The Famous Internet Artist

The Famous Internet Artist is a work of digital flux persona. In many respects, we are all famous Internet artists. Technology has made it possible to develop digital personas that live within an alternate reality. This newfound space provides the opportunity to conceive, craft, and edit endless versions of the self. With each passing day, we add additional paragraphs to our digital biographies. These life chapters unfold in front of anyone with access to a search engine. Indeed, we have all reached a new level of notoriety, fame, and digital agency. Nonetheless, there is a by-product embedded within this technological excess. The boundary between truth and fiction has grown increasingly nebulous. In addition to crafting personal identities, Internet users are persuaded to socialize with an infinite population of fluctuating personas. These interactions are typically viewed as superfluous. However, they also allude to the continuous transformation of our anthropological sense of identity. The Famous Internet Artist is a work of e-literature documenting multiple interactions between the artist, Tony Jones, and various authors of unknown origins. The work examines the demarcation between flux persona and faux persona. As both aliases communicate with each other, the margins between fiction and reality are continuously blurred. Tony, the alias, offers the promise of collaboration, fame, and creative expression. The spam personas seek friendship, love, and travel funds. The materialization of the digital flux persona lingers within each character’s attempts at persuasion. As a consequence, readers are encouraged to consider the authenticity of their own relations within a complex panorama of digital identity. In exhibition form, The Famous Internet Artist will be conducted as a reading between the original author and the anonymous authors. The work requires a gallery space that is open and available for live reading. The original author will conduct a live reading. The anonymous authors will be spoken by a text-to-speech platform through the use of a laptop or amplifier. The reading will be conducted as a call and response between the original author and the mediated personas. Additional methods of distribution for The Famous Internet Artist include web, zine, and print formats. If space is provided, these additional forms of distribution will be incorporated into the performance exhibition. The project is also suitable for gallery exhibition