| Participation has become a dominant theme in both digital environments and in contemporary art. This thesis explores how the distributed network systems of the Internet affect the production, distribution and reception of participatory art. Through an examination of the website http://www.learningtoloveyoumore.com(2002), this thesis will demonstrate that vernacular art-making practices are extended by participatory frameworks and amplified by distribution on the World Wide Web. This study will be focused through the discussion of vernacular creativity movements and the use of instructions in artistic production. This thesis conducts an evaluation of the history of participatory art and how collaborative methods of art-making developed throughout the history of recent art. This study investigates how participation within the Learning To Love You More project is enriched by an ethic of sharing on the Internet. Finally, this thesis contends that the act of publishing on the Internet is a political one, and encourages public engagement with art. |
