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Media arts on the Internet

August 27, 2004

For those who work with digital media, or provide instruction on its use, www.netzspannung.org offers a comprehensive archive - particularly in media arts. The platform has been enhanced with new sections devoted to media arts research and education as well as research tools.
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View the rooms of the Kremlin as they looked 500 years ago. Visit synagogues demolished during the Third Reich. Bring the ruins of antique cities back to life. All of this is possible - at least virtually. These three forays into past cultural heritage are projects that exemplify the link between the arts and research. And all three can be explored in the new media arts research section of netzspannung.org. This comprehensive Internet platform was developed by researchers at the Competence Center MARS (Media Arts Research Studies), part of the Fraunhofer Institute for Media Communications IMK near Bonn. A new, extended version of the site was introduced two months ago.

Besides the extensive media arts archive, netzspannung.org offers a new section focused on learning. It contains material for instruction in media arts and supports design in this field. Teachers and educators can choose from a selection of practical instruction models. In the same section, arts students can find a clear introduction to the Java programming language. In addition, a video archive presents the latest academic discourses in the arts, media theory and computer science.

The platform's research tools have also been extended. Two of these tools - Timeline and Semantic Map - are themselves applied media arts. "The Timeline tool positions the content chronologically," explains Monika Fleischmann, head of MARS. "Theoretical discussions can then be examined in relation to projects that artists completed during the period in question." This enables study groups to put together content to meet their own needs. Fleischmann says that the Semantic Map differs in that it's designed to encourage associative discovery. "The Semantic Map creates clusters of related content and displays it like a topographical map. This gives users a birds-eye view of all content." When a new project is added to the platform - a feature offered by the Community area - a neural network analyzes the content to determine if it fits into an existing cluster. If so, the cluster is expanded with the new project. If not, a new cluster is created in which all projects are newly arranged. Unexpected relationships between projects become clearly visible.

The German Federal Ministry for Education and Research has funded the establishment and development of netzspannung.org for more than five years. To ensure continued development and operation of the platform, researchers are seeking a new sponsor willing to support this extraordinary knowledge base.

Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft