AVATAR-NARCISSUS

Elif Ayiter email:ayiter@sabanciuniv.edu

“What you seek is nowhere; but turn yourself away, and the object of your love will be no more. That which you behold is but the shadow of a reflected form and has no substance of its own. With you it comes, with you it stays, and it with you it will go...” (Ovid, Metamorphoses 3.433)

Introduction
Out there, constructed upon complex meshes of spider-web thin fiber optic cables there are worlds, and not just a few but many, wherein can reside your perfect manifestation: Worlds that allow you to fly, to leap from extraordinary heights and jump with utter grace as you wage a war at which you may excel, involving the creation of self-perfection. Worlds which nurture the illusion of eternal youth, if not indeed immortality on the one hand and the propagation of self-defined perfection on the other. These are the three dimensionally embodied synthetic worlds of gaming and the metaverse.
Hedonics, Presence and the Avatar
In his book “Exodus to the Virtual World” economist Edward Castranova predicts that the ongoing migration from the physical realm to three dimensional, online synthetic worlds is expected to reach significant proportions within the next few decades. One of the topics which Castranova’s addresses within this context is the notion of fun: Hedonics, a sub-field of psychological research investigating the grounds of human happiness, has assessed that there exists a correlation between the production of endorphins and a sense of achievement, which in its turn, is a commodity easily attained in synthetic worlds through either game related success or in a builder’s world such as Second Life®, through the realization of creative activity. Indeed, so powerful seems to be the pull of “fun” provided by synthetic worlds that Castranova foresees a considerable shift in future physical public policy and socio-economic strategies aiding the establishment of a more “fun” physical world as a means of competing for the attention of the migratory population whose exodus he sees as imminent. (Castranova, 2007).
This sense of achievement, if not indeed omnipotence, which three dimensionally embodied synthetic existence can evoke is nonetheless very real in its physical impact: Research conducted in cyberpsychology has shown that the emotional consequences of the sense of success the virtual experience may evoke go far beyond the “in-game” moment and have ramifications upon the subsequent physical behavior and social interactions of the participants. Thus, according to the so-called The Proteus Effect (Yee, 2007), not only do our virtual bodies change how we interact with others in the online communities themselves; but this effect is indeed powerful enough to be carried through to subsequent face-to-face interactions amongst the physical handlers of the avatars participating in the experiment.
A rewarding overview of the literature on the avatar within the context of embodiment comes from Benjamin Joerissen (Joerissen, 2008) who directs us to the co-relation between the ideological affinity of the avatar and the human body: Drawing upon Plato, as well as the Sanskrit meaning of the word avatar itself, he points out that within these doctrines the human body itself can be identified as the disparaged, earthbound hybrid carrier/avatar of higher, divine, i.e., non-physical attributes. In a play upon McLuhan's famous statement Joerissen continues to say that if soul is indeed “form”, the body is then the medium within which form becomes corporeal and as such the body becomes the very message which it carries. However, according to Joerissen, a recent, post-Cartesian shift in the attributes with which an avatar is endowed is also noteworthy: In the post-humanistic world of artist Stelarc the avatar is no longer the belittled, lesser manifestation of the higher “form” but rather the “upload” of a perishable, mortal physicality into the mundus possibilis of a virtual, non-corporeal space; an agent in the realization of a “cybernetic platonic” state (List 2001) wherein technology may overcome the shackles of mortality. According to Joerissen viewing avatars as mere representational agents in virtual realms has become increasingly problematic over the past decade. Instead a holistic approach which weaves together the human handler, the representation thereof and the medium within which this representation materializes seems to be called for: In describing this hybrid actor whose virtual sojourn is a two way experience which can have profound influences on the human behind the keyboard, Joerissen quotes Yee: “Just as we choose our self-representations in virtual environments, our virtual self representations shape our Real Life behaviors in turn. These changes happen not over hours or weeks, but within minutes”. (Yee, 2007)
Drawing his conclusion Joerissen quotes Mark Hansen (Hansen, 2006) who points at a deep reaching biological/corporeal moment embedded within the virtual experience: Whilst placing the digital experience itself within the sensory organs of the biological body, Hansen ascribes a third element to digital embodiment, speaking of a “body submitted to and constituted by an unavoidable and empowering technical deterritorialization”, a “body–in–code”, which can only be realized in association with technology, and which, in its turn, can lead to unexpected self-perceptions in the human handler. Indeed Hansen endows this novel constellation with the capability of increasing the field of influence of the human operator “as an embodied being”. Thus, Hansen predicts a re-definition of the potential of the biological body through virtual embodiment.
