SLART Tracks Art of Second Life

With over 2.8 million registered users, the online world of Second Life is attracting its share of media attention. Now Richard Minsky,
an artist and the founder of the Center for Book Arts, has started a
magazine dedicated to Second Life's burgeoning art marketplace. Named Slart
(for "Second Life Art"), the publication will trace the development of
the virtual trade, where works — ranging from the graf-influenced
abstractions of Filthy Fluno to the now defunct, sculpture-creating magic wand of StarAx Statosky
— can sell for nearly six figures in Lindens (the currency of Second
Life, where 250 Lindens=$1). Because Second Life users have copyrights
over their virtual creations, real money is exchanged between simulated
hands. The IBM Corporation is rumored to be building a collection of
virtual artwork, while Jen Bekman Gallery and George Eastman House have already set up virtual exhibitions.