“We’re trying to show new people much of what is possible in Second Life,” Damian Zhaoying informed me. “As part of that, we want to promote art and music. We’ve already held recitals by Latin singers – Merkabah Oh, for example.”
“Art must be present in the new user experience,” Mona (MonaByte) added, “It’s an important strand of Second Life.”
We were standing in the foyer of one of two galleries spaces hosted by the Ayuda Virtual Community Gateway, which has been designed specifically for Spanish-speaking people around the world, and which is part of the Lab’s Community Gateway programme. Both Damian and Mona are prime movers behind the project, and our conversation came about after I dropped into the region to see the art space – which is curated by Mona – after artist Storie’s Helendale (GitterprincessDestiny) pointed me towards it.
Two artists are currently on display within the galleries: LeMelonRouge (LeMelonRouge Onyett) – aka Francesc Palomas – and Desy Magic. They present very contrasting exhibitions which illustrate the breadth of 2D art potential in Second Life, whilst also touching on 3D art in-world as well.
In one, LeMelon displays BCN, LON, NYC, a selection of his physical world paintings of the cities of Barcelona, London and New York. Presented in bold, striking colours, the paintings show street scenes, parks, public walkways and café views, their rich colouring perfectly capturing the vibrant nature of all three cities. For me, and having spent more time in them than I have Barcelona (which I’ve only visited the once 😦 ), both London and New York are instantly recognisable, and not just because of their respective taxi cabs! I’ve wandered through Camden Market often enough to instantly identify it, even without the sign, while Piccadilly Circus and Brewer Street are unmistakable, as is New York’s Times Square.
The second gallery space is exhibiting Desy’s art, which features both 2D and 3D pieces. The former are primarily avatar studies presented in a range of styles and finishes, from “straightforward” portrait style studies through nudes to abstract works. Again the use of colour is vivid and striking, with the images amply demonstrating what can be achieved when using SL as a medium for artistic creativity. Also on display are a number of 3D works, at least two of which are prim-based, with all of them further demonstrating the versatility of the platform for creating / displaying sculpture-based art.
Including art within a Community Gateway is a welcome idea, and I was pleased to hear from Damian and Mona that Ayuda Virtual consider art – visual and performance – as an important aspect of Second life which should be showcased to new users. Which should not be taken to mean the Ayuda gallery spaces and these two exhibitions are intended just for new users coming into SL through the gateway. Both are richly expressive, are open to visit by anyone – and are worth taking the time to see.
I’ll be covering more on Ayuda Virtual at a future date, as there is a lot to see within the region.
Hand, Bryn Oh’s latest full region installation officially opens in Second Life on Saturday, December 10th at 12:00 noon SLT. It offers visitors an immersive experience which mixes art and storytelling with a touch of mystery and discovery.
On arrival, visitors are asked to accept the experience HUD (which will initially be blank) , and which can be minimised by clicking the dancing figure icon. As there is a lot of text to be read as one progresses through the experience, the HUD can also be further enlarged by clicking the Extra Large Text button on the HUD.
Instructions for viewer settings are also provided at the landing point. These are geared towards Firestorm and specifically the use of Phototools. Those on other v4-style viewers will find the settings under Preferences > Graphics and the Advanced Settings… button (Advanced Graphics Preferences floater). Bryn also uses Firestorm’s client-side windlight by altitude capability, so those on other viewers may need to manually change windlights (listed in About Land) as they move up through the installation.
From the landing point and instructions, a teleport sphere carries visitors to an underground tram station, and their first encounter with the principal character of the piece, Flit – or as she is sometimes known – Flutter. It is her story we are invited to follow, the narrative (and the way through it) indicated by Flit herself, as she stands within certain scenes or points the way along the route we should follow – such as walking a collapsed aerial mast like a tightrope walker, or standing on a stairway as if waiting for us to join her and continue up them.
This journey takes us through a strange, broken urban setting with decaying, collapsing buildings; a place where adults are almost (but not entirely) absent, apparently leaving their children to fend for themselves. Technology is still active – drones buzz around and project adverts on walls and floors for whoever might watch them – presumably as a form of currency / earning, and lights flicker and play. Walking through the streets and buildings there appears to be nods to dystopian sci-fi: a hint of Soyent Green here, a reference to rampant consumerism there. While Flit and the other children brought to mind shades of And The Children Shall Lead, minus the space alien angle.
Whether any of this was Bryn’s design or simply my over-active imagination, I’ve no idea – but Hand’s narrative naturally invites you to fill in the blanks: what has happened here? Why have the adult withdrawn? Why is the city so ruined? Lack of maintenance because there are no adults – or something else (there are hints to be found pointing to a fear of nuclear war). Thus, in experiencing Hand, we also extend it, by exploring carefully and letting the hints – posters, objects, etc. – suggest things to us.
There are also links and hooks into Bryn’s other work to be found here as well. Some are present within the story, others may be harder to find. As Bryn states, don’t be afraid to touch things as you explore. Take the lacewing beetle, for example; touching it will introduce you to Scissors a machinima by Bryn. Elsewhere, a broken cellphone lying on the kerb might lead you skyward to poignant piece of art based on an equally poignant image; and so careful exploration is required.
Byrn produced a trailer machinima for the installation (below), featuring music specially composed by Phemie Alcott. Phemie was due to perform at the opening of Hand, but Bryn reports that as Phemie’s mixer decided to commit suicide, the performance will now not take place until 14:00 SLT on Sunday, December 18th. Bryn isn’t sure how long Hand will remain in place – so be sure to visitor sooner rather than later, and please consider a donation towards Immersiva’s continued existence.
