Alpha Auer has written a really interesting (IMHO) article over on the NPIRL blog called “The Work of Art in the Age of Computational (Re)Production ” where she describes the artwork of several RL artists that she likes and then talks about how there’s still something unsatisfying in the state of art today.
From the above examples it is quite obvious that the human creative spirit is alive and well in the year of 2009. And yet to me something quite fundamental is not right. And it isn’t just me who thinks so either: I have shared countless conversations with colleagues (including the ones whose output is shown above) on this matter, and we are all more or less in agreement that a very vital component of artistic practice is no longer present with us today. Or at least not immediately and obviously so. Does artistic output still serve the intrinsic purposes of humanity? Or has art simply lost its cause?
She then talks about art in SL and how some specific examples she gives get actually used in “real” SL life more of the time than RL artwork that is trapped in a gallery or museum ever does. She points to some ways in which SL artists may be in a better position in relationship to the public than RL artists are. Well… that’s my interpretation, i’m curious to know what the BIW readers think.
I’m not sure how to say this, but I think there is something really key in the economic model of the art production. The economic model mirrors the degree to which the art is connected to the society that it comes out of. I mean, part of being a painter (or sculptor) with an ambition to have that be your only job (rather than having a day job too) is getting used to the idea that you’re making extreme luxury items meant to be purchased by rich people to impress their friends with how clever they are. I could live with that, were I ever to be so lucky – i’ve been practicing how witty i could be at the cocktail parties…… OR… if you make performance art or installation art or whatever you are supported by institutions or you’re supported by governments- they have their agendas also of course- does your work then exist to impress other governments? Anyway- there’s nothing wrong with that and I’d be delighted if some government or institution wanted to support my artwork but it is my least favorite part of the whole system. I’d like it alot more if money didn’t exist. (sigh)…. But I think what I don’t like about it is that it somehow seems moribund – Alpha’s article talks about art that is potentially “commercial” that is to say it has a large audience, it excites lots of people, not just the 1% of super rich people that buy contemporary art, but is also, importantly not brain-dead. – Maybe a broad audience in SL can enjoy the same qualities of thoughtfulness and originality that only rich people and big institutions can afford to buy in RL?
I firmly believe that SL will eventually see a whole new economic model for art.. don’t know what that is yet, but I think its coming.
l’art pour l’art’
Left by sowa on January 9th, 2009