Second Life Outsider Art Show a Success

From Oct. 23 through Nov. 13, the University of Delaware hosted an international show of “Outsider Art” in the Second Life virtual community.

Artists from the United Kingdom, France, Australia, Denmark and the United States contributed 19 works that were displayed throughout the UD Second Life islands. Several of the innovative pieces on display included interactive options, allowing Second Life avatars to become part of the artwork.

Lance Winn, associate professor of art, opened the show with an address delivered simultaneously in Smith Hall and online in Second Life.

“Over 80 people attended the show’s opening,” said Debbie Jeffers, IT-Client Support and Services. “We had about 35 people live on campus and about 50 ‘avatars’ participating in the presentation online.”

At the opening, Winn talked about the demands placed on an artist working in digital media, “continually having to learn on their own as software—and possibilities raised by new software—are continually changing.”

His talk tied the artwork exhibited in Second Life to the concept of an artwork’s “aura,” as first discussed by Walter Benjamin in the 1930s. “As mechanical reproduction of art became more prevalent, Benjamin noted that something unique is lost if you only know an artwork through its reproduction. Benjamin called that unique physical experience an artwork’s ‘aura,’ not just the cracks and the dust and the shape, but the journey to experience the art and the discussion of the art with others.”

According to Winn, the interactivity and 3D nature of the objects in the Outsider Art show provide an opportunity for an artist to allow more people to experience their art as more than just a “flat reproduction.”
 
Jeffers indicated that the UD islands in Second Life saw 25% more visitors during the three weeks of the show.

Visit UD's Second Life Web page for a direct link to the University's Second Life islands, information about creating a free avatar in Second Life, and upcoming UD events in Second Life. A slide show of the works in the Outsider Art show is currently featured on the UD SLED (Second Life Educators) Web site.