Art Works As Organic Communications Systems

The electronic communities engendered by computer networks are organisms that develop and evolve identity through communication constructs created by users and system hosts/designers. Creative use of computer networks from a user standpoint implies experimentation with forms of communication such as conversation, theatre and storytelling. Creative use of computer networks from a systems standpoint investigates constructed environments for user interaction and community building, linking previously disparate communities. This article describes creative activity and systems initiated on and by the Art Com Electronic Network (ACEN) and discusses the use of computer networks as a means of creating art as social process—as a means to evolve public imagination and engender operative new realities.