Independent curator Kelani Nichole will open a so-called ‘net art gallery in Bushwick on March 16th, Whitney Kimball reported for the L Magazine, just now. Great. Transfer, as the space is called, begs a few questions: What is the relationship between the digital and physical gallery space in 2013—is it a symbiotic one? Is it a necessary one?
Moreover: Why are individuals seemingly superseding institutions (and corporations!) as the new, true patrons of digital art? I believe that this small phenomenon relates to the impulses that drive arts patronage at its bottom line: We fund the things that we love and believe in. ‘net art is ultimately an intensely personal experience—Kate Bush really did nail it, didn’t she?—and the emotional connection that a person (a person with disposable income, I might add) forges with a given artwork, mediated by hardware and the interface as it is, is worth more than the collective institution may be able to feel, after all.
Welcome to the neighborhood, Transfer.
Important questions. Google et al, are you listening? Pump some $$$ our way! We are too much fun to be this undervalued. xx