World of Female Avatars: Net Art and its Perks

            The Net art that I will be interpreting and critiquing is titled “World of Female Avatars”. This particular piece of artwork deals with thoughts that women have about their body, whether that be about how beautiful they feel or how much control they feel they have in everyday life. When you first arrive at the site,  “World of Female Avatars” is spelled out at the top of the page in caps and the color pink. Next you see floating pink circles drifting slowly downward. These circles represent a woman’s thoughts. If you click on one it will display a thought written by a women about her body.

            The use of the Internet is powerful with this particular piece of work because of the secret nature of the Internet. Women can view this work from their homes and not worry about who is viewing them while they view the work. They can relate to the thoughts that other women have written down and are sharing anonymously about their bodies. Also the Internet is available to many people at once. A larger audience is able to view the work at one time rather than a select few at a gallery. If this site was projected up on a wall in a gallery however, it may have a very different feel than it does when you view it here on the internet. When projected on an entire wall it may give these women more of a voice because it is more of a statement than the online counterpart.

            What is interesting about this work is that it is dynamic and interactive. Women from around the world can submit a statement about how they feel about themselves and if you choose the right pink circle you can see these statements. The site is always changing and being updated by newcomers making it dynamic. The fact that you yourself can submit a thought and the fact that you can click on the pink circles makes it very interactive and collaborative.

            Since the artwork is constantly moving and not static, I would have to note that it is a nonlinear piece of net art. The circles and text are defined by lines but the piece as a whole I would consider to be nonlinear.

            This artwork is based on the concepts of women, sexuality, objectification, body image and self esteem. The use of pink for the title “World of Female Avatars” and the circles on which you click is very symbolic of the female gender. The images that come up with the statement from those who have contributed also have to do with the female in today’s society; some of these images include dolls, females with wings, artworks with the female body, etc.

            I personally think this website is great for what it brings to the table socially.. Perhaps this website will help a woman to start a dialogue with herself about why she does not feel comfortable in her own body or why she loves her body so much. I like the fact that this is women relating to other women. A woman can view this and find comfort in it. I think it works well as a therapy, revealing how you feel to yourself and maybe having the courage to change if you are unhappy.