The Narcissism of Synthetically Embodied Fun
The heightened sense of achievement which these worlds bring to bear upon their users is one open to further investigation within which an examination of the satisfaction of narcissistic desires, which may not be finding such ready fulfillment in the physical world of flesh and blood, may be of relevance. This will inevitably lead to a query regarding the impact of the three dimensionally embodied avatar.
Our physical bodies may not be as we wish them to be: We age, we lose the suppleness of our limbs, we may not have sufficient means to dress exactly as we would like. Prolonged periods of low physical activity evoked by the chair and car bound existence of the times we live in may have resulted in loss of body tone and physical prowess – even at relatively young ages. However, beyond all of these we may have inner images of self-perception which transcend the human form altogether. Attaining the desired results which would satisfy the narcissistic cravings that a gaze in the bathroom mirror will not satisfy would involve prolonged periods of hard work, as well as the relinquishment of counterproductive habits – at the very least! In some cases however an attainment of what your inner image of perfection involves may be impossible even with the most strenuous of diets, physical exercise regimens and huge financial resources at your disposal. It may simply revolve around the creation of a fantastical being, maybe one from another historic period, an alternate state of existence or species.
It is here, within such a narcissistic quest, that the synthetic world has means on offer which may not be as readily available in your earthbound manifestation. And furthermore, under the adage of “user-friendliness” these do not require great creative skills and know-how and are thus at the disposal of the average participant of online synthetic existence. A few clicks of the mouse, the tweaking of a slider here and there will give you a very close approximation of what you crave and what you find so very hard to attain in your physical existence.
So urgent indeed seems to be the (re)creation of visual identity that a flourishing and vastly diversified business sector revolving around the creation of “persona” has come into existence in the metaverse of Second Life®, as well as most online participatory gaming worlds. Placed under the general heading of virtual fashion and avatar-object design this sector will provide you with unbridled, indeed at times not readily imaginable means of visual self-realization even if you are devoid of the creative skills to accomplish this quest by yourself: Narcissism on tap?
However, does synthetic narcissism only involve the physical appearance of our avatar or is what we fall in love with when gazing in the pixelated mirror of our screens something far more ephemeral, intangible and complex?
Beyond the creation of an outward visual manifestation of what we would like our appearance to be; synthetic worlds also, and more importantly, enable their Residents to create elaborate and well formulated identities, that may involve autonomous genealogies, as well as ethnic, sexual, cultural and even species attributes which may be far removed from what is perceived in the physical bathroom mirror. The prevalence of text based communication within these worlds sees to it that the physical attributes of the creator of the novel identity remain well concealed. It is of interest to note within this context that the introduction of voice based means of communication has found no major resonance within the Residents of Second Life®, an estimated 40% of whom are believed to be transgender in their synthetic manifestations. Thus voice based communication, as a general observation, is being shunned by full-time Residents of gaming and metaverse environments, since voice and how one speaks is a major revealer of the identity, gender, cultural/educational background, nationality and ethnicity of the handler behind the avatar.
Neither do these alternative identities need not be limited in number: Creating multiple accounts, i.e., “alt” accounts will enable a skilled user of synthetic environments to create full constellations of alternative identities, which may then indeed start elaborate “closed-system” relationships within the psychic Gestalt of a single user. Indeed so bafflingly convoluted may these closed system relationships become that persons falling in love with themselves, through means of an alt avatar are not unheard of in the metaverse. (Au, 2008)
The playful creation of alternative identities, be they singular or manifested as elaborately intertwined single-psyche pantheons is a fascinating means of extending creative capabilities, narrative ability and sees to a full release of the imaginative potential of the individual, providing a means of return to the creative ingenuity of childhood play. Indeed such explorations should be fostered and welcomed, particularly when viewed from the art-educational pedagogical perspective, provided they stay within a realm of consciousness in which emotionally intimate relationships with “the other” are not excluded but integrated as a sine-qua-non component of the imaginative experience.
It is at this juncture that Ovid’s words, with which this text commences, will need to be re-considered from a novel, albeit synthetically embodied perspective: “That which you behold is but the shadow of a reflected form and has no substance of its own. With you it comes, with you it stays, and it with you it will go...”. Like all other states of being evoked by the narcissistic mindset, pixelated narcissism too, is but a spook, un-reachable and elusive, unless the manifestation of the object of love, i.e., our “self” finds resonance within the broader perspective founded in a relationship with “the other”.
