Drawn to Wap promise
Michael Fitzpatrick explores Wap's potential as a digital canvas
Artists have colonised the internet with some success, bar the odd unfortunate collision with Flash graphics. Now it is the mobile's turn. Granted, there is not much you can do with a low-res, 4 x 4, murky monochrome screen but this has only proved a challenge to some new-media artists. For the cutting-edge work, as you might expect from the nation at the vanguard of the mobile revolution, you must go to Japan. But even the rather sad world of Wap has its moments.
What do exist in their plenty are icons designed for mobiles - simple images meant primarily as logo-like graphics to display when the phone is idle: surf dudes, the Simpsons and the like. More serious-minded artists are keen to explore this mobile-as-self-expression avenue.
Giselle Beiguelman's collection of Optical Wap Art http: //tagtag.com/wopart miniatures are extremely apt visual haiku designed to exploit the limitations of space and resolution of the mobile. Her two-tone style lends itself well to the tiny screen and, as the Brazilian web-artist explains, this is partly why she is attracted to the medium.
"It has the same mood the web had some years ago. It's very promising but nothing really works that well. This mix of low and high-tech really excites me." Beiguelman hasn't entirely moved to the mobile web but incorporates aspects of mobile technology in her web art.
"It is a kind of art to experience in between, while doing other things. It destroys this old atmosphere of art as contemplation. The limits are technological. But they will be overcome soon."
Her words are not idle speculation. Wap's suitability as a digital canvas may become more apparent with the introduction of a general packet radio service (GPRS) network, or 2.5 generation as some call it. Promising faster download rates and an always-on connection, it could be the gateway some artists have been waiting for.
