their original form. Full-site screenshots were created using GoFullPage. Nonetheless, there are some websites that could not be restored using any of the aforementioned techniques. The case of offline artworks, such as installations, is more complex, as they require professional staff for reconstruction and restoration.
Choosing the medium of a website to archive and represent Hungarian net art, I aim to connect with the core principles of early internet culture, the belief in the democratization of knowledge, the importance of dialogue, and the potential of collective knowledge sharing. This digital platform embodies these values by providing access to an archive of web-based artworks and fostering an interactive environment where users can engage in building a collection. By leveraging the web’s capabilities, this site not only preserves the historical significance of Hungarian net art but also encourages active participation and collaboration, ensuring that the archive remains a vibrant and evolving resource for future generations.
ABOUT ME
The editor of this site is Flóra Barkóczi, art historian and PhD candidate based in Budapest, Hungary. You can find my bio here and selected publications here.
* I am truly grateful to all those who have supported me with their insights, comments and ideas during the creation of this site, especially my PhD supervisors Judit Bodor (University of Dundee, UK) and Peter György† (Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, HU), who have not only encouraged me in the creation of this collection, but have been supporting my doctoral research as a whole. *
netartdothu (beta) 