Temporary Home in Second Life
So, while we’re working out the logistics for opening an entire Second Life island for Washington, DC artists, art events, and arts organizations to utilize, I’ve moved some of my own stuff into a small scratch space to test architectural concepts.
There isn’t much there right now that you can’t find on flickr, but I’m building a virtual take on the Ofrenda / Day of the Dead installation Angela, Paivi, and I built at the Art Outlet show. The movie streams into Second Life and is surrounded by some virtual concept art.
You can find the space and the exhibit HERE
Below is a snapshot of me sitting down, watching the movie and getting a feel for what needs to be built next:
There is something disquieting about “Second Life” and hordes of people plugging themselves into these virtual worlds and living whole other lives. Is this the first step toward living our lives in boxes, immersed 24 hours a day in fanciful worlds? The first staggering lurch toward post-humanism? How about improving the REAL WORLD, folks, doing something tangible (and real) about pollution, hunger, disease, children who don’t live beyond five years of age?
There’s something disquieting about excess of all types:
TV, eating, sex, evangelism, etc.
All things done without moderation are generally bad.
One of the particularly cool things about art in Second Life is that it -doesn’t- exist completely in a virtual space and CAN be used to improve others’ lives.
We have brought educators and other panelists talking in DC to a worldwide audience in Second Life (the event was broadcast in) consisting of artists and other educators. There was open discussion and everyone got a lot out of it.
There is also a great deal of real-world education that occurs in virtual spaces like this, and a number of people with medical problems have been aided and found their lives both improved and enhanced through this extension to their physical bodies.
In terms of other practical uses, DHS was considering using the space to test first responder procedures in cases of national emergencies.
There are a lot of things going on in the world that are scary right now, Second Life isn’t one of them.
I’m far more concerned about the rising level of ignorance and simple, emotional reactions to complex problems we’re seeing in the US and around the world.
Incidentally, there is some irony in having a discussion about the dangers of interacting with people over a stylized, virtualized, digital medium….over the world wide web. I was never clear on the functional difference between the two (SL and the Web), save for making the interface feel more natural.
I am excited to see what comes out of virtual DC. :D
I am excited to see what comes out of virtual DC. :D
Im happy about that Eshi. Not least because of the possibility you might whip out some uzis or something ;)