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//'Intermedia' content:
There is a growing intersection between the creative disciplines of
performance,art and DJ culture within 'the new' creative environment
or what has been dubbed the 'intermedia' scene (i.e. Design Festa, Harajuku,
Tokyo). This movement was born during the '60s, when photography,video
and digital began to be fused in installations creating a new concept
of multi-dimensional artistry.
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In the on-line world we see the emergence of events such as live-stock (.org.uk) and creative fusion between record labels and 'arts.org' entities. In the off-line world, 'live' performance within arts centres are slowly growing to emulate club/festival spaces, with DJs becoming 'artists' with an ensuing 'blur' in theatrical performances - ballet meets drum 'n' bass for example. Further examples of this trend include the developments led by design orientated organisations such Fuel, Warp Records, Tomato and Designers Republic. Two forces are driving this 'intermedia' scene. The first, is that the multi-media environment and cross-cultural pollination has meant that consumers have become increasingly fascinated and demanding in terms of 'recombiant' art forms and delivery mechanisms. The new 'cultural consumer' which roams the Internet, no longer communicated en-masse, is willing to cross the boundary between popular and high culture, meaning that one can no longer assume what the consumer wants from the cultural experience. The second, is the Arts Council's 'New Audience' programme which is largely symptomatic of the way in which the 18-34 audience must now be addressed. Accompanying this trend, is the intersection in once disparate audiences. The Sonic Arts movement for example, represents the way in which music has become elevated to an 'artistic' practice, blurring the line between aural stimulation (music), performance and the cinematic experience.
No longer just a product, creativity in the on-line world is transformed into an entertainment channel. Beyond this there is a growing process of 'homogenisation' in content emerging within the on-line environment, between what is a magazine and film site, along with a progression towards generic lifestyle hubs. For example, Skinny (text, film and music), Warp Records (records and film), Ninja Tunes (records and visuals), Internet radio stations such as 2kool4radio.com and shorts channels such as Protein TV. Creative and media enterprises are also undergoing a process of convergence through strategic alliances, modifying their core proposition and rapidly taking on a new form. Fashion, music and film - the qualitative interactive multi-dimensional lifestyle brand searching for a target audience.
//Corporate subcultural emulators: Unlike in other models of popular culture which corporates have tried to emulate, major media companies are now in position to quickly copy what started as an independent sub-cultural movement directed to a niche market. The barriers to entry are rapidly being intensified in this increasingly competitive market because the same type of production technology can now be disguised and used across different cultural sectors. For example, Sony's platform.net remains unbranded (adopting the non-corporate discourse of the Internet) and museums are curating digital art exhibitions, the later raising the question of whether net art is dead. Within this new framework, creativity becomes 'information' (a commodity) with ensuing arguments around the 'age of reproduction', with success dependent upon the number of visitors to a given site (used in negotiating recording contracts) and in turn affecting its economic value.
© Matt Hardisty, 2000, 2001. All Rights Reserved,