Greene, Rachel. (2004). Internet art. (Book). London ; New York : Thames & Hudson.

This outstanding book should be THE starting point for anyone interested in learning about net art. It is concise (at 200 pages), comprehensive (with an excellent bibliography and appendices), contextual (situating net art in the timeline of modern art from Dada in the 1910-20s to the present), and most importantly, engagingly written and lavishly illustrated.

Brøgger, Andreas. (2000). Net art, web art, online art, net.art? (Article). ON OFF. (Website).

As the title indicates, Brøgger attempts in this brief article to summarize and clarify what people mean when they describe artwork as “net art” and to tackle the semantic question of what to call it. The article is also worthwhile as a brief introduction to some of the first net artists to achieve notoriety.

Ippolito, Jon. (2003). Ten Myths of Internet Art. (Article). Vectors: Digital Art of Our Time. (Exhibition catalogue).  New York : New York Digital Salon, curators.

Assistant Curator of Media Art at the Guggenheim Museum in New York at the time he wrote the article, Ippolito provides a curator’s point of view on net art and the difficulties of collecting it. The article also dispels misconceptions and acts as an eloquent defense of net art from those who do not consider it a legitimate genre.

Blais, Joline, and Jon Ippolito. (2006). At the edge of art. (Book). London : Thames & Hudson.

This is an excellent, well-written and copiously illustrated examination of the new forms of art that have arisen in the late 20th and early 21st century.  Net art is presented in context with digital art, CGI, videogames, graffiti, hacking and culture jamming, among other genres.  While not the best starting point for researching net art per se (as it emphasizes similarities between types of new art rather than the differences between them), this book contains enough seminal examples of net art to sufficiently whet the appetite.

Lab 404. Internet-Based Art. (Website).

The entire Lab 404 site is worth exploring for its wide-ranging coverage of art, design, music and media in the digital era.  However, the newcomer’s first stop should be the Internet-Based Art page which contains around 50 links to frequently referenced artworks and critical commentary.