In a recent article, BitTorrent Gets Artsy, I discussed how BitTorrent and other P2P networks have begun to transform the way that independent art is distributed. Having already changed the distribution model of other forms of media like music, movies, and books, P2P has now been utilized as a means for independent artists to to do the same with their creative works of passion. Be it photography, film, or any of their other artistic endeavors, artists have a new paradigm shift in their hands that they can now utilize to bypass the traditional gatekeepers that have long controlled creative access to the public square. What P2P did to put music and movies at peoples fingertips is now broadening its reach into art. Anders Weberg is one such new P2P artist that has taken advantage of the file-sharing medium and used it to put his work in this ever expanding virtual global "gallery." He considers P2P and the Net to be the new "streets of today," and that his work is an expression of his love for "...street art, graffiti and performance art..." Weberg labels himself as a "Mixed Media Artist and Filmmaker, " and resides in the small coastal town of Ängelholm in the south of Sweden. His genre is termed "P2P Art - The aesthetics of ephemerality." The key here is the notion of "ephemerality," or "the property of lasting for a very short time." Much like graffiti or street art, it is subject to the whims of mankind, and the impression it leaves on the viewer often lasts more than the work itself. This ephemerality also usually describes the fate of what is generally downloaded from P2P networks and so too the point of Weberg's inspiration. In many cases material is simply deleted after being downloaded and viewed, though others may choose to save that very same indefinitely. It's this notion of "living and dying by the sword," by the illusory likes and dislikes of the P2P population, that form the founding thesis of his work. On his website, P2P-art, he notes: (It is) Art made for - and only available on - the peer to peer networks. The original artwork is first shared by the artist until one other user has downloaded it. The original file and all the material used to create it are deleted by the artist. After that the artwork will be available for as long as other users share it. The original file and all the material used to create it are deleted by the artist.There's no original.This is the key attribute of his work. Once he has uploaded it onto the Pirate Bay or another one of the BitTorrent sites out there he immediately deletes all of the material he used to create it. From then forward it lives and breathes so long as users share it. I recently had a chance to interview Mr. Weberg and get a more in-depth look at the man behind P2P art, both who he is and what his work is all about. Zeropaid: |
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