Difference between revisions of "The Thing"

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Mailing list and server for electronic culture based in [[New York City]].
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[[Image:thing.net.png|thumb|350px]]
  
Founded by [[Wolfgang Staehle]] in [[1991]] as an electronic bulletin board system (BBS) that functioned as a forum for artists and cultural theorists who dialed in via modem to discuss their work and exchange ideas. In [[1995]], Staehle migrated The Thing to the World Wide Web, and in subsequent years expanded its services to include Web site hosting and development.
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Since its inception '''THE THING''' has provided a flexible and supportive venue for developing, presenting and distributing innovative forms of on-line activism, media art and cultural criticism.  
  
Network: [[The Thing Cologne]] (*1992), [[The Thing Vienna]] (*Nov 1993), and others.
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{{TOC limit|3}}
  
; Articles
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THE THING was founded in 1991 and became a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) corporation in September 1998. Prior to that date it was supported entirely by the dedication and enthusiasm of a community of volunteer activists and artists. Even with these limited resources THE THING quickly gained a reputation as a center for new media practice and theory, social forums and on-line art projects.  
* Joshua Kopstein, [http://www.theverge.com/2013/3/15/4104494/the-thing-reloaded-bringing-bbs-networks-back-from-the-dead "'The Thing' Redialed: how a BBS changed the art world and came back from the dead"], ''The Verge'', 15 March 2013.
 
  
; Links
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Initially, in 1991, THE THING took the form of a dial-up bulletin board system (BBS) that facilitated discussion and experimentation, primarily within the New York City arts communities. In 1995 THE THING launched its website http://bbs.thing.net, expanding and intensifying its efforts through initiating individual and collaborative efforts with an extraordinary variety of emerging and established artists.
* [http://www.thing.net/ Home page]
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Over the last three decades, THE THING has played a seminal role not just in fostering a generation of network-oriented activist, artists, critics, and curators, but also - and equally important - searching out ways to interconnect their diverse interests and activities. [https://info.thing.net/ (2022)]
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== Network ==
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* [http://www.thing.desk.nl/ The Thing Amsterdam], founded by [[Walter van der Cruijsen]]
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* [http://www.thing.ch/ The Thing Basel], founded by Barbara Strebel and Rik Gelles
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* [http://www.thing.de/ The Thing Berlin], founded by Ulf Schleth
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* [[The Thing Cologne]] (*1992), founded by Michael Krome
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* The Thing Düsseldorf, founded by Jörg Sasse
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* The Thing Frankfurt, founded by [[Andreas Kallfelz]]
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* The Thing Hamburg (1993-1994), founded by Hans-Joachim Lenger
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* [https://thing-hamburg.de/ The Thing Hamburg] (2006-2009), founded by the local art association "THE THING HAMBURG"
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* The Thing London, founded by Andreas Ruethi
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* The Thing New York (*1991), founded by [[Wolfgang Staehle]], [[Gisela Ehrenfried]], Max Kossatz, et al.
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* The Thing Stockholm, founded by Magnus Borg
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* [[The Thing Vienna]] (*Nov 1993), founded by Helmut Mark and Max Kossatz
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* [http://www.ecn.org/thingnet/frameset.html The Thing Roma], founded by [[Marco Deseriis]] and Giuseppe Marano
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== Publications ==
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* ''[https://the.current.thing.net/ The Current Thing]'', eds. Caspar Stracke and Keith Sanborn, New York: The Thing, 2020, 120 pp, [[Media:The Current Thing 2020.pdf|PDF]].
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== Literature ==
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* Dike Blair, [https://www.thing.net/~lilyvac/writing34.html "His Thingness: Interview with Wolfgang Staehle"], ''Purple Prose'' 9, Summer 1995, pp 133-135.
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* Barbara Basting, [http://www.xcult.org/texte/basting/01/thing.html "David gegen Goliath. Ein Besuch beim New Yorker Webprojekt 'The Thing'"], c.2000. {{de}}
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* Verena Dauerer, [https://www.taz.de/!1169975/ "Ein guter Ruf ist nicht gut genug"], ''Die Tageszeitung'', 31 May 2001. {{de}}
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* Inke Arns, ''Netzkulturen'', Hamburg: Europäische Verlagsanstalt, 2002, p 52. {{de}}
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* Christiane Paul, ''Digital Art'', London: Thames & Hudson, 2003, p 111.
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* Josephine Bosma, [http://www.medienkunstnetz.de/themes/public_sphere_s/media_spaces/scroll/ "Constructing Media Spaces"], in ''Media Art Net 2'', Vienna: Springer, 2005.
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* Mark Tribe, Reena Jana, ''New Media Art'', Cologne: Taschen, 2006, pp 22-23.
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* Verena Kuni, [https://www.germanistik.ch/scripts/download.php?id=Abfall_fuer_alle "Abfall für alle? Einige Gedanken zum Netz als digitalem Archiv der Wissens- und Kulturproduktion"], in ''Literatur und Literaturwissenschaft auf dem Weg zu neuen Medien'', eds. Michael Stolz, et al., Bern: Germanistik.ch, Verl. für Literatur- und Kulturwissenschaft, 2005. [https://www.germanistik.ch/publikation.php?id=Abfall_fuer_alle] {{de}}
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* Edward A. Shanken, ''Art and Electronic Media'', London: Phaidon, 2009, p 50.
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* Joshua Kopstein, [http://www.theverge.com/2013/3/15/4104494/the-thing-reloaded-bringing-bbs-networks-back-from-the-dead "'The Thing' Redialed: how a BBS changed the art world and came back from the dead"], ''The Verge'', 15 Mar 2013.
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* Susanne Gerber, [[Media:Gerber Susanne 2016 Crossing-Over of Art History and Media History in the Times of the Early Internet with Special Regard to THE THING NYC.pdf|"Crossing-Over of Art History and Media History in the Times of the Early Internet—with Special Regard to THE THING NYC"]], in ''[http://libgen.rs/book/index.php?md5=4DE50A76AA8FA42A34C9A88683EEAF00 Social Media Archeology and Poetics]'', ed. Judy Malloy, MIT Press, 2016, pp 309–332. [https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/9780262034654.003.0022]
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== Links ==
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* [http://www.thing.net/ Website]
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* [http://old.thing.net/ Website] (1995)
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* [http://bbs.thing.net/ Website] (1997)
 
