Amechan : the creation and packaging of identity

  • Lehan Ramsay

Western Sydney University thesis: Master's thesis

Abstract

This paper and the accompanying project Amechan explore the construction of 'virtual' identity on the Internet. It explores historic art trails and how they lead to the new frontier of web art, moving from the traditional arts to television, video to the Internet. It explores the need for alternative forms of art practice and art dissemination in contemporary society and it looks at what makes web art unique. It also explores the alternate realms of reality; our physical world, and the new world of the virtual. And how this has affected our notions of self, privacy, and narrative. And finally, it explains the construction of the Amechan site, both theoretically and practically. The paper has been divided into three parts. The first sites the work within current art practices. The second places Amechan into the context of the author's art practice. The third section looks at the elements and themes contained within the Amechan site, which was a serialized 'homepage' created by a fictional character, a diaristic narrative of image and text. The site initially ran from February 1-July 31, 1999. The section also discusses the ideas that have informed the site in less discernible ways. It looks at the theoretical and practical concerns of creating and maintaining the site for the 6 months it was initially operating, and at the site as 'installation'. It also introduces an email correspondence between the fictional character of 'Amechan' and an unknown correspondent.
Date of Award1999
Original languageEnglish

Keywords

  • Internet
  • art
  • virtual
  • web image
  • video image
  • Japan
  • identity

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