Performances in cyberspace by Gunter Berahzos

Performances in cyberspace by Gunter Berahzos begins by talking about the emergence of the digital culture, specifically he references computer art and video. He tracks the evolution of computer art, beginning with sound and ending with the motion picture. He states that “…thousands of artists who had abandoned the easel or stage in order to focus their creativity on cyberart. “. He is talking about the shift that occurred when we saw the emergence of the computer as an art form. He discusses the reasoning behind many of these artists’ transitions to the computer. Saying that many of them switched over because they saw rapid development in the field, mixed with unlimited artistic possibilities. While this is mainly true, we see that computer artists are held back by the programs available to them, and the programs themselves are only as creative as the person behind them.  He then discusses the viewer participation in this new digital age of art. Stating that this new form of art thrived off of this viewer participation and that no other medium was able to facilitate this kind of interaction. He then goes on to talk about virtual realities and the reasoning’s behind people using them. Stating that for the most part people don’t like the life they are handed, as such we see thousands of individuals going to VR games to create a “new life” for themselves.  He then discusses the context of videogames in this mash of new art movements, stating that they walked hand in hand with VR since 1990, and that games are able to foster a desire to improve which has advanced the technology of the time leading to improvements in other aspects of new media art. Finally he goes on to speak about post humanism and how 10% of the western world is now a cyborg. He states that we have become so heavily dependent on this new technology that if it were to be taken away, we would simply perish and float off into the abyss. He as well speaks about the potential benefits to this increased reliability on technological advances stating that they could one day improve the quality of life for everyone worldwide.