With “openX,” Ars Electronica ‘97 offered network artists a spacious temporary laboratory for the development of new forms of presentation.

“openX” was the installation of a large-scale atelier designed by the Ars Electronica Futurelab in an effort to create an exemplary space in which to display the work of artists working in and on networked systems. This walk-through network was an experiment in developing forms of presentation of artistic output and activities that go beyond the realm of object and event and merge with the process of artistic production itself.

Under the influence of the digital media, the idea of the artist as sovereign creator has become increasingly irrelevant. And along with artists’ conceptions of themselves, the way they go about their work has also been changing radically—the work of art has been replaced by the process, as the artist relinquishes his authority over “his” work. This mode of working is being radicalized by “net-workers,” as evidenced here by their activities in conjunction with the “openX” project.