This is how to entice an audience outside NMA.

Saved in my draft folder is an e-mail I decided not to send. Within it is a
list of pop culture and news sites that have featured my work. In addition it
contains numerous methods for promoting net art outside the NMA arena.
BUT…..then I realized that supplying my growing list of resources really wasn't
the solution. Rather the solution is far more simplistic and ultimately effective.

HOW TO ENTICE AN AUDIENCE OUTSIDE NMA:

STAGE ONE: TRY.
Seriously make an attempt and keep doing it.
Research venues like forums, and blogs and online newspapers, link aggregates.
Look into sites like Fark.com or BoingBoing or Suicidegirls. Translate Japanese and German and Russian sites via babelfish and send to them. I doubt many of you have
even attempted to send out your artwork beyond existing calls for work. I got ten thousand hits from a freaking real estate agency site. And that led to two newspaper
articles. And the work was incredibly abstract and bizarre. You could even try contacting local galleries with websites with the offer of making an online gallery for them. Easy for you. Like magic for them.
So, TRY, actually TRY.


STAGE TWO: GET OVER YOURSELF.
I would never suggest changing your work. Hell my work is confusing and crazy.
But you have to learn to write up a few sentences to explain your work to a particular audience. Maybe your work is some highly conceptual commentary on 15th century alchemy (like my hermeticon). That makes you smart and attractive and powerful, but most people would rather experience the artwork than read about it. So, use the highly referenced language for your ACM abstract, and include it in a link for those who might be interested. But using phrases like "this is fucked up and yet oddly compelling", should not be beneath you. It accurately describes your work and in
web speak is a damn nice compliment.

STAGE THREE: TOUGHEN UP.
Most of us are fragile, insecure, paranoid people. People will call your work crap, or worse not care. But then you already have that don't you. So, toughen up, and
build your own audience. If two teenagers lip sinking the Pokemon theme song can start a small industry from a homemade video, surely we can find some small percentage of that audience.

STAGE FOUR: MAKE MORE INTERACTIVE NET ARTWORK.
Unfortunately most people want to watch and most physical space galleries do not
understand how to incorporate interactive net artworks. Sure, you should still try to convince them. But don't get up and go to the mundane world of video art. Stay with it. There is a gigantic web based audience waiting to see your artwork.

Shat…..I sound like some inspirational speaker….alas….do with these what you may….

Jason Nelson



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