Final work: net.flag (Mark Napier, 2002)

 
Introduction of the work

• Artist: Mark Napier 

• Name: net.flag – a flag for the Internet 

• Release year: 2002

• Where: http://webart.guggenheim.org/netflag/ commissioned by Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York

A detailed description of the work

Work in detail
net.flag is a Java applet, which enables Internet user to create their own flag for the Internet, based on elements of international nation flags. These elements could be symbols (e.g. coat of arms) as well as graphical shapes like stripes and bars for example. For the creation, visitors can navigate through a menu, which is divided in “country”, “shape”, “meaning” and “color”, where they can chose the preferred elements and combine them to a new flag. The website’s welcome page always shows the current created flag. It’s also possible to see how the current flag has been developed and how former flags have been designed. So, all the created flags were archived and statistically analyzed. This statistic shows that since 2002 when the artwork was published for the first time, there were around 200’000 elements added and over 23'000 flags created. The US flag and its elements were used the most. The most frequent used meanings are throughout positive words like e.g. “unity”, “valour” and “peace”. Moreover, the website has a detailed help page, which shows how to use net.flag properly.

What is interesting / unusual / thought-provoking / aesthetically / pleasing / puzzling about this artwork
The artwork confronts the latest development of today’s civilization with traditional values, which were originated in ancient times. On one hand, there is the Internet with its boundless and global spirit. On the other hand, there are the single national identities with its strictly defined and enclosed mindset, based on political, religious and ethnical background, which is expressed in its flags. To see the Internet as a territory, which needs to have a clearly bounded identity through the visual language of national flags’ ideological elements, the Internet stand to lose its global limitless space and its cultural independence.

"In the new millenium we see nations trying to lay claim to a new kind of territory, the Internet. This virtual territory is no longer a geographic location, a new land with resources to be claimed. It is a space created by man-made infrastructure that carries the potential of information, group identity, economic and political advantage. Nations and terrorists alike use the Internet to carry out their agendas. Those who control the structures, both hard and soft, that make this new space, control the nature of the space itself, providing or limiting access to the resources of the network (Napier, 2002)."

It is maybe no coincident that the artwork was published first on year after September 11th when the world was still under shock and rethought the order of the power distribution in the world. Moreover, the increased controlling mechanism in the free (democratic) world, especially in the USA, concerned also the Internet and was provoking the question about who has the power over the Internet and how far the globalization should go. As a historical background it has to be in mind that the burst of the dotcom bubble was only two years ago. Nevertheless, for Mark Napier it was sure that the globalization trend will hold on and people will more and more detach from their national fetter to a universal culture.

"net.flag creates a parody of what flags try to be. Flags try to fly over one territory and to unify people, when in fact the tendency is for people to diverge and to tear down, change, or negate flags (Ippolito, 2003)."

But that people are still characterized from their ideological education shows some created flags, which are obvious political motivated and point out for example religious tension in the world. On the other hand, some created flags just show the visual variety national flags offer, which only could develop with the diversity of the human heritage, by the way. This visual language enables a limitless and unique aesthetical perception.

Selection of user-contributed flags

   


An evaluation of the work in terms of the chosen issue focused on Network Digital Art 
Issue: National identity

One example in detail  
First of all, identity has always played an important role in Networked Digital Art.

“Many New Media Artists have used the Internet as a tool to explore the construction and perception of identity" (Tribe, 2009).

In net.flag the controversy about identity and especially the national identity can be seen as the main issue of this artwork. To use the Internet, which is the accelerator for the globalized society we live in today, as a medium for this artwork about national identities points out the conflict between the national heritage and the belonging to the global village. Although the globalization opens boundaries and the Internet connects people from different nationalities and cultural background it must be determined that in the same time nationalism movements increase worldwide and with that the fear of losing the own national identity. So, flags are having again its important role, because there isn't any more emotional and more powerful visual expression for a national identity than a nation’s flag.

"The visual manifestations of national identity are familiar to all – flags, for example are probably the most potent visual expression of national identity (Dinnie, 2008)."

But the identities, which were created in net.flag are only temporary and can be changed overnight. This illustrates the fast-moving nature of our today's society and indicates a rethinking to traditional values. It also shows that it’s not easy to find a static visual identity for the Internet with its constant movement in a dynamic environment. And this again stands in contrast to a national identity, which is based on firmly established ideologies that can’t be changed overnight.

Features that the artwork shares with earlier art movements such as Dada  
Like already mentioned the artwork tries to parody the origin meaning of something, here e.g. the flags and the meaning of its symbols. So, Dada tried to provoke established thinking. net.flag can also have a political message, it depends on the audience's contribution. Independent from the created flag’s meaning, the work always looks like a collage – a medium, which were used widespread from Dada-artists.

Are formal instructions, the concept rather than the art object, audience participation and chance important elements in this work?    
net.flag is a typical Digital Art work. It fulfill all the criteria. First of all, the artwork couldn’t exist without the participation from the audience. Actually, the audience is the artist for this artwork, who creates the art with the designing of a flag. You never know who contributes on the artwork, so it’s also quite a random event, which is part of the concept. The concept by itself plays an important role, too, which is also indicated with artwork description on the website. With the help navigation, which shows the visitors how to use the artwork, the formal instruction is also given

What is remarkable or noteworthy about this artwork?  
Over ten years after the release of the artwork, the issue is still very relevant. To find an unique identity in a globalized and standardized world, with an universal character as well as without losing its diversity is a big challenge and will be go on. The artwork points out this tradeoff in a playful way while combining one of the oldest communication tools (flags) with the latest (Internet). In the end, the artwork also gives a thought-provoking impulse about who has the power about the world's most powerful territory - the Internet.

From an art theoretical perspective, it has to be mention, that net.flag was a pioneer in collecting and preserving Internet art with its elaborated online archiving system.


References  
Dinnie, K. (2008). National Branding. Concepts, Issues, Practice. Oxford: Elsevier. 113-116.

Ippolito, J. (2003). Mark Napier, net.flag. In: Depocas, A., Ippolito, J. and Jones, C. The Variable Media Approach. Permanence through Change. New York: Guggenheim Museum Publications. 108-114.

Naper, M. (2002). About net.flag. Available: http://webart.guggenheim.org/netflag/. Last accessed 22nd Nov 2013.

Tribe, M. (2009). Art in the Age of Digital Distribution. In: Jana, R. and Tribe, M. New Media Art. Koeln: Taschen. 6-25.