Once upon a time...This story starts long ago, back in November 2011 in fact, when I came across a beautiful SL machinima called Virtual Love by Iono Allen. It was heart moving. I played it repeatedly and even shared it on my Daydreamer blog. Now let's skip forward to today ... SL brings me much pleasure so I try to give a little something back when I can. I'd heard of a music box sale at the Art India Gallery, with all proceeds going to SOS Children India. I clicked the LM ... Landing on icy ground with snow drifts all around, I saw lots of music boxes of many different styles, shapes and sizes scattered here and there. The sounds reminded me of my childhood. I wandered around trying to decide which one to choose. They were all fantastic in their own, unique way. Each had a note card associated with it so I could see the designer's details. It didn't take me long to discover that they were by well known and respected SL artists. It was going to be a tough decision. My heart skipped a beatCarmsie discovers the music box of her dreams! I kept moving, looking and clicking note cards until ... OMG ... my heart skipped a beat. Tucked in a corner I found the music box featured in the Virtual Love machinima. Yes, the exact one! I couldn't believe it; it was like this was meant to be. I clicked the music box and to my surprise it was fully animated too. I won't tell you what the animations are, it will spoil the story for you but what I will say is they are poignant. I extend my heart felt thanks to the wonderful designer, Josoane Sorciere for making it available. So now I'm the very proud and happy owner of this amazing music box. It's one of my SL treasures. I can't help feeling that this is karma in action - if we show goodness we will reap goodness. The music box sale only runs until 22nd January so if you'd like to buy one and, in turn, help the children of India you'd better visit soon! About the plight of Indian youth and SOS Children47% per cent of Indian children under 3 years of age are malnourished. There continues to be high incidence of child labour and girls remain particularly disadvantaged. Although the caste system has been officially abolished, religious and social barriers still influence everyday life.
SOS Children is a very worthy cause. It began working in India in 1963 and today there are 40 SOS Children’s Villages. Over 6,000 once-destitute children now have a permanent family home. Additionally, more than fifty welfare, educational and medical facilities provide assistance for people in the wider community.
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SL's Avenue Magazine is always a quality publication and January's edition is no exception. (To access Avenue online you'll need to sign up for an Issu account.) It contains some great articles this month but there are a couple, in particular, I'd like to draw your attention to. They feature two of SL's most esteemed artists and profile the women behind the avatars. The Arrival - inspired by real life events The Arrival (page 255) SL artist Rose Bochovski (real life Saskia Boddeke) speaks frankly about her installation, 'The Arrival' which I blogged earlier this month, explaining its origins and its meaning. Rose also provides insights into her real life art and its relationship to her SL work. Author: Quan Lavender Photography: Eve Kazan Imogen and the pigeons. Photo courtesy of Wuwai Chun (Flickr) The Bryn Oh Art Project (page 265) This article introduces Bryn Oh's latest installation, 'Imogen and the Pigeons' in the context of her larger body of virtual artworks and real life oil paintings. Like Rose Borchovski, Bryn's SL art - immersive 3D and machinima - have received international acclaim. Author: Flora Nordenskiold Photography: Bryn Oh and William Weaver My thanks to Quan Lavender for the heads up on these articles.
Not quite what I expected ... it was even better!Петро́вский флюс (a Petrovsky flux) I decided to visit 'A Petrovski Flux' after seeing an artistic, psychedelic photo of it by JJ Coronet posted on Google+. (Let's face it, colourful shots look great in blog posts.) When I arrived there was little time to take in my surroundings because I had to duck and weave to avoid being struck by bouncy, pink armchairs. Sheesh, they were on springs! When out of harms way I cammed around. I found myself on the edge of a massive, weird space station structure. The designers recommended 'Bristol' wind light settings, so the colours I saw were mainly industrial greys, greens and browns. JJ Coronet had obviously had lots of fun with his viewer settings or in photoshop to create his picture - so much for my fluro-photo plans. Still, the muted pallet suited this strange organic-mechanical build and it looked like an incredible place. I could hardly wait to explore... There was a sign close by. I've learned it's always wise to click signs when arriving somewhere like this. CLICK! I'm given a note card and a Noggin Protector to wear (noggin is slang for 'head'). I tried to read the note card first. It provided a tongue-in-cheek explanation of the installation but was filled with terms like 'lacunae' and 'hyperbolic partial differential'. I went cross-eyed trying to make sense of it but, if scientific, you might find it easier reading. [Publication edit: Cutea Benelli has since informed me that the science jargon is all artistic blah, blah, blah. And here I was thinking I needed remedial science classes. Duh!] What I did glean was that 'flux' (in my own words), "makes things break, move and fall-down-go-boom". Ahh! So that's why there's a Noggin Protector. I put it on without further hesitation and what a fashion statement it turned out to be! It oozed refinement and understated elegance and, as an added bonus, the note card promised it would make me look smarter. What do you think? Cristina García-Lasuén from ArtPulse Magazine discusses various forms of video art, in particular the latest of these, Machinima. Interestingly she explains that the word 'machinima' relates to the techniques used: machine + animation + cinema. You machinima buffs may have known that, but I'd always wondered where the term came from. You can read Cristina's article here. Click to set custom HTML The first thing that struck me when I arrived at the Metaverse installation by Daco Monday was the rich colours. A golden sunset soaked everything in the tones of dusk. The next thing I noticed was that there was lots to take in. There were unusual elements everywhere - skeleton hands holding paint brushes, desks, odd characters, clown-like fish, picture frames, mechanical skulls and more ... much more. Many of the components were over sized and had a toy box kind of feel to them. The colours of red and green predominated. There were items floating overhead too so, after stepping out of a giant chest of drawers I had been rummaging in, I flew around to see the rest. So what is this installation all about? Daco Monday has provided us with the following rather cryptic description: Time, space, dimension dimensions, micro, macro, global, universal beyond ... you do not see enter into a new dimension in a new time, space size, time, space the telescope breaks time shows the past the entrance is an exit like this the exit is an entrance the web is a micro-global ... Daco emphasises time and space which are both evident in this build. I'll let you interpret his meaning further when you visit Metaverse yourself! It's an interesting installation with lots of unique, fun elements to see. Ce n'est pas une peinture (English interpretation 'This is not a painting') is a relaxing, fun and beautiful art installation. Gracie Kendall (US artist Kristine Schomaker in 1st Life) has cleverly re-purposed her RL abstract paintings and mixed media work by texturing scores of curvy prim shapes with them. The result is an amazing, immersive 3D experience for us all to enjoy.
