September 30 – October 1, 2005 | Badcuyp, Amsterdam
The Art and Politics of Netporn was the first major international conference on netporn criticism. It presented multiple perspectives on the growing global immersion in pornographic web-based media. An aim of the conference was to discuss the potential of art and critical research in times of heightened information surveillance, filtering and censorship. The research presentations, art projects and performances viewed netporn as a complex network, with impact and growth, like any industry or media operation. Conference presenters addressed the ‘schizo’ climate of hype and censorship, focusing on the ethics and aesthetics of digital media environments and activities such as blogging, webcamming, chatting, p2p porn, live journals, confession boards, mailing lists and zines.
All aspects of the netporn economy and history – from pro-porn/anti-porn wars, fluctuating economic business strategies and nation-state politics, to Internet governance models and filtering devices – are affecting everyday modes of sensing and understanding media and sexuality. This event opened new doors and perspectives for those interested in art, scholarship,
technology, the netporn industry and the public debate around it.
themes: the rise of the netporn society, porn meets brain: netporn theory, porn as a technology of the self, netporn, filtering and censorship.
speakers: Mark Dery, Susanna Paasonen, Ayah Bdeir, Matteo Pasquinelli, Sergio Messina, Julie Russo, Metka Zupanic, David Boardman, Manuel Bonik, Rogerio Lira, Indira Reynaert, Mikita Brottman, Matteo Stocchetti, Paul Mathias, David Sterritt, Michael Goddard, Barbara DeGenevieve, Mireille Miller-Young, Jason Wee, Shu Lea Cheang, Rodney Jones, Adam Zaretsky, Koen Leurs, and Katrien Jacobs.
website: To subscribe to the netporn mailinglist, or access documentation of the two conferences or download a pdf copy of C’Lick Me: A Netporn Studies Reader go to www.networkcultures.org/netporn.
credits: The Art and Politics of Netporn was organised in collaboration with the Institute of Network Cultures, Katrien Jacobs and Matteo Pasquinelli. Concept: Katrien Jacobs. Supported by the Amsterdam School for Cultural Analysis.
follow up: On June 2, 2007 Amsterdam’s Paradiso hosted C’Lick Me, the 2nd International Netporn Festival. An international manifestation where scholars, artists, producers and critics presented and discussed the social, political, ethnic and artistic aspects of Internet pornography. The event was divided into a day program, an evening with dinner and screenings, and a performance night. Concept: Katrien Jacobs, Marije Janssen and Matteo Pasquinelli. See www.networkcultures.org/clickme.
publication: Katrien Jacobs, Marije Janssen and Matteo Pasquinelli, C’Lick Me: A Netporn Studies Reader, Amsterdam: Institute of Network Cultures and Paradiso, 2007. For a full description and how to order or download a copy see the publication page.