My 6th LEA Arts Festival "peek" is Limina, Birth of Mecha by the very talented SL artists, Xineoph Guisse and WhatDuh Freck. What an incredible, unique and beautiful installation this is! I visited with a friend, Alvir. It was dark when we arrived at Limina's sky based module. There was a distinct a sci-fi-fantasy feel about the place. As instructed, we wore the special Hud and set up our SL preferences, then we walked out along a platform that jutted into the heavens. A giant, robotic bee awaited us at the end. Its wings were flapping ready to transport us to ... who knows where? It was exciting! The bee dropped us off at a place far below. I looked around. Wow! This colourful build is so remarkable that words escape me (and that's not a terribly good thing for a blogger to have to confess ... tee hee). I even resorted to looking up 'limina' in a dictionary but, not surprisingly, it's defined as 'the threshold of a psychological response.'
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Lumiya cell phone screen shot - in world view Lumiya is an app for Andriod phone owners who are desperate for 24/7 access to Second Life. Unfortunately I'm one of the minority with a Windows phone so I haven't been able to check this out, but the reviews on Google Play are all very positive. What users are saying
An image from 'The Arrival' by Rose Borchovski. Photo courtesy of pallina60 Loon My 5th LEA Arts Festival 'peek' is The Arrival by the acclaimed SL artist, Rose Borchovski. In a recent interview Rose revealed that this detailed build was inspired by her real life childhood experiences. She grew up in a seaside village and once every few years a small whale would be washed ashore, condemned to die a slow, sad death. It was the cause of much excitement throughout the village when this happened and left a great impression on Rose. This vivid recollection formed basis of the idea for The Arrival. Now I'm going to 'Peek Cheat' - but just a little. I wrote about The Arrival last month, so I'll refer you to that very enthusiastic blog post for further info, images and the SLurl to this incredible installation! The fourth in my series of LEA Arts Festival 'peeks' is Cries & Whispers by the very creative Nino Vichan. This is really two installations in one. It contains dramatic representations of scenes from two of Shakespeare's plays, Macbeth and The Merchant of Venice. The textures and visuals are amazing - the moving forest is particularly spooky. To assist viewers, note cards are dotted throughout the build (click the books) and quotes from the play pop up on your chat screen from time to time. For those who haven't had the opportunity to read or see these Shakespeare plays before, I've provided brief overviews of the plots below. They are very cool stories! Macbeth - the plotMacbeth is driven to murder the King of Scotland so that he can take up the throne himself. He immediately assigns the blame to someone else, leaving himself free of suspicion. Not only does he refuse to come clean, but he does everything in his power to make sure that his secret doesn’t leak out - including murdering others. His wife, Lady Macbeth, is an accessory and an accomplice to the King's murder. In fact it was she who came up with the devious plan in the first place... Macbeth - the three witches Three witches (also known as the weird sisters) make several prophesies that spur Macbeth to undertake his murderous acts. The prophecies included him becoming Thane of Cowdor and eventually the King of Scotland. Macbeth - the bloody hands No artistic work that explores the story of Macbeth could ignore Lady Macbeth's horrific hallucinations - blood on her hands. These symbolise her guilt, the onset of her insanity and are the reason for her ultimate suicide. Second Life artists get your creative engines running! Why? Because the 4th University of Western Australia (UWA) Grand Art Challenge was announced this week. Arguably SL's biggest art competition! This year there's a theme, 'Reflections' and the challenge comes with a whopping L$580,000 prize pool! Challenge Summary
The earlier your work is submitted, the greater the chance it will feature in one of the Machinima for MachinimUWA VI, which will launch on the 1st of March.
A number of entries will also be selected by a panel (independent of the Challenge Judges) to be on display in a physical (real life) Museum in Europe! Entries go on display immediately! Interested? For more details on the theme, the guidelines and how to enter click here. This is only my third LEA Arts Festival "peek" but I'm lucky to have survived! Upon arrival Danse Macabre appears to be a gothic art gallery. All the paintings on the walls have, as the name implies, macabre subject matter. A sign informs me that the exhibit is inspired by an ancient art genre that depicts myths and stories. Spooky SL art and photography? Cool! I walk innocently through the archway, further into the gallery's gloomy interior ... What I'd thought was going to be a slightly scary photo exhibition soon took a major turn for the worse. The more pictures I saw on the walls and the further I wandered into the gallery, the more creepy, horrifying, monstrous scenes I was forced to pass through. My poor little avi was on her own and she was soooo frightened! (And she's not usually a wimp.)
The second in my series of LEA Arts Festival 'peeks' is Cica Ghost's, Black and White World. This build is deceptively cute and simplistic. Admittedly, it has undeniable child like qualities such as stick figures and simple line drawings of houses, trees and other typical neighbourhood objects. However, the more you explore this little wonderland, the more you discover its sophistication. Everything moves slightly - the wind blows, people ride bikes and fish jump in ponds. It's clever. I visited Black and White world with a good friend, Jamie. We started discussing how it was made but Jamie stopped me in my tracks when she posted, "Oh what are we doing? This is so much fun. We should just appreciate it for what it is." I had to agree and from then on Jamie and I were frolicing like kids over bridges and hills. Pffft to the technical side of things!
I'll be "peeking" at one exhibition, machinima screening or event from the LEA Arts Festival each day day this month, as long as real life allows me the time. The first of my peeks is the electrifying installation called JJCCCART. This build was an eye-opener for me. Just when you think you can identify an artist by their style they trip you up. Sheesh! That's what JJ has done here. That's if the owner of this neon-filled build is the JJ Coronet whose colourful artworks I've come to know and love. I'll assume it is and feel sure I'll be speedily admonished if I've got it wrong :) Two things struck me when I arrived here - bright, neon lights and cement - and these two themes proved to thread their way throughout the entire installation. The candy coloured lighting was a stark contrast to the concrete architecture. The overall atmosphere was close to, but not quite, industrial. I wonder if there's such a thing as candy-industrial?
Many know Melusina Parkin as an excellent SL photographer but few know that, as the owner of Melu Decu, she also creates Art Deco furniture. The Art India Gallery has invited Melusina to combine her passion for the era with photography and building - the result is 'ART DECO'. Melusina has created a spacious Art Deco environment to display her latest photos and her new releases of low prim mesh furniture. The uber cool Art Deco Lounge will host events: a fashion show by Sonatta Morales; talks about this special era and parties. To complete the show, info boards about different styles of Art Deco around the world and other interesting facts will be placed in a skybox. The ART DECO exhibit opens Saturday 2nd February at 2 PM SLT with a Flapper Party - feel free to come dressed for the occasion! (The location will be closed until the exhibition opens.)
The LEA Arts Festival is packed with interest and fun. It features twenty sims with:
For more details you can check the LEA blog and/or refer to the SL Art Exhibits Schedule (below).
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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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