Hop on the ball next to the cake at the arrival point to be spirited away. Your avi will be taken on a tour, gently floating and tumbling through a sea of shapes, vivid colors and patterns. The images below don't do this artwork justice. You need to experience it yourself - it's mesmerizing! Gracie also gives you free skins based on her art. For the best view of Ce n'est pas une peinture go to preferences>graphics, turn your water reflections on and also set your draw distance to at least 256. Unified Heart, brain child of the very talented SL artist, curator and Cohen fan - Morgana Nagorski, is an exhibition featuring 2D artworks inspired by Leonard Cohen lyrics. Last year's Unified Heart exhibition absolutely WOWED the SL art community, attracting around 1000 visitors to the Palais Orleans Gallery Complex (since remodeled and even better!) This year the exhibition will include the works of 21 quality SL artists - yes I did say 21! The artists must meet certain requirements:
Several additional artists participating this year were either invited by Morgana or banged on her IM door pleading to be involved. The range of styles will be amazing. Unified Heart 2013 is a high quality art exhibition, unique to Second Life, and should not be missed!
Up, up and away!SkyDance V by DanCoyote Antonelli This is an amazing 1 hour event - perhaps a spectacular is a better description. Guaranteed to stretch your imagination, SkyDance Five is a story about an interstellar people whose bliss it is to dance forever in the depths of space...but drama ensues! As the name implies this is the 5th iteration the critically acclaimed SkyDance series. This year it includes:
If that's not enough, the entire show is presented on a three-kilometer (3000m) stage in the SL heavens. Highly interactive, the audience even determines how the story will end. "Who killed the fish?"
"The fish is big." Whether you're an SL art lover or not, if you haven't seen The Arrival by Rose Borchovski yet, make sure you do! It's one of those SL things you just don't want to miss. Along the back of a massive, tethered fish are a number of 'scenes', each of which constitutes a small work of art in its own right. There are elements in the water too that shouldn't be overlooked. This build has an eerie-cheery feel, even circus-like in parts. Having said that, the fish looks as if it might be regretting its arrival and not in a particularly festive mood. It won't do to be be shy around this strange, surreal 3D installation. I've visited a few times and I'm still finding details that I missed earlier. I'm also still blowing bubbles because of the bubble blower I was given to wear! This work contains elements that you may have seen in others by Rose — eyes, fish, flying chairs, text and pigs. Of course you'll also come across her very cute, blue eyed Susa Bubbles, including little male counterparts. They are all concerned about, "who killed the fish?" Rose has included some teleports for you as part of the build. Certainly use these, but also fly around and move in close because the elements in each scene are astounding. Also please wear your headset (streaming off) as the sound is an important component of the overall experience. Have I used enough adjectives to convince you that The Arrival is a must-see? If not, the images below should give you the motivation you need. It's also listed on the SL Art Exhibits Schedule. Enjoy! Earlier this week I blogged that Danger in Evolution was coming soon and now it's open for all to see! The scene was set when I arrived beneath a bleak, dark sky - I could almost smell doom in the air. This futuristic installation is a caution to us all. It purports disaster, from weird mutations to total catastrophe, if mankind fails to adopt a strong, values-driven approach to the advancement of technology. The different styles and approaches of the two artists, Nessuno Myoo and Kicca Igaly, are interesting visual contrasts. They also reinforce the point that none of us can predict exactly what will happen if we ignore our social responsibility and allow technology free reign, but whatever transpires we can be sure it wont be pleasant. As the following photos illustrate, Danger in Evolution is as disturbing as it is thought provoking. It almost punches us in the face with the warning to take preventative action now, before it's too late. If you care about the future of our planet this installation is well worth a visit. Don't miss it! |
AuthorHi there. I scribble my thoughts on the latest artworks, exhibits, 3D installations & machinima that I come across in my Second Life travels, along with other arty SL news. I offer my impressions of the pieces, but I'm certainly not an art critic. Each artwork will impact individuals in unique ways, so I encourage you to draw your own conclusions by visiting them in world. Enjoy! SearchCategories
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