Cyber Art

Why is it that art is only attributed to objects, and not to people or life? 

Jezzy's Creations

The first gallery I chose to visit is actually one which I was lucky enough to see created from start to finish. I first met Jezzy and her friend Luns (who are from Australia in RL) when I was born in SL. They showed me the ropes in terms of communication etiquette and also how to handle weapons being used against me from griefing. I was paranoid about being griefed in SL, and wanted to make sure I had lots of information on it so I would understand what was happening. Anyways, this was really really interesting to see the building being created. I think the building itself is artistic. It was created by Luns and features helix spirals and multiple floors. 

The art created by Jezzy is unaltered Second Life photography. It is important to note that it is unaltered because when viewing some of the photos, it is easy to assume there has been some sort of manipulation. However, just like in real life, there is clever manipulation of lighting and shadows, as well as coloured skins, eyes and other features. Tali Rosca is another SL photographer and the has helped define the conventions of SL photography. Basically, what most photographers aim for is that the picture be recognizable as a SL picture. That is, they don't want the photo to be too realistic to corporal bodies. While it would be possible through digital manipulations in programs such as Photoshop and Gimp, it is not something which is wanted. It takes away from the picture. It is a picture of SL and that is a quality that must remain, at least for portraits. If there is any manipulation, it is just to smooth out rough polygons. Anything that is photographed must adhere to the conventions of SL, and while they are more flexible then in real life, there are still conventions. Jezzy charges money for portraits and has financed the building of her gallery from it. The photos are quite revealing, and seem to show a darker, ethereal theme in her work. 

VMAO (Virtual Museum of Art)

I found this art gallery prior to being assigned the blog work and was excited to be able to share this often unheard of art style. I got into a stint of looking up art related to Marilyn Manson on the Internet, because I am interested in him as an artist. I began to search for Marilyn Manson skins on Second Life and my search led me to an art gallery full of work by Gottfriend Helnwein. He did the artwork and photography for the Golden Age of Grotesque album by Marilyn Manson. 

I believe that this is a step in the right direction. Although there is still authorship, it is the transformation of art into fluid information which is easily accessible online. I would have never been able to see these galleries in real life, and this really feels close to actually walking around a gallery. I can stop and zoom in to see the details of the pictures, check them out from different angles and perhaps the best feature is I can come and visit as much as I want for free. Also, I can easily share this with my friends who have SL and they can experience the art also.

I do enjoy the feeling of presence one gathers from art galleries in real life, however this is amazing to experience when it is all or nothing.  This is a move in the right direction, away from Adorno and more towards the exchange of information and essentially experience. It seems to me that Adorno was afraid of change and was comfortable in tradition.  He was comfortable in the idea of elitism. He was not comfortable with polysemy and the idea of spreading art to audiences. We must not predicate the original, but rather encourage manipulations and fluidity in art. The VMAO is an extension of this.

Greenies

The next and last installation is Greenies. It is a world that is huge in comparison to everything else in the world. That is,  a kitchen sink is the size of a house, and dressers are sky scrapers. Matches are torches and indeed, this is a form of art installation in Second Life, one that involves the audience as a direct participant in the piece. It asks for interaction and invites the user to become a part of the art installation by performing tasks to bring the piece to life. The hypertextuality of cybertexts directly enables this type of performance art and translates effortlessly into an electronic medium. This is so far beyond Adorno and the culture industries. It is a new reality in conjunction with this reality.