.ART

In an exclusive interview with .ART, Anika Meier—curator, writer, and concept artist—shares insights into the shifting dynamics of NFTs, the evolving role of curators in the digital sphere, and her recent project, EXPANDED.ART. Known for her thought-provoking, text-based artworks that explore the value of art in the post-digital age, Meier is a key figure in advancing critical conversations about digital art. Based in Hamburg and Berlin, and teaching at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna, Meier bridges her expertise across creative and academic realms, challenging how we perceive and engage with digital media. Her recent works, such as TWEETS FROM TWITTER, LOST FUTURES, and TALE AS OLD AS TIME, question the cultural valuation of digital artefacts, while her project UNSIGNED (2022) reimagines signatures from women and non-binary artists as symbolic, standalone artworks. 

Curating digital art has unique challenges and possibilities, especially in the NFT era. What were the most critical considerations when curating exhibitions like ”Who Is Online? Game Art in the Age of Post-NFTism” and “The Artist Is Online”?

Both exhibitions were very different in content, which is why the challenges were also different. “The Artist Is Online” was planned for a longer time and then somewhat collided with the hype around NFTs. It was an exhibition that was shown offline at KÖNIG GALERIE and online in Decentraland, a virtual world on the blockchain. The media attention on the exhibition suddenly became unexpectedly large. And even though NFTs were just getting started, everyone wanted to know when the hype would finally be over. So that was a challenge we couldn’t anticipate. Suddenly, we were faced with great curiosity and equally great rejection. Everyone suddenly had an opinion about digital art, even though hardly anyone had engaged with it before.

“Who Is Online?” was an online exhibition that I curated for the House of Electronic Arts in Basel. Whether I curate an exhibition online or offline makes no difference to me. HeK, like KÖNIG GALERIE, has a location online, meaning a digital exhibition space. And when curating, it’s about telling the respective story through the contextualization of the works in a space. I approach it like solving a puzzle.

With your column STATUS UPDATE for Kunstforum, you’ve documented the evolution of NFTs in art. How have you seen attitudes shift toward NFTs in the art world, and where do you think we’re headed?

Well, interest in NFTs from the traditional art world briefly flared up and then disappeared just as quickly as the hype surrounding NFTs. From the New York Times to the Stuttgart Nachrichten, the media reported internationally on NFTs. Previously, digital art was a niche topic, with few art critics and authors knowledgeable about the subject.

When I am asked to write a review of a Picasso exhibition—this has indeed been requested by an art magazine—I politely decline, pointing out that there are authors who are much better suited to the task than I am. To make a long story short: When the hype around NFTs began, many journalists wrote about NFTs without any understanding of them or the history of digital art. And when the NFT space predominantly makes headlines for high prices, meaningful reporting is hardly to be expected. Indeed, this was the case. I believe this did not help the perception of NFTs outside the community.

We have a long way to go in conveying the history of digital art and clarifying how closely the history of digital art is intertwined with the history of painting and photography—such as its connections to Op Art, Constructivism, Concrete Art, and Conceptual Art.

I recently read a text by Herbert W. Franke in which he recalls the exhibition ‘Paths to Computer Art,’ curated by him for the Goethe Institute. Twenty-five years later, he writes this text, published in 2001, discussing early computer art:

“What they offered at the time were mostly simple line drawings, seemingly tied to Constructivism at first glance. However, upon closer inspection, some differences become apparent, particularly a stochastic element—a deviation from strict order towards randomness—that imparted an air of organic structures to the images. Even these early examples of freely designed computer graphics demonstrated what would remain a fundamental design principle of computer-generated images for decades to come. Nevertheless, it was challenging to see more in these creations than simple overlays of straight lines—an issue that was, of course, due to the still primitive devices of the time, including computers and mechanical drawing machines.”

So, there is still much for all of us to explain and address.

EXPANDED.ART aims to turn Web3 inside out and support a broader digital art ecosystem. What inspired you to create this platform, and how does it differ from traditional galleries?

As a curator in the field of digital art, it is difficult today to avoid the topic of NFTs and selling. In 2021, the Berlin gallerist Johann König founded misa.art, an online platform for art. In the summer of 2022, we discussed how to sharpen its profile, and I suggested focusing on digital art and its history. Since then, I have been responsible for the artistic program. In December 2022, we relaunched under a new name and with a new program. Additionally, there has been a physical exhibition space on one of Berlin’s main shopping streets since then. As mentioned earlier, there is a lot to be done when it comes to conveying the history of digital art. This is possible in museums, as an author, as a gallerist, and now the new online art world is added to that. As a curator and author, I want to contribute to this with EXPANDED.ART.

The platform offers 24-Hour Edition Drops, which invite collectors to purchase editions within a limited timeframe. How did this concept develop, and what reactions have you seen from both artists and collectors?

The 24-Hour Edition Drops are still a remnant of misa.art. At that time, the offering was broad, ranging from classical painting in the primary and secondary markets to edition drops and NFTs. It went very well; some artists sold thousands of editions. We are still somewhat active in this area, but as I said, we are currently focusing on digital art and will see how it goes from there.

The editions were affordable, which is why the offering was well received. Not everyone can or wants to afford art that costs several thousand euros, but many still want to have a work by their favorite artist on the wall, someone they follow on Instagram. That’s why the concept was successful.

EXPANDED.ART features historical editions from digital art pioneers. Could you share your approach to selecting these works, and what role do you hope they play in educating new audiences about digital art’s history?

