Reflecting on Life on the Internet: Artistic Webcam Performances from 1997 to 2017
Abstract
This essay introduces webcam-based artworks by Ana Voog, Isaac Leung,
Petra Cortright, Ann Hirsch, Kate Durbin and Molly Soda. It discusses common
features of webcam art, artistic motives, the performance of online identities,
interaction with the audience, oversharing and censorship, as well as the major
shifts caused by the Web 2.0 and its e ects on webcam art. Since the commercial
launch of the webcam in 1994, users have been able to connect their real-life visual
appearance to their online identity. Ana Voog broadcasted twenty-four hours a day
live from home. Isaac Leung explored cyber sex, Ann Hirsch reflects on female
online self-representation, and Kate Durbin performs as a cam girl on the video
sex chat platform Cam4. Molly Soda engages with the expression of emotions.
Petra Cortright checks out the default e ects of her webcam and uploads the video
to YouTube with misleading tags. Whereas early webcam artists explored the
self-broadcasting of daily life activities, including nakedness and sex as a part of
daily life, the next generation of webcam artists had a di erent approach. They used
the webcam and the new possibilities of the Web 2.0 to explore di erent online
platforms, their audiences, their social norms, and forms of self-presentation in the
digital age.
