A group of geeks is clustered around a monitor giggling. All art, good or bad, inspires dialogue. From the Brie and Bordeaux quaffing gallery set to the folks cruising crushed velvet images of tearful clowns at the corner Seven-Eleven. In discussing art, heartfelt reactions and pretentious soliloquies do us great favors. They provoke people to engage one another and exchange ideas.
Computer art is no different.
Working in isolation is a fine thing. However, the downfall of secluding oneself is that fresh perspectives are cut off. Instead of producing art that reaches out, isolationists may create navel gazing introspective tomes and then go nuts and cut off an ear. Computer artists can easily suffer the same fate. Fortun-ately, media artists understand that the production process requires input from others.