Rachel Winchester – WordPress as a Paintbrush: Internet Art Then & Now

by Rob Watson | Oct 19, 2023 | Meetup News | 0 comments

Rediscover the original Internet Artists! Learn from their innovation and fearless approach to new technologies.

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ABOUT THE PRESENTATION

As we venture into the future, we lean on history. The original Internet Artists, or Net Artists, working in the early 1990s, created artworks using the internet. Before the New York Times got online, artists like Mark Amerika, Olia Lialina, and JODI were using the internet as their artistic medium (demos included). For them, the internet was a new frontier – novel and unexplored. But, this was before WordPress and before most of us were truly aware of the internet and its capabilities. Newer tools like full-site editor provide a true no-code experience to website creators everywhere. Now, more people have the opportunity to create online and actively participate in the internet landscape. Plus, everyone can start an internet company and create internet art.

But what do we actually do once we rediscover the original Internet Artists? We learn from their innovation and fearless approach to new technologies. Artificial Intelligence is a new dilemma for artists of all kinds, especially those already working in tech. These trailblazers offer us invaluable lessons in innovation and a fearless approach to embracing new technologies, in particular, Artificial Intelligence (AI). By examining the pioneering spirits of the original Internet Artists, we uncover a wellspring of creativity, adaptability, and resilience that can empower today’s artists to harness the potential of AI.

ABOUT THE PRESENTER

Rachel Winchester, or Win for short, is an independent product designer at Visual Webmaster L. L. C and the founder of the Focus Assistants. Catch her hosting the Philly WordPress Meetup.

Win began her career by teaching herself digital marketing, participating in WordPress meetups, and creating arts-related websites for fun. She deepened her knowledge by completing a UX Design boot camp while building websites for artists, academics, and entrepreneurs. Recently, she completed a contract with DigitalCube, working on their WordPress hosting products, client websites, and other user initiatives. Drawing on her art history and interpretation theory studies from Swarthmore College, Win is always looking to collaborate with other technologists, creatives, and entrepreneurs in innovative ways.