When researching Second Life (SL) I had come across a lot of articles discussing SL in relation to it being a marketing tool and a money making avenue. What is also discussed but not as highly is the ‘art’ created in SL. I am using the term ‘art’ lightly as it is a highly opinionated word.
I am beginning this blog by opening with my opinion: that although what can be created in SL is amazing, it does not hold any creative credentials or recognition due to the online virtual nature of the medium.
As mentioned in my previous blog-SL is open source software, leaving people with the ability to change and alter the source code to their desire. It is a space in which everyone can gain access with the right to create.
Directly sourced from the official SL site Linder Labs (where you can also find more information about creating in SL) states that,
“The Second Life world is a place dedicated to your creativity. It's about dreaming of something one moment and bringing it to life the next. Everything in Second Life is resident-created, from to the strobe lights in the nightclubs to the car (or spaceship) in your driveway.”
(Second Life, 2008, ¶1)
With the motto “Your world, your imagination,” from the beginning Linder Labs advertises that SL was made for creativity.
To begin my study I looked at famous projects in order to get a visual of what has been created in SL.
Below are a collection of snap shots from well known projects and environments.
City of
Famous Dresden Gallery in
Inside the
Although these are duplicates of real world places, they demonstrate the level of detail and realism the user has/can achieve.
After seeing only a view examples of what had been created in SL I instantly changed my view. The
In an article on Wired by Andrew Curry it discusses the opening of Dresden Gallery and its impact on art museums and technology. He explains that accessibility to the internet, that people who can’t or wouldn’t normally visit the gallery in
In the article by Second Life: A “Global Creative Context” of the Future by Tish Shute discusses SL creative commons team including artist Cao Fei (China Tracy in Second Life). Cao Fei explains at a conference that
“… Second Life was a place for artistic expression that gave Chinese artists unrestricted access to an international audience”
(Shute, 2007, ¶4)
Not only does it open up new access avenues for creativity but defines international physical boundaries.
SL has also caught the attention of organisations including The New Media Consortium (NMC) who are
“..an international 501(c)3 not-for-profit consortium of over 260 learning-focused organizations dedicated to the exploration and use of new media and new technologies.” (2007, ¶1)
A major focus of the organisation is the study of creativity in Second Life. In August 2007 NMC presented “The symposium of creativity in Second Life.” It was a week long event containing conferences and classes from fashion to creative teaching techniques.
“The symposium provided a place where beginners could practice basic skills, more advanced builders could refine their techniques, and practices centered on the educational use of virtual worlds could be shared. The symposium was designed as a blend of hands-on instruction, self-paced practice time, demonstrations, performances, discussions, and peer review.”
The week-long symposium included six major components:
- “Studio Sessions — self-paced, hands-on studio sessions in machinima, fashion, sculpture/modeling, and virtual photography with access to expert instructors;
- Breakout Sessions — highly interactive 90-minute sessions on topics like basic and advanced building concepts, avatar design, scripting, machinima, photography, creative teaching techniques, and more;
- Featured Sessions — keynotes, panel discussions, tours;
- Learning Exposition — a showcase of easy-to-learn techniques, links to educational sites, and video learning;
- Parade of Sims — a set of tours led by the people who built and created some of the most sophisticated islands in Second Life;
- Social and Arts Events — a special series of exhibitions and performances intended to be both fun and to stimulate your own creativity.”
(nmc,2007, 1)
From this example of an organisation it is evident that there is a community supporting this type of art-it has been recognised.
After asking a few people about Second Life- the general opinion was that people who use Second Life had no life and that they didn’t understand how people spend time and/or money on it.
It was evident from this common perception (also noted in kcb201 tutorial) that people know little about SL when they voice their opinion. (my original opinion included)
After learning more about SL I then proclaimed that it is actually a positive program, offering artist a platform for promotion, interaction and exploration.
In my research I came across an interesting blog devoted to art in the SL called Second Life Art News. In this blog it contains current competition, reviews of environments and productions, openings of art galleries and exhibitions, instillations, news and must see places -to name a few. Through users snap shots of ‘must see places’ from SL such as ‘Dyna Fleur’ (See image below) it is evident that there is a community out there supporting this creativity. This blog demonstrates that like in the real world there is a community surrounding this type of art. In other words SL art is just another type of art form only that it is more tangible and flexible. It even has coined its own word SLart ®, which has even been copyrighted.
