Essay: On Online Artistic Expression
by Alphaville Herald on 03/07/04 at 3:47 am
David Pierce recently posted the following essay on Stratics and invited us to repost it here. It’s q good read in prep for his upcoming in world production of Waiting for Godot (in tso).
In just one week, Pierce Entertainment, LTD. based in Alphaville will present its latest project, a full-length production of Samuel Beckett’s classic play, Waiting for Godot
In light of this performance, I would like to take a moment to discuss the concept of artistic expression in an online venue.
You’re probably thinking- why bother making art in an online game? Why not save it for real-life? What’s the use in making an artistic statement in a space so transient as a virtual world?
To answer those questions, we might want to look back at the history of artistic expression. When did we begin to see art take form? The answer: as early as people began to populate the world. From the beginning of time, humans have attempted to express themselves artistically through devices that enhance the enjoyment and fulfillment of their lives. They create the wheel, bows and arrows, artistic achievements to improve their lifestyle. Ultimately, they create masterpieces of ingenuity from such basic supplies as stone and wood.
Flash forward to the present. Gaming begins to take hold in one of the most important scientific breakthroughs of the 21st century, the Internet. Thousands of people from computers around the world populate virtual worlds and create “beings” to live in these worlds. They create a society, and from this society they create an online presence. They populate an online world remarkably similar to the real one, one that began with ingenuity, creativity, and survival. In an online world, they start new, they can be anyone they choose to be and do anything they choose to do; the sky is the limit.
And yet, many of them choose only to live exactly the same way as they do in real-life. They learn new skills, which help them to make money, they build their homes, and they fulfill their basic needs.
Don’t we have a real world to do that?
The modern world began when man decided to take the rock that had been provided… and chiseled. Rather than to accept the norm, the routine, man took the road less traveled. He created. He chiseled a masterpiece so monumental that his descendents would lead a life vastly different from his.
To create art is to create a world centered not in the mundane, but in the fascinating. To create art in an online world is to stimulate our mind’s greatest creations, with the resources available to do so. The most amazing feature of online gaming is the simplest feature of all… imagination. In an online world, we can create freely without the limitation of resources or disability.
So as I prepare to showcase my creation, I will present a challenge to each of you. Find the art you have always wished to realize. Find the imagination you have yearned to release. Stimulate your life, change your world… reinvent the wheel.
David Pierce
humdog
Jul 3rd, 2004
thank you david. i like your essay lots.
your essay expresses so beautifully why the whole debate about rules is ridiculous. game design is about exploration and discovering different and perhaps new possibilities for expression and relationship.
i look forward to your production and i do plan to attend.
thank you again.
mafioso
Jul 3rd, 2004
I personally have always supported the artistic, non-skilling, non-moneymaking properties (and sometimes the few properties that fall into that category which are still creative). But anyway, as for this essay: clever way to advertise your production.
I hope the play goes well, I always loved Waiting for Godot.
Paul Neruda
Jul 5th, 2004
The case for art and its significance on humanity is certainly a compelling one. Art can be described as the exemplar of the human mind’s greatest creation. What does this really mean? This kind of statement is so overpowering in its empty profundity that virtually everyone can pretend to understand it. The result of this thinking is that it makes art inaccessible for many. This is most unfortunate.
Art can do many things: entertain, challenge, teach, explain, captivate, command attention, amuse, inspire… This list could go on and on. Art is certainly something worthy of admiration and respect, but this is not enough. Admiration is one thing, but we must also have the ability to confront and engage a work of art. In other words, we need to be able to relate to it. It shows us that there is something to be valued in our own experiences, no matter how mundane they may be. There can be something fantastic in the mundane.
To say art is emblematic of human ingenuity, creativity, and survival and to only leave it at that is a tired and old platitude, and highly problematic. There is a potential for more. We need to be aware of the view of art as a coalescence of gray areas, ambiguities and multiple interpretations. It has the ability to provoke thought in ways that are difficult to resolve and uncomfortable. Works of art are places to entertain new thoughts and try out opposing viewpoints and to practice tolerance and flexibility.
When considering artistic expression in online venues, there is no “revolution” in the truest sense. People are complex, varied beings and they always have been aware of their physical and social environments. Art has always been useful as long as human beings observe and critique the world around them. With all the arguments presented so far, it should be clear that art is not merely an improvement on human lifestyles. The differentiation sometimes made between early mankind and what we call “modernity” is too wide. The earliest humans are not less advanced or intelligent than we are. The “modern” world with all its so-called wondrous achievements was the result of the accumulation of knowledge passed down from generation to generation.
To say everyone is capable of creating and enjoying art is something I approach with caution. While I would like to believe it, this is something that individuals must consider on their own. Only the individual can decide whether art will be useful for herself/himself. It’s a matter of choice.