Page 117 - Fundação MEO - Net Arte no Triângulo das Bermudas

35. See Ministro (2021). other applications with an implicit sense of the online.
The “open work” character of net art also reappears,
demonstrating its capacity for creative reuse in the form of media
archaeology. An example of this is the recovery of Ana Hatherly’s
poem “Isto foi uma experiência (o computador como mestre)” by the
poet and researcher Bruno Ministro in 2021 . Ministro shows how
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this type of digital project can exist in multiple genealogies, and also
contributes to a reflection on how their preservation can be closer
to processes of reinterpretation than those of traditional conserva-
tion. For other artists, such as Felipe de Vilas-Boas, Internet makes
it possible to evoke the atmosphere of the early Internet in projects
such as Le fusionnaire (2023), which involves the collective
creation of a participatory, multicultural dictionary based on the
French language. There is also an increasing number of Portuguese
artists, such as Raquel André, Rui Filipe Antunes and Adriana Sá,
who are using the Internet in artistic fields such as theatre, dance
and contemporary music, further expanding its creative nature. The
connectivity that characterises the Internet and the data collection it
facilitates has also given rise to generative artworks, such as those
created by Rudolfo Quintas and Rodrigo Carvalho.
Digital art is still alive on the Internet, even if its methods, aesthe-
tics and purposes change over time. In Portugal, the countercultural
nature of net art has been mild compared to other cultural contexts.
In general, artists have shown an interest in the creative possibilities
of the Internet on a temporary or sporadic basis, sometimes anec-
dotally, as part of their individual trajectories and artistic journeys.
Nevertheless, the Internet has been, and still is, a temporary playing
field for Portuguese artists, who generally develop their artistic
careers through more traditional mediums and who, with a few excep-
tions, do not recognise themselves as net art artists. This chronology
is a contribution to a first outline of the critical mapping that remains
to be done. We hope that the memory of those who played a leading
role in the early years of net art in Portugal will be revived, and that
other events can be included in this panorama, making it possible to
progressively strengthen the memory of digital art in the country.

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Sofia Ponte & Luis D. Rivero-Moreno
Sofia Ponte & Luis D. Rivero-Moreno