Page 31 - Fundação MEO - Net Arte no Triângulo das Bermudas

15. For the instability spelling of terms referring to Internet-related artistic
of terminology related to practices . For example, the techno-artistic community
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artistic practices and the
Internet, see the text by in Brazil, which was quicker to systematise its artistic
Ponte & Rivero-Moreno in this
publication. production in this field, not only employs the term arte
16
17
16. See Nunes (2003). cibernética but uses web arte and web art inter-
17. See Anderaos (1997). changeably. The array of existing designations reflects
18. See Malina (1998, p.8). the experimental and spontaneous dynamics inherent
19. According to Barranha to the medium – something Roger Malina describes as
(2018), this is the most “part of a fundamental process of acculturation” in
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commonly used term to refer to
these practices. contemporary society. Thus, it falls upon each resear-
20. I first applied the “Bermuda cher, artist, or curator to determine their preferred
Triangle” metaphor to analyse
artworks in an exhibition terminology, situating their choice within the historical
context in Ponte (2020).
processes that underpin it.
In the study and in the exhibition, both terms “net arte” and “net
art” were intentionally used. Two key reasons underpin this decision:
first, it reflects the process of acculturation that artistic practices
related to the Internet . No linguistic error was committed, as the
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term “net”, as illustrated in Figure 2, is fully assimilated into the
language, and there is no doubt about the legitimacy of the word
“arte”. Second, it acknowledges the sense of intrigue that both terms
provoke.
A borrowing and a Portuguese adaptation, “net arte” incorporates
the direct translation of the second term of the expression into
Portuguese orthography. Adopting it serves a dual purpose: on the
one hand, it sparks interest among those who had never considered
it (a vast majority); on the other, it piques the curiosity of those who
have been hesitant to (re)recognise the country’s techno-artistic past
as an interesting historical, artistic, and cultural source.
The “e” in “net arte”, which at times appears and at
others vanishes – much like the Bermuda Triangle
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– enables this dual reading: it simultaneously identifies
a phenomenon with external origins and invites reflec-
Fig. 2 Screenshot of the website of the tion on how it was absorbed internally. The visual
Dictionary of the Portuguese Language
of the Lisbon Academy of Science. identity of the exhibition embraces this ambiguity
See page 14.
See page 14.
by using “net arte”, which often appears as “net art”
depending on the digital environmental interaction,
as shown in Figure 3, granting equal visibility to both
terms. This concept is vividly expressed in the work
of designer Mariana Rosa, who was responsible for
the exhibition’s visual identity.

Fig. 3 Screenshot of the Net Arte no
Triângulo das Bermudas
exhibition website. See page 15.
See page 15.

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Sofia Ponte
Sofia Ponte