Downloading the Commons: Its Role in the Distribution of Art in the Digital Era

The Internet and other forms of new media have assumed an increasingly important role in the production of art. Although a tool for creating works, the Internet, also provides a crucial means for locating and distributing digital artworks and digitized versions of distribution, as well as the manner in which new technologies have reconfigured the relationship between the production and consumption of art. In particular, the Internet's impact on the emergence of global, interactive audiences is explored. The wider adoption of Internet-based technologies for arts production, consumption and distribution includes peer-to-peer file sharing; revolutionizing the way in which audiences access music, video and graphics. Peer-to-peer sharing also raises issues surrounding access to art in the public domain. The rise of Internet technologies, in many instances, has resulted in the disappearance of some traditional, non-Internet or print-based forms of distribution. In this context, the debate about the democratization of art through digital practices becomes a central theme in the discussion of art production in the present era.