This manifesto was created in April 2010 as part of an internship that I did at CU Boulder Colorado with Net Artist Mark Amerika. I chose the polemical form of the manifesto as it is, for me, a great bridge in between art theory and art practice. My goal was to bring them even closer by using as less text as I could. Ideas that go through the manifesto are also related to the Digital Humanities Manifesto 2.0 from Stanford University Humanities Lab although I've tried focusing more specifically on history of art. I thought that their manifesto was amazing, but that the form wasn't reflecting the content. As Amerika always tells his students : "do what you mean and mean what you do", I've tried to do what I mean by creating this "very crafted" manifesto. How can we make art history and theory through images, sounds, texts and videos? What does it mean to be an art historian in the digital era? How craft, which has always been important for me, influences my theoretical practice? How do we craft the Web and offer the "user", as he is no longer a reader, to craft it? What would be the principles for a Net art historian? The many references to history of art are important to understand what I'm trying to do here, although the spectator can experience the whole thing without being aware of these references.

The project is also a part of my ongoing thesis entitled "the effect of presence : An interpretation model for hypermedia art", in which I'm reflecting about creative theory making in history of art.

Launch the manifesto  

The manifesto was shown as an installation for the event Invasion at the VAC (Visual Art Complex), CU, Boulder. I've tried to make bridges in between the "meat space" and the virtual one. My goal was to find a way that the spectator feels both welcome and threatened to sit and experience the manifesto.