The BYOB crowd at Spencer Brownstone

It seems as of late that any substantial physical conglomeration of internet artists results in varied, sweeping oft-faulty judgments about the state of making art on or about the web. Unfortunately, Rafaël Rozendaal’s New York presentation of BYOB seems to also have fallen into this abyss garnering hot air from some usual suspects–notably, Art Fag City under the penmanship of Will Brand, seems to think BYOB a missed opportunity, whereas Tom Moody has used the show as an excuse for some good old fashioned shit talking. I wonder–could BYOB exist between an IRL platform for social networking and a curated exhibition? Depending on your definition of “curate” (and we shall not venture down that rabbit hole), Rozendaal arguably didn’t curate the exhibition whatsoever. Rather, he organized a fairly impromptu, low-ish maintenance get together of artists, perhaps in hope of opening a meeting point for some much-needed discourse surrounding internet art. BYOB and the art shown within it, simply put, is not exactly revelational or groundbreaking–and that’s okay. As evidenced by most pluralist, community-generating presentations such as the 179 Canal exhibition at White Columns or the recent Collective Show at Participant Inc., the content and quality of work shown in such exhibitions is relatively superfluous to the political stance encompassing it. Most important here is the gesture that–perhaps in the face of web-based social networking–physical meet-ups and community building are vital as ever.

Some sceney photos from the fray below.

Some mingling gear and beers

The crowd against projections

Brian Droitcour looking professional

Artists Matt Gaffney, Kari Altmann, and Travis Hallenbeck

BYOB artist Artie Vierkant

Tom Moody and Marcin Ramocki looking flustered

Jeremy Bailey taking participation to the next level. Be sure to check out his recent submission to Rafaël Rozendaal’s One Question Interview

Ryder Ripps peddling digital frames to fellow BYOB artists for a mere twenty five cents. Ripps told me he was clearly the most successful participant because he “made the most money.” (Which totaled approximately $1.25)

Mai Ueda and friends belting out some odd bird-sounding jams. Not really sure what to make of this performance.

And the man who brought us BYOB, Rafaël Rozendaal!