Ethology and Second Life Art: how did the cyberworld create a new dimension of human behaviour?

Second Life has created an environment where artists can display their works to an audience across the world. This has created an entire new artistic culture where many residents display art in the museums,  galleries and homes they can buy or build using Second Life's powerful tools. Gallery even allow art patrons to "meet" and socialize with exhibiting artists. Nearly any type of worldwide music is available right at anyones fingertips e.g. via YouTube. 

We hypothezise that virtual art - corresponding to real art - has to be evaluated in the framework of human ethology.

Among the art gallery simulations (called "sims") was the art gallery sim "Cetus Gallery  District," the world's first virtual online urban arts district. Its many tenant-run businesses featured weekly live music performances, gallery openings, and literary events such as the virtual book launch for "Coming of Age in Second Life: An Anthropologist Explores the Virtually Human," by Tom Boellstorf (Princeton University Press; 2008).

The modeling tools from Second Life allow the artists also to create new forms of art, that in many ways are not possible in real life due to physical constraints or high associated costs. The virtual arts  are visible in over 2000 "museums" (according to SL's own search engine).

Second life Music can be broadcast e.g.via streaming technology to a worldwide audience instantly or using uploaded “inworld samples”, being and triggered with inworld user interface instruments. Unlike streaming, performing music with inworld samples make use of the Second Life environment but creates a three-dimensional local sound experience to the audience. A good example ist the Avatar Orchestra Metaverse.

Fa. Animusic creates Videoclips with virtual music instruments intelligently played by robot arms 

Virtual dance has been elevated into Second Life. Two three dimensional shows are produced per year, in March/April/May 2010 modern ballet show 'BACK TO BLACK' with music by Queen (band), Francisco de la Torre, Metallica, Amy Winehouse, Paula  Cole, Richard Wagner, Louis Armstrong, Suzie Quatro.

Second Life technology is of highest importance for architecture and built art and environment, e.g. refer to http://secondlife.com/whatis/?sourceid=1004-affiliate-face2faceChr-whatis&siteID=HLNqlJV7ElY-yKVqmEOqabWMc4TdmhHlgA. 

Other links: Second Life Art News:  http://sl-art-news.blogspot.com/2006_09_03_archive.html 

3D art, virtual world exhibits and museums in Second Life  http://secondlife.com/destinations/arts 

Not to forget the Ars Electronica in Linz. It is an internationally unique platform for digital art and media culture (http://new.aec.at/futurelab/de).

A list of literature is available at http://www.litart.ch/.

Also refer to http://xirdal.lmu.de/introduction/cyberanthropology.html