A few years ago, I met Herbert W. Franke. We ended up collaborating because I enthusiastically suggested that he check out Twitter. At that time, there was a lot of talk about him on Twitter, and I told him that he absolutely needed to see it for himself. Anyway, I said that he and his wife shouldn’t worry; it wouldn’t take much extra work. Well, unfortunately, it escalated, and within a few days, he had 15,000 followers. I was embarrassed, as both were busy with his upcoming solo exhibition at the Francisco Carolinum in Linz, and now there was suddenly even more work to do. So I said that if they wanted, I would help them. Since then, I have been working with pioneers from the history of early computer art, and recently, generative photography has also become a focal point.

I don’t select individual works; rather, I choose artists who are relevant to the history of digital art. Sometimes this includes pieces that don’t appear in standard history books, like Betha Sarasin’s ‘Spiralprojekt,’ an early example of generative art. It has only recently been possible to technically finalize her idea from 1983. It is an audio-visual experience.

Often, one hears—whether as a stereotype or not—that curators and gallerists select what they personally like. That is not the case for me. I do not choose based on my personal taste; on the contrary, it must remain set aside.

You chose a .ART domain for EXPANDED.ART, emphasizing your commitment to the digital art community. How has this decision shaped your brand identity, and why was a dedicated art domain important to you?

In fact, I spent several weeks thinking about a new name. When you’re looking for a name or title, you suddenly pay closer attention everywhere than before. I kept encountering the word ‘expanded’ in various contexts. And I thought, yes, that’s exactly what we want to do—expand the conventional concept of art. expandedart.com would have sounded a bit strange, wouldn’t it? .ART actually became part of the brand identity because it is (hopefully) pronounced ‘EXPANDED dot ART,’ making it clear what we do.

Your text-based conceptual pieces, like “Tweets from Twitter” and “Lost Futures,” critically reflect value in the post-digital age. Could you walk us through your creative process for these works, and how you choose your subject matter?

I accidentally came to make art. While I attended the art advanced course in high school and wanted to study art, I didn’t pursue it further. During a dinner at an event for Berlin Art Week two years ago, I made a joke, which led to the artist duo Operator and me immediately starting work on Unsigned. Immediately means right during dinner. We sold the signatures of 100 women and non-binary artists on the blockchain to spark a conversation about values and attention regarding the art of women and non-binary artists.

That was conceptual art, and that’s how I understand everything I’ve done in art since then. “Tweets from Twitter” are actually my most successful tweets, handwritten, such as “does a jpeg have an aura?” Here, I’m concerned with the value of texts. When I was writing my column, it increasingly happened that comments online referred only to the headline and had little to do with my text. So someone read a headline and wanted to say something about it. Of course, that’s perfectly fine. Well, I decided to write only the headlines and do that in the form of tweets or questions to Twitter that could have been the basis for a text of mine.

“Lost Futures” is about the value of one’s own imagination. When I read the novel “Zone Null” by Herbert W. Franke, I had very strong images in my mind. I remember calling his wife and telling her that Netflix absolutely needed to adapt the novel because the story is so visually striking. Years later, I played around with Midjourney, and a prompt led to Midjourney giving me the images I had in my mind while reading Zone Null.

How has your background in curation and writing influenced your approach to artmaking? Do you see your roles as curator and artist intersecting in your work, or do they remain distinct?

When I make art, I always start, just like when curating, from the text. That will always remain the case. I am a writer and will always be one. AI has made it possible to generate images with language.

When I create art, it revolves around themes that occupy me in my work and in my life, such as the discussion about values when it comes to the visibility of women and non-binary artists in the art market.

So, I have a concern or something that I want to communicate, and I then choose a form for it. This can be an exhibition, a text, or a work of art.

In your work across different facets of digital art—curating, writing, creating, and platform-building—how have you seen perceptions of digital art evolve? What major misconceptions about digital art or NFTs do you still find yourself challenging?

What has surprised me the most and continues to surprise me is that there is often no connection made between NFTs and the history of digital art, or it is often not even known that digital art has a history dating back to the 1950s.

The physical exhibition space of EXPANDED.ART is located on one of the largest shopping streets in Berlin. Many people pass by who otherwise have little or no contact with art. When I then explain that the history of digital art begins in the 1950s, I often see surprised faces. This is, of course, a challenge that I gladly accept, because now I can talk about the history of digital art almost every day and I learn something new every day.

I just read the new book “Digital Art: 1960s–Now,” published by the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. In it, I came across this beautiful quote by Vera Molnar:

“Many rejected my art because they believed there are two options in life: either wanting to understand or just believing. And for me, it’s not about believing; it’s about knowing. That didn’t go down well. Anyway, I survived.”

I couldn’t help but think of the election in America. Digital art is closely related to social developments, as it always involves new technologies that artists engage with and point out the dangers or benefits of.

The digital art space has been one of rapid change and experimentation. How do you envision the next phase for digital artists and collectors in the NFT space, and what role will EXPANDED.ART play in this future?

AI has been a major topic for some time, and it will continue to be. Here, I will further engage with EXPANDED.ART. I see our task as historically contextualising AI and telling the story of generative art from its beginnings. With the exhibition ‘Reimagine Tomorrow, 1954–2024. AI in Context #2,’ we are part of the AI Biennale in Essen. We are showcasing works ranging from generative photography to AI by more than 50 artists.

When it comes to the topic of AI and art, just as much educational work needs to be done as with NFTs and digital art. We are not alone in this, and it is important for us to show this as part of the AI Biennale. That’s why we are bringing contributors to Essen to signal that NFTs and AI are not trends that will simply go away. There was also a belief that the internet would disappear. When computer screens were new, some thought they wouldn’t last. Platforms, galleries, and curators around the world are engaging with NFTs and AI. Fellowship, Kate Vass, objkt.com, Diane Drubay, Photo Edition, and many others are participating in the exhibition in Essen with their artists. There is much to tell about digital art and AI; let’s continue together.

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