E-mail art (sometimes called "Electronic Mail Art") is simply any kind of art sent by e-mail. It includes computer graphics, animationss, sceensavers, digital scanss of artwork in other media, or even ASCII art. When exhibited, e-mail art can be either displayed on a computer screen or similar type of display device, or the art can be printed out and displayed.
There is an ongoing debate among some artists as to just what the relationship of e-mail art to mail art should be considered to be. In addition to questions about whether this is even a valid or meaningful genre of art, as clearly almost any kind of digital-based art can be e-mailed, thus making it into "e-mail art," has been particular criticism of e-mail art by tradition-minded mail artists when the e-mail art has been perceived to be akin to mass media. Other criticisms of e-mail art from a mail artist's perspective have focused on the lack of dimensionality of the attachment, the lack of intimacy as opposed to real mail [1].
Many of the criticisms overlap those levelled against the Internet and World Wide Web in general.
Some artists have also collaborated by sending e-mail attachments back and forth, a process known as Photoshop Tennis; the surrealist game of exquisite corpse has also been adapted to e-mail. (These have been paralled by collective musical compositions done by e-mail[1].)
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