Smooth/striated, place/non-place: spaces for metaverse avatars

This paper will attempt to connect Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari’s conceptions of ‘smooth/striated space’ and Marc Augé’s definitions of ‘place/non-place’ to the space/ place usages of the avatars of online three dimensional virtual builders’ worlds, also known as the metaverse. The premise is that a particular type of virtual space inhabited by avatars, the art ecologies of the metaverse, show usage and navigational attributes which dovetail with these two separate physical space related conceptions since characteristics such as the absence of hierarchies, the confusion brought about through repetitive architectural / spatial elements, as well as an absence of essential navigational aids such as floors in some virtual art spaces, and the intrinsically transitional nature of them appear to be a combination of an inclination toward spatial ‘smoothness’ and ‘non-place.’ In order to further examine the subject, Brian Eno’s concept of the ‘unfinished artifact’ will also be dwelled upon.