Creative identity theft: issues for artists in collaborative online environments

This paper discusses the qualities of online activity in relation to what is 'new' in 'new media', and examines both the continued use of the technologies by artists to simply redress long standing disputes with the distribution models and editorial practices of 'old media' and the tensions created by encounters with the characteristics of the Internet as a new space for art. It then seeks to identify the features of new technologies that distinguish them from 'old media', principally the opportunities for interaction in real time, for collaboration, of skill sharing, of a wider audience that encounters work for reasons other than the contemplation of artistic work and the nature of proprietary technologies in themselves. These latter have rarely been developed specifically for artists, and often reflect the values and aims of the companies that generate them, presenting ethical and creative problems for artists who use them. The paper draws on research at the Visualisation Research Unit (VRU) at the School of Art, Birmingham City University, and its collaboration with Eastside Projects, a new gallery located in Birmingham, on the Arts Council funded project 'EP:VV' (Eastside Projects: Virtual & Visualized).