Comparative essay

  Writing Task What we now know as the "Internet" began in the 19605 when the US military funded the development ofARPANET (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site., the technical basis for what became the Internet. For the next two decades, use ofthe Internet (as it became known) was primarily restricted to the military and to the academic community who used it for the transmission and exchange oftext-based data. It was not until the 19905 and the development ofthe World Wide Web (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. that use ofthe Internet became widely popular. The development ofthe World Wide Web (www) facilitated the distribution of information and, in 1993, with the introduction of the Mosaic web browser and its protocols for using graphic images, the WWW entered a period of rapid development and expansion. Artists quickly took note of this new technology and the possibilities it offered as a medium for creating art and as a means for distribution. This assignment focuses on "Net Art," a distinct form of art that emerged from the technological revolutions of the Internet and WW. Net art is work that is created solely to be experienced on the WWW.     Write a two-part critique in which you discuss and compare two ofthe Net Art sites listed below. Be sure to end your paper with a final paragraph that summarizes your conclusions about the two Net Art sites you critiqued. Your critiques ofthe two net art sites should each be concise but thorough. Mark Tribe (of Brown University) has developed a handy guide for critiquing art works. While not all of the "steps" in the guide may be applicable to net-based art, many of them are. Use the guide (see below) as a helpfulway to examine and consider your response to the sites you critique. Properly cite all sources of supporting information in both in-text citations and a bibliography appended to your discussion. Select two ofthe following net art sites for this assignment. The works listed below are each very different and may, in some cases, challenge your concepts about what may rightfully be termed a work of art. Some ofthe sites may require plugins, or may work more effectively on one or another operating platform. Ifyou encounter a site that doesn't work on your computer, move on to another or try another computer. One ofthe greatest challenges for artists working in this form (Internet-based art) is the rapid obsolescence ofvarious technologies and how it affects the functional longevity oftheir work. Please note that the descriptions provided here are excerpted from the individualwebsites and should be considered as quotations. Balloons of Bhutan (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. by Jonathan Harris: "Balloons of Bhutan is a portrait of happiness in the last Himalayan kingdom. In Bhutan, happiness is no laughing matter - academics study it, spreadsheets track it, billboards tout it, conferences debate it, and every yea r, flocks of foreign intellectuals travel to Thimphu to share their ideas about what exactly makes a person ha ppy."