Do you think your avatar is art?

[georginamae1992]

I am an Art Student, and writing my dissertation about how the avatar (particularly in SL) can be considered artwork, both in its design and in its performative nature.

 

If you have any thoughts about this idea I would be really grateful to hear them!

Thanks

[Canoro Philipp]

yes, I could say most of the avatars in SL are art.

if you modify something for pure aesthetic purposes, then is art. art don't have practical value, it just stimulate the senses to provide the reciever with a pleasant or interesting experience.

avatars exist in SL to provide us with an identity, and we modify the avatars to provide us and others that percieve us, a pleasant or interesting experience, therefore, avatars mostly are art.

the cases where they are not art is if the user is not using the avatar to be percieved by others, they are using it for practical puposes, for example to monitor a sim, to test animations, or as an account to save your lindens.

[Theresa Tennyson]

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georginamae1992 wrote:

I am an Art Student, and writing my dissertation about how the avatar (particularly in SL) can be considered artwork, both in its design and in its performative nature.

 

If you have any thoughts about this idea I would be really grateful to hear them!

Thanks

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In real life I'm a theatrical costume designer. If what I do there can be considered art, than what I do when I create an avatar is. I approach making an avatar the same way I approach doing a costume for a character - taking the idea of a person and determining how they will look without having an actual model. In Second Life I also have control over how the avatar moves, can change its body to suit my vision and if they eat or smoke in their costumes it's because I MADE them do it and I don't have to wash the clothes afterwards.

[Blue Voix]

Waits for the troops to demand credentials.

 

I am not sure if you use or are familar with SL from the limited amount of info you have provided. I might suggest you look at SL fashion blogs for a good sense of some of the wonderful hand drawn and photographic textures used for avatars' skins as well as clothing. There are many brilliant artists working for a living in SL, it should honestly go without saying that even if the purchaser of the skin does not use it or percieve it with a artistic context it is a product of the graphics arts industry. SL is a complex mix of hand drawn, photographic and purloined textures, your perception of it as fine art I would think would vary and be subjective. There are certainly brands and labels as well as individual artist that I consider fine artist in SL. 

[Scarlet Quercus]

I have no RL artistic skills, so I turned to SL specificly to render avatars for my RPG characters from other games.  So yes, I consider avi creation art.  

[Dresden Ceriano]

My avatar is certainly part of my creative process... that doesn't mean that I think of it as a work of art.  The way I see it, art must invoke something more than simple beauty.  I feel as if art must transcend beauty and somehow become more deeply meaningful to the observer than just a pretty face.  As far as I'm concerned, true art is supposed to make you feel something more than just, "Oh, that's nice to look at."

I've seen many incredibly beautiful snapshots of extremely gorgeous avatars taken in SL, but rarely would I ever equate any of them to my interpretation of true art.  There's very few people in SL that have ever been able to transform the beauty which they've been able to capture into something which I would honestly consider to be art.  If you're interested in what I think of as art, as it pertains to an SL avatar, I suggest you look up Whiskey Monday... actually, let me provide you with a link... http://whiskeymonday.com/.

Never would I consider the thoughtful modification of my own avatar to in any way compare to the deeply, emotionally affective impact of her images.  Never would I equate my ability to put together a decent looking avatar with her ability touch people's soul.

...Dres

[Knowl Paine]

No, my avatar is not art. The individual components of the avatar I use could be considered as works of art.

There are many avatars in SL and all avatars are not art.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder when discussing things which are not art.

A winner of a contest like a beauty pageant is a nominee. That resident could be considered as an example of art.

I think art needs to be dead in order to be art. It will never be entirely duplicated in it's originality ever again. Maybe you should write about that.

What is art? I understand all the glitz glamour and fanfare but there is something more to it than just those three things.

Considering that you are in a school, it is possible that simply taking a position in the mainstream school of art thought, will carry you along regardless of content or merit. Schooling is primarily attendance based, scholastic achievement is a secondary function.

I do believe that SL has some residents with avatars that may qualify as art. The number is very small, possibly 1 in 1,000.

How many skins/shapes on MP? You could look at top sellers, although a genuinely artistic resident will be entirely unique, you cannot buy them.

