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.