1. What is netart?

Above all I would like to somehow correct the question you are asking. I would rephrase it to 'what was net.art'. My personal feeling is that it was a brief moment when the new technology have intrigued some of most curious artists of one generation. During that brief moment those artists have tryed to investigate the specific new possibilities of creating art, and were also bringing in their very different and personal artistic beliefs. I was involved in only one of the manifestations of net.art, and that one was quite intense because of it's ties with a broader eco-system of mailing lists such as nettime, syndicate and 7-11. Our intentions were to investigate what might be the specificness of the medium, and in what ways we could use that in our work. We have combined those findings with the inherited methodological tradition of historic avant-guards.

2. Netart vs. Art on Net

I believe that I have actually offered an answer to that allready - in my opinion the difference would be in artistic goal. If an artist desires to create such work that is intended to investigate the characteristics of the net, then that work is possibly net.art, but if the artist only displays the work that exists regardless of the net, then that is just art on the net. This is how I see the difference. I hope that there will be a lot of both in the future. They just use different aspects of the medium - net.art is looking for the concept and deeper meaning, while art on the net is just using the documentary and distribution advantages of the net.

3. Art and Entertainment

Unfortunately your question requires the defining of the term art, and those discussions are the least constructive ones. Nevertheless, this is what I think the connection might be between the development of entertainment tools and art. Artist as a creative and curious producer of gestures or object is noticing the development of technology and it's inner logics. He can decide to just use the new tool for what it was intended and thus he becomes part of the masses, or he can look for inventive and constructive missuse of technology. The technologies that you are listing in your question are fitting in this model perfectly. The problem arises when people other than artists become interested in such artwork. It is them that need systems of comparison, value measurement, and simillar. That is the source of confusion.

4. Avant-garde or Utopia or SF ?

It is possible to observe net.art in the broader context of development of new media paradigm. Our generation was given the tools that contained elements of the wildest concepts of artists from one or two generations ago. Some methods that I have used, and other net.artits too, were directely inspired by acts of important clever ancestors (we are too standing on the shoulders of the giants). If we look for distinct features that differentiate net.art from it's predecessors, then I would say it is possibly it's attempt at true globality.

5. Network communication vs. natural communication

It is all natural. The usage of technology is influencing our lives and habits in different ways, but it is only the first generation that notices any change. And if you don't see change, then what you perceive is natural for you. Of course that I know that the phone is unnatural, but I don't feel it in that way. What this does in large scale is called digital divide.

6. Network Neo Imperialism or central power system.

All I can do is agree with your constatation. The way that the technical globalisation is happening looks exactely like the fantastic developments in roman road building two thousand years ago. Everybody benefited, but it is the builders that won the most.

7. Using International language on the net.

I am sorry to repeat the answer, but it is becoming obvious that we are discussing the Roman Empire. All nations have the right to preserve their cultural identity, and all individuals should have the liberty to behave in a practical way. Some people see beauty in this conflict.

8. Internet and Life

There are many actual benefits of a free flow of information. And there is the Internet. The makers of equipment and infrastructure are trying to convince us that these two things are the same, but I choose not to believe them. The key reason is the impact that blind acceptance of such a powerful technology might have on the way people live. The size of the event is such that the individual has absolutely no chance to intervene. So I do art.

9. Please list the names of the artists or the titles of ongoing projects and exhibitions you wish to recommend.

I am a bit retired from net.art, and am following the art scene from a safe distance, so I don't know how well I can recommend. I am following the works of the group that I call New Low Tech Media, and the artists are Alexei Shoulgin, Vinylvideo, Tom Jennings..

10. Please feel free to write any comments or ideas

Well, I would like to point you at two publications that I have received in the last few days - the catalogue of the Net_condition show is out finally, and there's several interesting texts (I think Tilman Baumgaertell's is the most important), and the latest issue of the Swiss magazine DU is dedicated to net.art.

It is a bit late now, and I have to be leaving you. I wish you a lot of success with the project, and I would like to thank you for including me in such a short list of dear friends and net personalities. If you will be printing anything, posters flyers or something, I would really like to have some of that for my archive.

idaf digital art festival 2000
www.idaf.org/whatisnetart/vuk/vuk_e_interview.htm