* [http://post.thing.net/node/4160  The Internet Before The Web: Preserving Early Networked Cultures], March 8, 2013 panel discussion at the New Museum of Contemporary Art, featuring archivist and historian [[Jason Scott]], and [[Wolfgang Staehle]] founder of The Thing BBS in conversation with Digital Conservator Ben Fino-Radin
 
* [http://post.thing.net/node/4160  The Internet Before The Web: Preserving Early Networked Cultures], March 8, 2013 panel discussion at the New Museum of Contemporary Art, featuring archivist and historian [[Jason Scott]], and [[Wolfgang Staehle]] founder of The Thing BBS in conversation with Digital Conservator Ben Fino-Radin
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* [https://thethingis.thing.net/ The Thing Is], exhibitions, Berlin, 2022, [https://www.panke.gallery/exhibition/the-thing-is]
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* [https://thingbbs.rhizome.org/ The Thing BBS Message Archive] on Rhizome
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* [https://anthology.rhizome.org/the-thing The Thing at Net Art Anthology]
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* https://mailchi.mp/rhizome/phantom-threads-the-thing-bbs-revisited
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* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thing_(art_project) Wikipedia]
  
 
[[Category:Media culture mailing lists]]
 
[[Category:Media culture mailing lists]]
[[Category:Art servers]]
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[[Series:Community servers]]

Latest revision as of 20:55, 21 September 2023

Thing.net.png

Since its inception THE THING has provided a flexible and supportive venue for developing, presenting and distributing innovative forms of on-line activism, media art and cultural criticism.

THE THING was founded in 1991 and became a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) corporation in September 1998. Prior to that date it was supported entirely by the dedication and enthusiasm of a community of volunteer activists and artists. Even with these limited resources THE THING quickly gained a reputation as a center for new media practice and theory, social forums and on-line art projects.

Initially, in 1991, THE THING took the form of a dial-up bulletin board system (BBS) that facilitated discussion and experimentation, primarily within the New York City arts communities. In 1995 THE THING launched its website http://bbs.thing.net, expanding and intensifying its efforts through initiating individual and collaborative efforts with an extraordinary variety of emerging and established artists.

Over the last three decades, THE THING has played a seminal role not just in fostering a generation of network-oriented activist, artists, critics, and curators, but also - and equally important - searching out ways to interconnect their diverse interests and activities. (2022)

Network[edit]

Publications[edit]

Literature[edit]

Links[edit]