The One Million Points of Light Project is just one of those dispersal exercises. Launched in the UK during 2006 as a collaborative, online, project, it now has almost 300 people taking part and is being viewed in 92 countries world-wide.
A possible 10,000 people can participate by visiting the project's website and "switching on" a block of light. They are then invited to link this 'point of light' to a website of their choice and so offer another '"place to visit". They have to pay to do this (£2.50) - to 'own' a luminous rectangle on a global network.
Anthony White, known for his pioneering ‘Money Series” paintings which inspired many of the current Internet sale projects, commented online “It is not art unless people are prepared to pay for it.”
So is this art, a money making scam, a positive collaboration between diverse groups and individuals, a network of fascinating places to visit on the Internet or a data gathering exercise?
The Project aims to run until 2010 when the illuminated blocks of light will be used to generate a three-dimensional holographic work - a virtual space in three-dimensions constructed from a virtual space online.
At the moment the visual appearance of the project is an 'aesthetic train crash' - a disparate collection of luminous 'chunks'. But it is constantly changing as each new participant 'switches on'.
If you think it is art (or not) you can express your view by casting an anonymous vote here, and view background details about the project here.
www.OneMillionPointsOfLight.com
Argentina
Australia
Austria
Belarus
Belgium
Bosnia-Herzegovina
Brazil
Bulgaria
Canada
Chile
China
Christmas Island
Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Colombia
Costa Rica
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Dominican Republic
Egypt
Estonia
Finland
France
Georgia
Germany
Ghana
Greece
Guatemala
Hong Kong
Hungary
Iceland
India
Indonesia
Iran
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Ivory Coast
Japan
Jersey
Kazakhstan
Latvia
Lebanon
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macedonia
Madagascar
Malaysia
Malta
Mexico
Moldova
Morocco
Namibia
Netherlands Antilles
Netherlands
New Zealand
Niue
Norway
Pakistan
Peru
Philippines
Poland
Polynesia
Portugal
Romania
Russian Federation
Saint Helena
Saint Vincent & Grenadines
Saudi Arabia
Singapore
Slovak Republic
South Africa
South Korea
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
Thailand
Turkey
Tuvalu
Uganda
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom
United States
Uruguay
Uzbekistan
Vietnam
Virgin Islands
Yugoslavia
Zimbabwe
