New Opportunities for Artistic Practice in Virtual Worlds

Second Life remains a virtual world that is not easily defined and understood. Whilst it no longer grabs the populist cultural headlines, as a platform, it has still to be fully understood in terms of its significance within a wider critical discourse of digital and new media art. Further to this the new languages of artistic practice that are being created that are particular to virtual and avatar-mediated worlds are still to be fully defined. This paper aims to outline the potential contribution and impact Second Life has had and aims to present a critical framework for the platform and future avatar-mediated virtual worlds through the work of key artists and writers in the field through an articulation of these languages and virtual aesthetics. The paper will further present an artist-led discourse on significant and groundbreaking Second Life art works such as Watch the World, the Presence Project, and more recently the immersive environments of SL artist Bryn Oh. In itself Second Life may stand the test of time as a continued interface to examine issues of the real and the virtual and may contribute to further theoretical and philosophical discussions of new technologies and artistic practice.