When this site first appeared, WA artists and commercial galleries feared and shunned the Internet. However, there was one local artist who embraced the opportunities the world wide web had to offer. In 1997, concurrent with his exhibition in a Broome Gallery, Jeremy Holton posted images of his exhibits on his own web site (Peach Tree Gallery), which had been on-line for two years. At that time I was writing art reviews for The Sunday Times and wondered if it would be possible to review an exhibition on-line. Permission to review a 'virtual' exhibition was sought from the then arts editor, Alison Farmer, and backed by the fact that I'd seen sufficient examples of the artist's work in reality to make a qualified judgement of the on-line images. Permission was granted and I believe that column was the first art review of an exhibition viewed via the web to be published in the WA press.

How times have changed. In the past four years many WA artists and most commercial galleries have gone on-line. The fear of having images stolen has slowly been replaced by the prospect of enticing buyers. Around the world artists, art collectives and galleries are publishing contemporary and experimental images on-line, and getting feedback from a global audience. Many independent artists realized the Internet was a passageway through the constructs of their parochial hierarchies to an egalitarian, eclectic and truly international art world. Artists who have a preference for a particular style or technique, one that may be dismissed in their own town, are able to communicate with kindred spirits, exchange ideas, discuss media and methods, get constructive criticism, and find creative nourishment on-line. It doesn't matter if like-minded artists are located in Brazil or Britain, isolation is no longer the tyrant.

This is all well and good as world-wide dissemination of ideas and images augurs well for the increase of experimentation with, and development of, The New all the while encouraging the respect for, and preservation of, The Traditional in Visual Arts. It is also refreshing to see proof that the practice of art in our small corner of the world is no better or worse then in any other niche on the globe. The Internet displays how different galleries and artist collectives in a variety of nations are prepared to exhibit the mediocre along with the excellent in response to their local demographics.

WA galleries soon jumped on-line seeing it as an inexpensive way to promote artists and exhibitions. An electronic publication assures them their information is more easily accessible to a broader market. Galleries beyond the metropolitan area were first to employ the net; posting a few images by each artist they represented on-line perhaps to cater for distant clients. Now most WA galleries, metropolitan and regional, present whole exhibitions on well constructed sites, prior to the opening. The latest step was taken when one Perth commercial gallery announced it will be closed to the public between January and March 2003. Monthly Online Only Exhibitions will be posted on their web-site but entry to the physical gallery during this time, will be available by appointment only.

I admit to being a big fan of viewing local and international art on-line, it keeps me informed and adds to my appreciation of art. But I worry if the web is being embraced too heartily. It would be a loss to the Fine Art and Craft scene if the viewing public were discouraged from entering the white cube, visiting public and commercial galleries to see original works of art in situ. Full-screen images of paintings are fine but you can't be enticed by the texture of the medium or get lost in a five foot square canvas when the work is shrunk to fit a smooth surfaced 15" monitor. You can't appreciate the multiple viewing points of a sculpture projected on a flat screen or the nuances of a blown glass vessel when it's trapped in a plastic box. And too often the statement made by an original work of art gets lost in the translation to html.

As much as I believe the Internet is a boon to all those involved in and appreciative of the visual arts, my hope is that it will encourage the 'real' experience, not replace it with a 'virtual' one. Five years ago I had to argue for permission to review an exhibition via the Internet, now it is considered an acceptable way of viewing and reviewing new work. I do hope it will not be the only path available in the future. It has often been suggested to me that images be included in reviews posted on this site but I have purposely refrained from doing so in the belief that if a comment is posted while the exhibition is current, it might encourage visitors to the site to go out and visit the venue, to view the real thing. Five years from now will that be possible?