Most people accessing the net still operate with local concerns. This becomes even more problematic when there's underlying hidden agendas such as regional boosterism or anti- Americanism or whatever.

The real *net.art* artist is just beginning to emerge from the practice of those engaging the Internet and yet the manner in which these artists are *patronized* is entirely from local concerns. Indeed, a position of being non-European, non-American is simply another regional position.

There remains a problem for the artist who is chosen to be in an exhibition due to regional affiliations. One can never determine if it's the quality of the work or the color of your skin that makes the difference. Perhaps in order to progress beyond regional concerns, we need to address them at first. I personally find regionalism another sort of nationalism and just about as boring as racism, or sexism or any other *ism*. The reason why I've been attracted to net culture is because it extends beyond those limitations.

To get back to my vision of the real *net.art* artist . I imagine the person to be a nomad whose only real stabile home, identity and nation is on the Internet. To a certain extent this is happening right now with all of us *net.art* artists. There is of course always some curator who has to set up an aesthetic fiefdom (how remarkably boorish they all are), including and excluding those artists who don't fit or don't fit into whatever theme or theory they are promoting.

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– G.H. Hovagimyan