 

 

[JaedenDelanaire]

I feel like there's a needless amount of justification that people are putting forth for their answer. Art at its basic form is an expression of self. Yes, putting on an outfit in the morning could be considered art. Yes, putting on an outfit in SL could be (edit: if the intent is there) considered art. Whether you're trying to be a hoochie mama, a thug looking gangsta, or some RP character you're buying pieces of created items designed and produced, and then hand selected by a discerning eye for pieces that are sensational, exciting, or otherwise.

[Knowl Paine]

I just changed my socks, I'm a sock artist! There is nothing basic about the creation of art. 

A professor or teacher may examine the OP's conclusions, casual observations are commonly recognized. A discerning eye may provided for a closer less observed perspective.

A critical overview is essential in ensuring that the same measures are applied to what is currently established as art work to that which has been applied to past works. It's called work because it's not easy, it's not common.

 

[JaedenDelanaire]

Yes there is. Go watch your kiddo or young cousin or whatever go doodle out a sketch to proudly present, and then tell them, "Nope, that ain't art, it's too basic." Being a condescending sarcastic twerp in response does not, a valid rebuttal, make.

That said, intention has everything to do with what is and isn't art. If you're not intending to do **bleep** then that's your perogative. For people trying to mimic something close to how they dress in real life, or even their shapes for that matter, then yes, it's art, and it is work, because that **bleep** can take forever, yo'. I know I've clocked at least ten hours on modifying my main shape over the years everytime I get it into my fancy that it can be improved.

 

[Dresden Ceriano]

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JaedenDelanaire wrote:

I feel like there's a needless amount of justification that people are putting forth for their answer. Art at its basic form is an expression of self. Yes, putting on an outfit in the morning could be considered art. Yes, putting on an outfit in SL is considered art. Whether you're trying to be a hoochie mama, a thug looking gangsta, or some RP character you're buying pieces of created items designed and produced, and then hand selected by a discerning eye for pieces that are sensational, exciting, or otherwise.

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The ability to dress oneself in the morning does not an artist make.  If you consider dressing yourself to be the pinnacle of artistry, then I'd have to seriously question your mental stability.  I'm not questioning your ability to put a great outfit together, but no matter how well you do it, putting an outfit together does not equate with creating a great (or even sub-par) work of art in any way, shape or form.

...Dres

[Canoro Philipp]

art is basically a form of aesthetic expression, if the artist is not skilled enough or doesn't have enough resources to convert the concept that it wants to express to the real world exactly as he/she will wish, is still art.

art can be poorly made, it can be unpopular, it can be percieved and understood only by the artist and then destroyed, and still, is art.

[JaedenDelanaire]

"The ability to dress oneself in the morning does not an artist make."

Saying something is art and claiming that it makes you an artist are two connotatively different suggestions.

"If you consider dressing yourself to be the pinnacle of artistry"

Nothing I've written could have possibly lead you to infer this. In fact, I said the exact opposite (basic does not equate pinnacle), but I could infer that you like to spout off nonsense before reading a statement thoroughly.

 

 

[Dresden Ceriano]

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JaedenDelanaire wrote:

I could infer that you like to spout off nonsense before reading a statement thoroughly.

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And, by your definition, I could call that art and be completely correct.

...Dres

[JaedenDelanaire]

Word.

Rhetoric is art.

 

Even when it's bad. :matte-motes-big-grin-wink:

 

 

[Dresden Ceriano]

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Canoro Philipp wrote:

art is basically a form of

aesthetic

expression, if the artist is not skilled enough or doesn't have enough resources to convert the concept that it wants to express to the real world exactly as he/she will wish, is still art.

art can be poorly made, it can be unpopular, it can be percieved and understood only by the artist and then destroyed, and still, is art.

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But can the putting together of an avatar be considered any of these things?  Especially, if that avatar is put together with other people's creations.  I have my doubts.

...Dres

[JaedenDelanaire]

Surely there is a more impressive word we can use here in lieu of the phrase 'putting together an outfit'. I propose: avatarscaping.

In all seriousness without snide commentry, what is being trivalized is actually somewhat complicated for some individuals on Second Life, and flat out calling the process art or not is an unfair generalization for those who don't give two flips, and those who have spent work money and months following their favorite fashionista bloggers.

It's more than putting together an outfit. It's skin, shapes, hair, eyes, eyelashes (seriously, until you've tried to fit eyelashes to your eyelids, you can't say there isn't work involve--and please note, I say this very tongue in cheek), and making it all come together in something pleasant and befitting.