SLart ® magazine is an online space for critical reviews and journals of the virtual arts. A book has also been created by SLart® as a documentation of art in being created in SL.
Slart® is another useful resource for finding artists, works, galleries and exhibitions. Established artists like Bathsheba Grossman also known as Bathsheba Dorn in SL, are also utilising the medium.
The sculpture below was created by Bathsheba Grossman in SL.
After learning more about her other projects from her website 'bathsheba' I realised that if a well established artist like Bathsheba Grossman is using SL to explore ideas, then it must in turn complete some artists’ needs for a creative platform/space.
In an interview with SLart® she descries how SL offers the artist more possibilities in design than would in real life, that would be physically or financially apossible. (Slart®,2007, ¶2) Below I have included a short passage from the interview in which she discusses her art works impact.
"Slart®: How do you feel about the impermanence of art you make here?
Bathsheba: It's another respect in which SL is perfectly opposite to RL for me. My RL work is both very archival in its physical form – the metals I use are silicon bronze and stainless steel, which are very robust and do not corrode – and has a very good shot at immortality in the digital form. Digital artworks have been the most long-lived ever since the invention of writing."
Due to the nature of trends and developments, Bathsheba also identifies that the SL is also intangible and unstable medium prone to trends, technology and being outdated. Consequently this type of art is not as stable in existence as other physical arts are may be. (Slart®, 2007, ¶8) For example- painting.
Being a virtual medium, the question of rights and ownership must also be mentioned but will not be investigated in depth in this blog. The question of ‘did this person really create this?’ will always be an issue due to the nature of internet and online communities.
As stated before my opinion changed immediately upon beginning my research, as I discovered communities and organisations supporting SL creativity. Through online articles, snap shots and SL official site it has demonstrated that Second Life art or Slart® is just like any other type of art; To create you need skill, imagination and a medium.
To finish I would like to leave you with a video called SynaesthAsia. When watching this video, just imagine if this could be possible in the real world- and how just how amazing it could be. This is the aim of SL; to explore what could be impossible.
Reference
Curry, A., (2007), Dresden's World-Class Art Gallery Duplicates Itself Online, Wired magazine, CondéNet Inc,
http://www.wired.com/culture/art/multimedia/2007/08/gallery_dresden (accessed 06.0.08)
NMC, (2007), About the symposium,
http://www.nmc.org/symposium-on-creativity/about (acessed 06.05.08)
Second Life, (2008) The Creations,
Second Life, (2008) Showcase,
http://secondlife.com/showcase/sub_page.php?showcase_category=1&blog_category=1
Shute T., (2007) Second Life: A “Global Creative Context” of the Future, Ugo Trade blog,
http://www.ugotrade.com/2007/06/18/second-life-a-global-creative-context-of-the-future/ (acessed 06.05.08)
http://slartmagazine.com/Bathsheba_Dorn_Interview.htm (acessed 06.05.08)
1 comment:
I found your blog; ‘Creativity in Second Life’ to be a very insightful and engaging entry. You demonstrate exceptional research and personal investigation in relation to the art created within virtual communities. Your entry catalogues a series of ideas and concepts that I had no previously considered, and as a result feel motivated to research and explore.
I found in your discussion, that you highlighted a very interesting argument surrounding ownership within online and virtual communities. You addressed the concept of quality and creative credentials, and similarly, you rose a very insightful point. If something is created in a virtual community such as Second Life, then who has ownership of said intangible? Is it the creator? Is it the software developer? Or is it mutually shared by all participants within the online environment? And if ownership can be determined, then what possible effects can this have. It raises all sorts of ethical and legal implications in terms of reproduction or selling for financial gain. Therefore you highlight a need for a revision of or development of a new economy suited to the digital media environment, which is a strong personal interest of mine.
Overall your blog provided me with a new insight to the function and production of online and virtual communities. I found your entry to be very insightful and also aligned to several of my own personal interests within the new media environment.
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