Narcissism and “the Abject”
It has been the observation of the author, herself a full-time resident of the metaverse of Second Life®, that for many of their users synthetic worlds seem to provide an attractive alternative to physical existence, particularly when it comes to the exclusion of physical intimacy. While, these worlds preserve the illusion of social interaction, if not indeed emotional intimacy, the essential component of any thoroughly “real” connection; i.e., the flaws and imperfections of physically manifested, flesh and blood corporeality is missing from the equation on all levels. What seems to be the most disconcerting, however, is that this inevitable/built-in deficit is not perceived as a shortcoming by quite a large percentage of online Residents of synthetic worlds. If anything, it would seem that it is this very absence of flesh and blood physical imperfection that makes these worlds so very attractive to some of their users. Thus an ultimate rejection of not only the physical manifestation of “the other”, but also and possibly even far more disconcertingly, of your own flesh and blood physical body, seems to have found a fertile ground of expression, if not downright validation, in the world of online synthetic, three dimensionally pixelated existence. A conclusive desire for control of your own visual as well as emotional manifestations, as well as a control of the level of the inclusion of “the other”...
For the author, Kristeva’s text on “The Abject” (Kristeva, 1982) has gained huge relevance within this context. Indeed so strong seems to be the connection of Kristeva’s description of “The Abject” to what seems to be in evidence where synthetically (non)embodied encounters in online worlds are concerned, that she has realized two art works based upon a query of the abjection of the physical, which she has observed to be in existence in the metaverse of Second Life®, and which she suspects to be endemic across the board in all similar synthetic worlds.
The two art installations, “Anatomia” and “body parts” were created in the spring of 2009. The first of the two installations, “Anatomia” is a space intended for solitary, introverted reflection concerning the fragility of the human body; hence only one avatar (available in either sex) has been created. It is this site specific avatar that the visitor is expected to wear whilst interacting with the space through a dance macabre which he/she can personally choreograph through the sequential usage of animated pose balls placed in great profusion inside the installation. It is aimed that this process will help attain a sense of split between what he/she is actually composed of anatomically and what he/she is surrounded by, i.e., the mechanically precise, “perfect” renditions of his/her fragile physical substance. The aim is to create an awareness of the fate which humanity shares with all living entities, which is indeed this very fragility and ultimate demise. The anatomical drawings which have been mapped onto the bodies of the male/female avatars of “Anatomia” have thus been rendered in the earthen hues of decay and corrosion, these being complemented with body attachments created out of exposed bone structure, horns and frayed, feather-like anatomical drawings; all of which have been assembled to resemble biological, but non-human elements.
Conversely, the second installation “body parts”, urges the visitor to celebrate life by looking outwards, through connecting with the virtual body of another. Consequently, this installation needs two participating avatars, both of whom are asked to dress in custom designed skins adorned with attachments, in order to conduct a virtual pas-de-deux of heightened emotional intimacy not readily manifest in the metaverse otherwise. To this end, the avatars have the caressing hands of their virtual partner painted onto their own skins, while soft, tentacle-like human limbs reach out from their own bodies towards the other. However, the couple is not alone in that they are also surrounded by a conglomeration of sculpted human body parts melting into one another. This mass of physicality is expected to create a sense of heightened connectivity through which the dancing couple may transcend into a state of collective consciousness, as would have been the case during Dionysian rites. Again, a profusion of animated pose balls is utilized, but in this instance these balls are paired up to create intimate couple poses, which enforce prolonged eye contact and the invasion of interpersonal distance, the Real Life observances surrounding both of which are strenuously observed in virtual life as well, as also discussed by Yee and Bailenson (Yee, 2007)
Although the two projects were instigated separately, they soon evolved to become sister installations, given that they both address the issue of corporeality in a (non)-physical environment. Additionally, the installations carry similar functions in that both are the conveyors of a challenge to acknowledge corporeality, albeit through different means and within entirely different contexts. Consequently the two installations are placed in close proximity to one another, housed in huge, enclosed, sky borne spheres, entirely separated from the geography of Second Life®. While the “Anatomia” sphere is black, the “body parts” sphere is a light, seductive white, which, together with the participating avatars, gets a pink hue from the custom sunset colored sky settings of the land upon which they have been placed. Both spheres have been created as stages in which a particular dance has been choreographed, a solitary dance macabre for “Anatomia” and a romantic valse for “body parts”. However, interacting agents are at liberty to modify the pre-set choreography by accessing the provided pose balls in a sequence of their own creation.
