Unseen Discussions: artist@hotmail.com

For the recent exhibition Greater New York: New Art in New York Now, the Education Department at P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center organized a unique email-based discussion. The museum set up an e-mail address for most participating artists using the free Hotmail.com service. These addresses were displayed on P.S.1's website, where each artist had his/her own Web-page, and on sheets available in the museum lobby; and most importantly, the addresses were printed directly on to the wall labels in the galleries. This established a platform where public and artist could discuss the work and exchange ideas. The forum was easy, free, international, immediate, private, and almost intimate. The museum relinquished its monopoly over the interpretation of the art by opening up unmediated channels of communication between artist and public.