Opening online today: "The Digital Pocket Gallery: Net Artists respond to their Hard Drives..." up through August 31, 2002. The concept of the show is to present files and folders found on hard drives -- essentially the 'digital pockets' of the internet artist. The show's organizers have an open call for people to empty their digital pockets --whether authentic or not; fictional characters, then, can also dump their files at this site for all the world to see. What will you find...on others' hard drives...or on your own? Could be an excuse for spring cleaning as you load up your Zip drive with old files. Your archived material could be another person's net art.

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Get ready for the first conference of the Electronic Literature Organization, a group that promotes, you guessed it, e-literature. Entitled "State of the Arts," the gathering takes place from April 4-6 at the University of California, Los Angeles. The lineup of speakers and panelists is impressive, consisting of heavyweights in the field, including novelist Robert Coover. Some questions that will be addressed: "What approaches are writers and authors taking to the creation of electronic literature?" and "What new genres and forms are beginning to evolve?" Program titles indicate that the events will also be quite technical...offerings include "Navigating the Borders: Edges and Interfaces" and "Technique: Tools for Cross-fertilization and Interactivity." Another angle to be looked at: the academic point of view, at "Role of Universities and Colleges," which promises to examine how e-literature is shaping into a critical discipline.

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How often have you gone to an art gallery, stared at a seemingly blank canvas, and said, "huh?" Sometimes minimalist painting has that affect on viewers, yet when one dares to explore beneath the surface, it's possible to appreciate the spare, meditative elegance for what it is. Australian artist Sean Kerr brings the minimalist movement to net art with "dot," a web-only component of "beat\_LESS," a six-part series of minimalist works of art. Those skeptical of the minimalist movement will appreciate the playfulness of "dot," which has an element of irreverence and humor. In a realm where less is less (in terms of complex visual effects), Kerr is either breaking new ground or criticizing ground broken by abstract painters. Or both. Hmmm...

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"Invisible Maps," by Chicago's Paul Catanese, is a meditative series of Shockwave animations. As beautifully illustrated as a story book, replete with images that look like they've been culled from antique tomes, this interactive work of net art reminds us of how we create our own markers and symbols infused with personal meaning as we go forward with life's journey. The open-endedness and sheerly atmospheric nature of "Invisible Maps" is reminiscent of earlier net art works that appeared on the groundbreaking Hell.com, an online destination for net artists and net art fans in the know.

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This past weekend, the 25th Sao Paulo Biennale opened in Brazil. Maybe you won't be jet-setting down to Brazil to see the show, which is on view through June 2 -- but no worries. This year, the exhibition features net art, presented online, among its offerings, both by artists from around the globe as well as by artists from the host country. The international segment, curated by Rudolf Frieling, features work by Italy's Francesca da Rimini, America's Kristin Lucas, and China's Shi Yong, among others -- clearly a very diverse mix. And the Brazilian portion offers up pieces by the likes of Giselle Beiguelman (already known internationally, and whose earlier work is pictured), Lucia Le

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"Same Old Dreams" is a work of net art that mimics the randomness of nightmares and reveries. Using the "memorypool," a database containing diverse texts and links to image, sound, and animation objects, the site generates spontaneous dynamic web pages much as one's subconscious composes whacky dreams. Content in the memorypool is accessed when you move or click your mouse or simply load a web page. Ever wish you could control someone else's dream? With "Same Old Dream," you're invited to do so by contributing original texts, which will be stored in the memorypool to perhaps be incorporated into a future online dreamscape.

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Wonder how new media art and its place in today's culture is perceived in Greece? Check out artzine, the first bilingual (as in Greek and English) e-journal on the cross-section of art and technology, featuring such articles as a profile on net artist Jenny Marketou (whose work is pictured). OK, so the current issue on view is a bit outdated, but the editors are planning a special issue on Art and Politics, to be launched this summer. That said, why not contact them with your news and views on net art? Submissions of up to 3000 words on relevant topics are welcome. (The deadline is April 7 for text, April 30 for art). Contact Kalliopi Koundouri for details: kalliopi@artzine-journal.com or via phone at +30 10 7486668.

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Andruid Kerne's CollageMachine uses an intelligent streaming collage browser that "learns" while you peruse the web, proactively seeking content that most likely will intrigue you. How? By analyzing sites for specific media components, which when found are fed into the collage. However, design tools are provided so you can alter the collage. CollageMachine figures out your design preferences as you make modifications, and then goes ahead to help you create the collage. You can begin by submitting particular web addresses or engage in a search. Or you can simply start with a "curated" set of data.

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