Social Sculpture 2.0: "Every Avatar is an Artist"

By January Lightfoot, BeuYs2.com and the .0 Artist Group

BeuYs2.com @ www.newBERLINartFESTIVAL.com

Physical Space: Neuer Berliner Kunstverein, Berlin (Germany)

Die Welt als Bühne
21. November 2009 – 10. Januar 2010
Eröffnung: Freitag, 20. November, 19 Uhr
Interaktive 3D Performance ab 20 uhr

Virtual Space: BERLINin3D.com, newBERLIN (Second Life)

new BERLIN art FESTIVAL 2009
Opening: Friday, November 20, 10am PDT (SLT)

Interactive Performance from 11 am PDT (SLT)

As part of the group exhibition "The World as Stage", Neue Berliner Kunstverein, Jan Northoff has created the 3D art installation "Every Avatar is an Artist", which can be seen in real and Second Life. Taking point of departure in a reverent Beuys quotation and showing how it can be actualized today in regards to the opportunities of virtual reality, this project brings collective consciousness to a new state.

Joseph Beuys said: "Every Human Being is an Artist". This statement is now translated into the virtual World. The chat robot and virtual representative "Beuys2.com" is not a replica of the physical Joseph Beuys, but a contemporary result of responses to his own statement above.

"BeuYs2.com’s ‘brain’ is a database that is constantly updated via live feeds from all the tweets (posts) pertaining to Joseph Beuys on Twitter and from Avatars in Second Life. These information feeds gather both factual and misleading information, forming a true ‘collective consciousness’.

Joseph Beuys’ famous sentence “Everyone is an Artist” holds prophetic truth about the younger generations of today – although it now has a commercial bent. Achieving self-fulfilment is a core contemporary value that’s often measured by consumerist standards. People want to realise themselves by being creative in their job, improving their appearance, and living their lifestyle fully. Reality’s limitations can even be exceeded by adopting an expanded or ‘second life’ on the Internet." Solvej Helweg Ovesen, The World as Stage, 2009

The web 2.0 development is the Internet revolution of user created and user involved social platforms and networks, changing the real life word increasingly. The Beuys2.com bot implements an upgrade and manifestation of the collective memory of Joseph Beuys.


--


"Every Avatar is an Artist" is an art project produced for the RL exhibition "The World as Stage" by n.b.k. Neue Berliner Kunstverein by artist and founder of newBERLIN Jan Norhoff. For further information please visit:
www.newBERLINartFESTIVAL.com, www.BeuYs2.com,www.BERLINin3D.com
"The Wolrd as Stage " is curated by Solvej Helweg Ovesen.

Opening: 20.11.09, 7-9 PM, Chausseestrasse 128/129 andwww.avatar.BERLINin3D.com


Opening hours: 21.11.09-10.01.10, Tuesday through Sonday 12-6 PM, though Thursday 12-8 PM, Chausseestrasse 128/129. Closed 24.12.09-2.1.10.


For more information about "Every Avatar is an Artist" please contact Jan Northoff at jan@YOUin3D.com

For more information about "The World as Stage" please contact Sophie Goltz at

presse@nbk.org