“Anatomia” and “body parts” are currently accessible in Second Life and have been visited by several thousand avatars to date. What is aimed at in both locations, as well as with both sets of avatars is a challenge: Connecting on an emotional level in one and becoming aware of one’s own fragility in the other; both undertaken in an environment which nurtures the illusions of eternal youth, if not indeed immortality on the one hand and full impersonality, if not anonymity in the face of emotional entanglements on the other.
Artist’s Statements
Anatomia
What happens when we look at anatomical drawings of the type which Dr. Gray compiled all those many years ago? Aren’t they projecting our very innards outwardly? With the implication of immortality embedded into the very experience? While our bodies are essentially convoluted labyrinths filled with all kinds of fluids which suffer pain; Gray’s anatomical drawings are reassuring in that suddenly the whole gooey mess starts making sense, is elevated to the clean precision of a perfectly working scientific diagram. No longer human, no longer smelly. What seems to be implied in Gray’s anatomy is that this imperfect mess which we walk around with can be a perfect machine, incapable of malfunction, incapable of decay…
Anatomia tries to bring awareness that this may not be so, no matter how ardently we wish for it to be the case, through the usage of a custom created avatar with which Residents are asked to visit a virtual installation created in Second Life®.
I have tried to deliberately make the dweller of the exhibit un-clean… Not the pristine, sharp black and white image assembly, with the odd spot of clean bright color here and there, but something mussed up with organic textures, layered and superimposed with elements that seem confusing and out of sync. The avatar of Anatomia is quite fragile: This is not a perfect, unbreakable machine, a thing rendered to help us gain insight into the workings of a superlative system. But rather a black and yellow mass – the colors of when things go bad in our bodies. Not the red of living blood but the low saturation of decay.
She is not all human either: I have tried to weave the human elements, the drawings and the 3 dimensional bones into shapes which would be reminiscent of botanical growth, sprouting from her shoulders and her knee. And then I have also used quite a few horns, these adorn her head and circle her ankle and her midriff. Horns belong to the devil and I want her to be endowed with the attributes of the demonic. I do not want this visitor to an exhibition of anatomical drawings to have illusions of grandeur regarding her elevated status as a human, or indeed even an animal or mammal. I want her to be vulnerable, perishable, and impure. I want her to gaze upon something other than her – in its cleanliness, its shiny surfaces, its clean bright lines, its mechanical perfection.
What I aim for is to create a sense of split, of division, of distantiation between the visitor, clothed in the avatar described above and provided at the installation’s location and the surrounding in which he/she finds themselves. I do not know if we attain this sense of our own fragility, the messiness of our innards, the thin line between a working and a malfunctioning organic mechanism, the fluids (fresh as well as refuse) coursing through our system when we visit the places where such anatomical drawings are displayed in Real Life. My hunch is that our Real Life persona, clothed in its everyday attire, more often than not in the company of others, is held at bay, thus keeping the wolf of self-perception form our door; enabling us to hide behind the security of intellectual appreciation of the superb craft which is present in the anatomical drawings compiled and created by the likes of Dr. Henry Gray.
However, what is of equal importance is a realization of the ephemera with which the idealized, pixelated and coded machinery of our avatar body presents to us – again fostering illusions of immortality, and imperishable physical perfection.
The Anatomical Avatar will hopefully make us perceive the difference between our flesh and blood bodies and the schematic, precise depictions of an idealized mechanism, be they real or virtual…(Ayiter, 2009)
body-parts
Avatars. Male and female. Or indeed two of the same sex. No faces, they could be anyone, anywhere, anytime.
I do not want them to have recognizable identities - what they are engaged in goes beyond names and faces: The urge to (dis)connect on a physical level. And yet they are unphysical in their monochromatic, almost white state. Because that is really how I see myself in the metaverse: No matter how many skins I buy or make - as an avatar I am colorless in my very being. The lifeblood drained out of my body language has been replaced by the endless cycle of animations emulating physical expression which my avatar simply cannot convey.
It seems to me that once we begin to scratch the depths of all of the creativity, the play, the games; all of the wonderful shopping and the building - in the end what remains is a big howling empty space where physical connection should have been. This is loneliness. Aren’t we trapped in the perpetual youth of our avatar bodies with no outlet, no way of showing our craving for intimacy? And yet, do some of us even crave that intimacy? Have they not run away from the world of the corporeal to this land of “play”, of non-physical emotion and thus by extension, of non-emotion, precisely because they could not cope with the pain, the at times utter humiliation of the physical?
