Web art has been "accepted" by traditional institutions, critics and thus the general public because it "fits" into our culture and society, a society which has been groomed by postmodern ideals. Thus web art has not been subjected to "cultural limbo" as photography had for a century and a half by the constraints imposed by modernism.
The postmodernists embraced the idea that technology, especially reproductive mediums, would radically affect the perception of art. The rejection of traditional notions created a strong affinity towards new genres for postmodernists. The support given by postmodernism to technological art forms has played an important role in redefining the value of web-based mediums today.
The nature of web-based art facilitates this acceptance. The infinite reproducibility of the web art form reaffirms postmodern deconstruction of the "unique existence" of the art object and thus its exuded authority and authentic value. Web art has crossed the boundaries of what was once the "unreproducibility of the aesthetic original" and introduced a world that exists free from the concept of either the original or the copy. Web art also elevates the viewer to the level of interactive creator and thus promote the process of artistic realization. Because of the interactive nature of web art, the viewer has ultimately replaced the artist, thus confirming Barthes' theory of "death of the author".
The existence of web art in a non-physical, temporal realm also contributes to the rejection of the modern value of the spatial art object. The audience understands the virtuality of this technology as it
pervades
daily life on the net. Finally, the inherent makeup of the Internet as a catalog of information, coded language, and raw data, allows web art to present art as text and equally text as art. The limitless interchangeability of text and web art constitutes the revelation of postmodern theorists that the meaning of art can only be found through the relationship of the "world outside the text that is nevertheless inscribed in the text".
Postmodern ideals set forth the current society's methodology of valuing art and thus new art forms. It is because web art so accurately mirrors the canons of postmodernism, that it is such a favored form in the art world. Web art's acceptance and popularity exist because it is a concept as much as it is a "tool". Web art, like photography, is an instrument reiterating the values posed by postmodernists in order to reject traditional mediums. The opposition of tradition powers our society forward to seek out new ways to explain old ideas and explore new questions that pervade our environment.
单选题
According to the text, photography had been subjected to______.
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】解析：推断题。根据关键词photography had been subjected to定位到第一段最后一句。本句提到，网络艺术并没有像摄影艺术那样，被现代主义教条所约束，而尘封长达150年并被打入“文化监狱”。由此推断摄影艺术曾经受到过文化限制．所以C项“文化限制”为正确答案。A项“文化作品”、B项“文化遗产”和D项“文化标准”均不符合题意。
单选题
Which of the following is true according to Paragraph 2?
单选题
The word "pervades" (Para. 4) most probably means______.
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】解析：含义题。原文为The audience understands the virtuality ofthis technology as it pervades daily life on the net．考生需要知道pervades的主语it指代前面的this technology．结合上一句，可知this technology指的是web art，因此此处意为“网络艺术______ 网络上的日常生活”。结合全文以及常识可知，网络艺术在网上流传很广，所以A项“传播，遍及”为正确答案。B项“依赖”、C项“承担”和D项“挖掘”均不符合题意。
单选题
What can we infer from the last paragraph?
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】解析：推断题。由题干定位到最后一段。首句提到，后现代主义理念为当今社会提出了评价艺术的方法。由此推断，应该是后现代主义者提出了评价艺术的方法，所以A项正确，其中的put forward相当于原文中的set forth，approach相当于原文中的methodology。B项“网络艺术能被普遍接受是由于它的不可复制性”与原文It is because web art so accurately mirrors the canons of postmodemism，that it is such a favored form in the art world不符。C项“网络艺术从艺术上说，更是一种概念而非工具”与原文Web art’s acceptance and popularity exist because it is a concept as much as it is a“tool”不符。D项“网络艺术为否定传统媒介的唯一工具”属于过度推断。