Hell. Us SLers have even come up with a specific breed of 'humans' that us snobbier elitists enjoy calling fugs; ya'know, those weird chinless Mongoloian-eyed and African-American nosed orange-tanned creations that walk around with pony rider hips and impossibly tall torsos. Let's not forget the tiny vestigial T-rex hands. These grotesqe creations are admirable in their own right in that it defines what characteristics people find beauty in. Usually big boobies and THUNDER THIGHS and CRACKALACKIN PHAT booties. But the distinguishing facial characteristics of the avatars is interesting, as well as that these people seem to think that they're the embodiment of hawt.

Maybe that's getting more into anthrology rather than art. But what better source to study humans than by what they define as attractive?

Anywho. If the argument is that art is a form of expression and that there must be intent to provoke an emotional response, then it doesn't need to be any more advanced than a hoochie mama dressing it up (or rather, dressing it down) to get her male (or female) clientele aroused. It doesn't have to be fancy stuff. This is why I mentioned that there was a needless amount of justification. Either you intend your avatar as art or you don't, and there really isn't much more of a qualifier than that. To state that there needs to be an elevated idea beyond that for anything to be qualified as art is pretentious.

That said, yes, I do value other art forms far more than 'avatarscaping', and I don't believe there is a very high skill level involved in making appealingly individualized avatars. 

 

 

 

[Canoro Philipp]

in the first post, JaedenDelanaire extended the explanation: "hand selected by a discerning eye for pieces that are sensational, exciting, or otherwise." there we see a person putting together various elements with the purpose of expressing itself, whatever the concept is.

when a person modify an avatar for the purpose to express what it consider pleasant to his/her eye, is making art. is converting a concept that its in his/her mind the best that person can, it may be low quality art, but not only the most elaborated and expressive art is art.

a painter is an artist even if he didn't made the paint colors himself.

[Knowl Paine]

The possibilities are limitless within the mind of one. One is easily satisfied. Art is best when it is shared.

Your definition is bordering upon the intangible. An avatar is a measurable form in which we can mold solid opinions upon.

If the OP is writing about art for an elementary class, my apologies to the class. Pasta art and paper chains have always been my favorites. Gold Stars for all.

Art class is where people go to try to learn how to make art. If it was just natural, there would be no need for classes.

A few people are naturally talented, they attend classes to refine a skill into an art.

[CheriColette]

"a painter is an artist even if he didn't made the paint colors himself"

 

I like that

and its true.

I think my avi is moving art 

[Dresden Ceriano]

I give... to both you and Canoro... if that's what you consider art, then so be it.  I try to hold art to a higher standard, but if you wish to dumb it down to nothing more than scribblings on a wall, I accept your opinions as valid.  I am certainly no expert on the matter.

...Dres

P.S. Btw, you said:

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Word.

Rhetoric is art.

 

Even when it's bad. :matte-motes-big-grin-wink:

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I love your attitude.

[Dresden Ceriano]

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CheriColette wrote:

I think my avi is moving art 

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I still think of anyone who considers their avatar art, pompous and rather pretentious.

...Dres

[RudolphFarquhar]

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georginamae1992 wrote:

I am an Art Student, and writing my dissertation about how the avatar (particularly in SL) can be considered artwork, both in its design and in its performative nature.

 

If you have any thoughts about this idea I would be really grateful to hear them!

Thanks

---

Of course an avatar can be considered artwork.

But then, 99.99% of artwork is ******* ****.

**********Rudi**********

[Canoro Philipp]

I think so too.

[Scarlet Quercus]

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Scarlet Quercus wrote:

I have no RL artistic skills, so I turned to SL specificly to render avatars for my RPG characters from other games.  So yes, I consider avi creation art.  

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I just want to clarify that what I consider art in my situation is the rendering of my avi for the specific purpose of image capturing and presentation into another game as art, no differenent that if I was using DAV Studio or another 3D art rendering program. 

While I think content creators certainly are artists (clothing/skin creators, etc), I think avatar assembly is a talent, but isn't inherently art.  It's what you do with the avatar after that makes it art or not.

That said, I think someone that starts with the stock linden shape and mods it themselves into a unique avatar shape would fall into the same class as a content creator, and hence be considered an artist.  I started with the stock shape for my avi and have been working on perfecting it, off and on, for five years.  I don't really see this as any diffferent than sculpting; it's just in a virtual medium.