They are monochromatic, the avatars that are meant to go into this space - white as they should be. No room here for human skin tones, for the illusion of the reality of the flesh. This is what is here: Ephemera, a spook, a specter of a human being - an avatar, either trying to connect or desperately avoiding doing so. Here I am challenging them to it, to connect, with whatever meager means are at my disposal: Pose balls equipped with affectionate poses and animations, paired up. So, really no sense whatsoever in hopping on one by yourself, you will need another ephemeral white being to complete the circuit as you slowly rotate in a landscape where all is body and yet all is silent, maybe even dead. Avatar body parts. That is what your physicality has become: As fleshless as these marble sculptures which are embracing all around you, as you and your sweetheart slowly dance your romantic waltz. (Ayiter, 2009)
Conclusion
In “Exodus to the Virtual World” Castranova alerts his readers from the onset that the book is of a speculative nature. However, after this opening statement he continues on to list the scientific instruments by which he is constructing his model. Given the solidity of his assessment tools as well as his academic expertise in economics and public policy, it would not be too imprudent to regard his predictions as anything other than informed deliberations, which it might behoove his readers to take into serious consideration: Even if his cogitations come to bear fruit only partially, humankind may find themselves living in a vastly altered world, or indeed in multiple worlds, “synthetic” and “real” simultaneously.
We may find ourselves in a social milieu where the bulk of recreational time, if not indeed work hours, are spent in fantastical, frivolous, playful and fun activity; where lifestyles and psychological states of being are shaped by parameters that are currently being forged in online synthetic virtual worlds.
Much of what is in the offering should be welcomed and paid close attention to, particularly in as much as it relates to artistic and creative practices, specifically when it comes to the formulation of pedagogical strategies related to art-education. However, this state of inquiry should not manifest as a starry eyed acceptance of all that is made available to humanity through synthetically embodied existence. It is the observation and contention of the author that at least part, if not a considerable portion of the “fun”, manifested as a sense of achievement embedded into the synthetic experience comes into being at the expense and rejection of the flesh and blood corporeality/identity, which cannot be molded and re-created with the utter ease which the synthetic world puts at the disposal of its users.
If the avatar(s) of our own creation lead us back to our physical selves, creating novel insights of all that we might really be, helping the process of evocation of all that is concealed within the inner depths of our psyche, then the game of self-creation on offer in synthetic worlds may well turn into one of the most significant areas of creative pursuit that the new century has on offer. If, however, the avatar(s) of own our creation evoke a narcissistic love of such magnitude that the result is a rejection of flesh and blood physicality in all of its manifestations, then it would seem that the gateway to a process of abjection, and possibly of an unprecedented scale has been leashed open. A refusal of acknowledgement of the physical being of “the other”; but ultimately a refusal culminating in an abjection of the personal physical self – the very face that looks back at us from the bathroom mirror.

References
Au, W. J., Thursday's Traveler: The Avatar Who Loved Himself, http://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2008/06/thursdays-trave.html , Retrieved on 10/02/2010
Ayiter, E., Anatomia, http://syncretia.wordpress.com/2009/02/13/anatomia/ , Retrieved on 15/02/2010
Ayiter, E., body parts, http://syncretia.wordpress.com/2009/03/08/body-parts/ , Retrieved on 15/02/2010
Castranova, E., (2007), Exodus to the Virtual World, Palgrave MacMillan, NY, NY.
Hansen, M., (2006) Bodies in Code: Interfaces with Digital Media. Routledge. New York, Ny.
Joerissen, B., (2008) The Body is the Message. Avatare als visuelle Artikulationen, soziale Aktanten und hybride Akteure. Paragrana, Volume: 17, Issue: 1.
Kristeva, J., Powers of Horror: An Essay on Abjection. Trans. Leon Roudiez. New York: Columbia UP, 1982.
Yee, N. & Bailenson, J.N. (2007). The Proteus Effect: The Effect of Transformed Self-Representation on Behavior. (271-290). Human Communication Research, 33
Yee, N., Bailenson, J. N., Urbanek, M., Chang, F., Merget, D., The Unbearable Likeness of Being Digital: The Persistence of Nonverbal Social Norms in Online Virtual Environments, CyberPsychology & Behavior. 2007, 10, 115-121.