DIY or DIE

D.I.Y. or DIE: an Upgrade! New York, Turbulence and Rhizome Net Art Exhibition
Upgrade! International Oklahoma City :: IAO Gallery :: December 1-31, 2006


In celebration of their respective ten-year anniversaries, Turbulence and Rhizome collaborated with Upgrade! New York to present an exhibition of works that they commissioned or presented over the course of their histories. The term D.I.Y. (or do-it-yourself) expresses an independent ethos, one that encourages cultural producers to create and distribute work outside mainstream or commercial systems and often in direct confrontation with them. In this case, D.I.Y refers not only to works in the show, many of which create alternate models for collaborative artmaking, community building, and media distribution, but to the organizations themselves whose missions--to commission and present digital art work--had no tradition or cultural niche to call upon. Historically, net artists have included audiences in their work; many created calls to action that compel their audiences to intervene and contribute their own ideas, stories and histories. From re-purposed commercial software to homegrown digital knitting applications and works that offer alternative constructions of identity and nationality, D.I.Y. OR DIE presents a cross-section of Internet-based art that, much like punk and grassroots activism has the urgency and invention required to change existing standards of art practice. About Upgrade! New York: Upgrade! New York started in 1999 as a casual meeting of net artists in an East Village bar. Since than, it partnered with Eyebeam to promote dialog and discussion between new media makers in the area. Upgrade! New York's website include an archive of presentations by many of the leading new media artists in the US. About Turbulence: Turbulence proudly celebrates ten years of service to artists. One of the "premiere sites for net art", it has commissioned over 110 net art works ($450,000) and exhibited and promoted numerous artists' work through its Artists Studios, Guest Curator, and Spotlight sections. As networking technologies have developed mobile capabilities, Turbulence has remained at the forefront of the field by supporting the hybrid networked art forms that have emerged. Its networked_performance blog, has become an essential resource for artists, scholars and the general public. About Rhizome: Rhizome supports contemporary art that uses new technologies in significant ways. Our programs include commissioning, exhibitions and journalism; we also maintain resources such as opportunities listings and two online archives, one of digital art, one of new media art-related writing. In 2006, we are celebrating our tenth anniversary with a festival encompassing events, exhibitions and performance around New York as well as online programs and participatory projects. << back	100
		Average Shoveller Carlo Zanni (2005)	Farklempt Jason Van Anden (2005)	Graph Theory Jason Freeman (2006)	Knitoscope Testimonies microRevolt (2006)	N.A.G. Jason Freeman (2003)	To Be Listened To MTAA (2005)

		Big Box Reuse Julia Christensen (2006)	getawayexperiment.net Marcus Neustetter and Nathaniel Stern (2005)	Imprimatur Andy Deck (2005)	knitPro microRevolt (2005)	OilStandard Michael Mandiberg (2006)	Website Unseen MTAA (1999)

		Eternal Sunset Adriaan Stellingwerff (2005)	Google Will Eat Itself UBERMORGEN.COM, Alessandro Ludovico, and Paolo Cirio (2005)	iTunes Signature Maker Jason Freeman (2005)	mimoSa midiatatica.org (2005)	Panel Junction Andy Deck/ (2005)

		Fallout, Part 1: An Open Repository Ricardo Miranda Zuñiga (2005)	Grafik Dynamo Kate Armstrong and Michael Tippett (2005)	Knit++ xurban.net (2002)	Misplaced Reliquary Paul Catanese (2005)	SWIPE Toolkit Preemptive Media (2004)