Virtual worlds as art practice: EvoArt methodologies

Synthetic biology as an artistic technique draws on the exploration of the mechanisms used by organisms to process information and develop their morphologies to address a diverse range of aesthetic agendas. The instrumentalisation of biological processes and methodologies by artists is called Evolutionary Art (EvoArt) and this practice has been attracting in the last three decades an increasing number of creators. Natural selection and genetics are inspirations for the practice of artists such as William Latham (development of biomorphic shapes: sculptures, paintings, designs), or Robb Lovell and John Mitchell (development of entire virtual ecologies). As Virtual Worlds (VWs) establish themselves at the centre of the technical and social panorama of the internet, they become more determinant in the contextualisation of human communication and sociability, and at the same time establish themselves as metaphors of cultural processes for the contemporary human condition. In the present advent of VWs, one of the main challenges that EvoArt artists face is precisely extending their knowledge and practice into this new technological and cultural realm. In this communication we will identify three EvoArt approaches that can inform VWs construction and aesthetics: (i) living non-player characters, (ii) living architectures, and (iii) collaborative construction of the landscape.