Joseph Hwang 1. Individualization of Value If I were to be asked to provide a concise definition of art that is grounded in the human senses, I would suggest that the key elements are "look (visual perception)" and "storytelling (narrative)." Any entity must exist in a cognizable form to communicate with other living beings. This form can be described as "appearance," while the narrative provides a temporal dimension, thus giving the entity life. It is only through the medium of life that art can create meaning; through this same medium, the message of that meaning can be conveyed. It was previously stated that the economic value of each musical composition is unique. Similarly, the financial value of the artist who performs and delivers that music is also variable. Since music is an aural phenomenon, it lacks a visual representation. However, the artists who create and perform music possess a visual identity. Each artist possesses a distinctive appearanc
SM Entertainment, the preeminent K-pop production company that pioneered the K-pop idol group format, unveiled a pre-debut teaser video for its inaugural virtual artist, "nævis." Scheduled to debut in September 2024, nævis has been gradually introduced to the public on several preceding occasions as a character who assists and guides SM Entertainment artist aespa's avatar, æ-aespa.
There have been multiple instances throughout the history of K-pop in which virtual artists have been introduced to the public as standalone entities. However, whereas previous virtual artists have been created with a strict separation between the virtual and the real worlds, SM's upcoming nævis represents a departure from this approach, blurring the boundaries between the two realms.
nævis' teaser, "The Birth of nævis"
1. Not an Avatar
It is important to distinguish between an avatar and a character that exists in the real world. An avatar is a virtual character, whereas the original character exists in the real world. In other words, an avatar represents a one-to-one correspondence between the virtual and real worlds. In the context of aespa, nævis is also designated as a virtual artist who corresponds to a real-world individual as one of the virtual characters designated "ae." In this regard, nævis resembles an avatar, but the distinction is that nævis is also a solo artist within the virtual domain. This narrative configuration appears to be a natural progression as she transitions between the virtual and tangible realms.
2. Expanded Artist Debuts
The significance of nævis' inaugural appearance can be attributed to the contemporary K-pop artists engaging in activities that traverse both the tangible and the virtual realms, creating a narrative within an expanded universe. The world has evolved from a state of separation to one of interconnectedness. In the event of fatigue among a human artist, a virtual artist can assume the role and continue the activity, or even transition to a different season.
A significant distinction is that K-pop artists' debuts have historically been confined to the physical domain. However, recent developments have enabled the simultaneous launch of such debuts in the virtual realm. An artist may transition from a state of minimal existence to a state of maximal expression in seconds. Moreover, this transition can occur at any moment and in a planned sequence.
SM has announced its intention to present a series of narratives, commencing with the genesis of nævis. The objective is to construct a narrative that interweaves the experiences of a singular entity with a multitude of occurrences, thereby prompting inquiries, illustrating discord, and evoking a spectrum of emotional responses in the audience. Furthermore, the dissemination of the narrative will occur through a variety of media outlets. One such medium is Webtoon, a digital platform for online comics.
3. Virtual Personas
The concept of the Virtual Persona represents a novel phenomenon in the domain of artistic practice. While virtual characters such as avatars may offer some insights into this phenomenon, they cannot constitute a sufficient explanation in and of themselves. As a result, K-pop production companies will be required to redefine the fundamental concepts of "artist," "debut," and "activity." The nævis project is not an avatar experiment, it is a "virtual persona," which entails a one-to-one correspondence between the actual artist and the virtual character, or a scenario in which the two characters are active independently. The term "character" does not fully capture the essence of this phenomenon; it is more accurate to describe it as an "extended personality." The advent of new forms of existence. Technological advances will serve to demonstrate that the distinction between the real and the virtual is, in fact, meaningless.
During the global pandemic, the metaverse was a popular topic of discussion. The creation of a graphical presence represented the individual in the metaverse, a term was coined to describe this concept: a "sub-character." However, the notion of a virtual persona extends beyond this. A virtual persona is not a representation of another being, it is an extension of a real-world counterpart. A virtual persona can be defined as an entity whose existence is simultaneously synchronized with and independent of the real world. Even in the event of the artist's demise, the virtual persona will persist in the tangible world. Besides, it will not merely persist; it will continue to generate new narratives despite the absence of the source. This marks the advent of a new and enduring existence. The notion of science fiction as a tangible, if temporarily neglected, phenomenon has been a recurring theme in recent discourse.
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