New media has been described as the “mixture between existing cultural conventions and the conventions of software.” New media allows for access to content anytime, anywhere, on any digital device, as well as promotes interactive feedback, participation, and community creation around the media content.
Wikipedia is a great example of new media in that it takes an old media, such as a encyclopedia, and transforms it into something new and modern by allowing every user to have access to the content and offering them the ability to contribute information. This is where that mixture of existing conventions and new software comes into play. New media allows for this marriage of past forms of media and new interactivity. Even old forms of media, such as television, can be considered new media if they add an element of interactivity or participation.
Interactivity is a major component in new media in that it replaces the traditional “one-to-man” archetype with a new “many-to-many” model.
Types of New Media
New media is a vague term to mean a whole slew of things. The Internet and social media are both forms of new media. Any type of technology that enables digital interactivity is a form of new media. Video games, as well as Facebook, would be a great example of a type of new media.
It's interesting to note that the term new media can often describe a type of media that will eventually lose its label of “new media,” which some say is the case with the Internet.
How New Media is Used in Art
New media art is simply art that utilizes these new media technologies, such as digital art, computer graphics, computer animation, virtual art, Internet art, and interactive art. New media art is very focused on the interactivity between the artist and the spectator.
New media art developed in the '60s when artists began incorporating new media into their art with video technologies and multimedia performances. The genre expanded in the '80s when artists used the development of computer graphics into their pieces. The '90s saw artists delving more into Web-based art forms, and even some artists used virtual reality as a way of expanding their art pieces.
Furthermore, advances in biotechnology have also allowed artists like Eduardo Kac to explore DNA and genetics as a new art medium, taking the notion of new media art in a whole new realm.