A Petrovsky Flux, the stunning, ever-changing cluster of devices that would assemble themselves and grow almost organically, only to blow apart and rebuild themselves over and over again, taking on a new form each time – has gone from Second Life.
Designed by Cutea Benelli and blotto Epsilon, the installation had, since 2010, been curated by the University of Kansas at their Spencer Art Museum region in SL, where it had over the years been a popular draw. However, at a time when eyes were all on the opening of the Horizons regions (see here) and return of Mont Saint Michel to Second Life in November 2016 (see here), the Spencer Museum of Art region quietly slipped away from Second Life, pretty much unnoticed.
It wasn’t until Chantal Harvey contacted me about the possible status of the Spencer Art Museum region that I found out something may had changed. “I’ve been trying to get there for weeks now,” she informed me via IM, “I was filming there. but it seems it is gone, do you know?”
A quick check on the map confirmed the region had indeed gone from the grid, and a check through Tyche Shepherd’s excellent Grid Survey summaries showed it had been removed from the grid during the week ending Sunday, November 13th, 2016.
It’s not clear if the removal is permanent or not – as I reported in 2014, the region came close to vanishing from Second Life, due to something of a miscommunication involving the Spencer Art Museum, the University of Kansas and the artists. As a result of that situation, I’ve written to Stephen Goddard, the Spencer’s Associate Director/Senior Curator of Prints & Drawings. He was responsible for the Museum’s presence in Second Life, so hopefully, he can shed some light on what has happened. Should he reply, I’ll offer and update.
In the meantime, here’s Toxic Menges’ 2010 machinima of A Petrovsky Flux to remind us of this fabulous build.
In July 2016, Giovanna Cerise invited me to explore The Lost Harbour, her (then) new gallery space in Second Life, shortly before it opened to the public (see here). Occupying the north-east corner of a region, it’s a superb open-air exhibit space, and Giovanna recently extended it with the introduction of a new skyborne section, which can be reached via an Anywhere Door at The Last Harbour’s landing point (just follow the arrows on the floor to the door), or alternatively, you can teleport directly to it.
The extension continues the theme found at the gallery’s ground level, offering a series of platforms on which elements and reproductions of Giovanna’s 3D installations are displayed, with her 2D work occupying panelled wall sections mirroring some of the floor areas on the ground level.
Of particular note to me on my arrival were two scale reproductions of elements from Giovonna’s Monochrome (open until the end of December 2016 and which I reviewed here), and her Ice Castle, which recently formed a part of her display at Holly Kai Park (see here). All of the pieces are offered for sale to the collector, and included a scripted resizer.
As a long-time admirer of Giovanna’s work, I can only say that the sky platform is a superb extension to The Last Harbour, offering an excellent reason for a re-visit – or for those who have not taken the opportunity to drop in, to have twice the reason to jump over and enjoy Giovanna’s art.
With the assistance of Lemonodo Oh, artists Douglas Story and Desdemona Enfield have resurrected StormEye, subtitled A Meditation on Waves for the month of December. For those unfamiliar with the piece, it first appeared in Second Life back in 2009 – the time before mesh – above the New Media Consortium campus where it proved to be a popular attraction.
An immersive, visual and aural installation, StormEye invites visitors to pretty much do just that – enter the eye of the storm, literally and metaphorically. It has been brought back to Second Life in pretty much the same condition as when first exhibited at the NMC campus seven years ago.
In order to fully experience StormEye, it is essential you enable full streaming media (not just audio – use the film camera icon). The instructions provided with the installation refer to using the latest version of QuickTime. However, as I’ve reported in these pages, QuickTime for Windows is no longer a viable option for people on that operating system – but any up-to-date Windows viewer utilising VLC (as provided by Linden Lab) or GStreamer should manage the audio and video in the installation.
StormEye release comprises two parts: an undulating red landscape built from sculpties using manufactured using mathematical data derived from Desdemona’s work using real-world data from the US Geological Survey and NASA. These have been overlaid with macro flower photographs by Douglas. Over this ruddy, almost Mars-like landscape floats a gigantic eye, optic nerve trailing behind it. constructed of around 1,000 prims with their surfaces used to display video, sits the Eye – and it is into this visitors are invited to climb.
On entering the tube of the “optic nerve”, which undulates gently in a waveform, you are surrounded by a gently changing cloudscape (if the video surfaces aren’t in motion, toggle the media (film camera) button a few times) together with the sound of brds carried on a gentle breeze. But wait a few seconds and the collective scene will change: the wind rises as the rumble of thunder can be heard and the birds fall silent. Around you the clouds move faster and darken to swirl around you as lightning catches up with the roll of thunder, accompanied by a torrential downpour across the surfaces around you. Then, almost without warning, everything changes: the storm vanishes and white clouds move across a blue sky; you are in the eye of the storm. Wait long enough, and the cycle will repeat as you pass once more through nature’s fury.
The shifting scene can be witnessed from within the tunnel of the “optic nerve” or from within the eyeball itself (both are recommended, as is watching the changing scene in Mouselook). When you wish to return to ground level, touch the semi-transparent tornado in the eyeball – and take a close look at the window pane where you’ll land. A nearby teleport spike will return you directly to the Eye if you wish to experience it again.
Opening at 12:00 noon SLT on Saturday, December 3rd, 2016, is the last Art at the Park exhibition at Holly Kai Park.
Joining us to see out the year are Owl Dragonash, Kayly Iali, Frankx Lefavre, Kody Meyers, Bluesrocker Resident, and Caitlin Tobias, and I’m delighted to have all of them appearing at the park through until the end of December 2016. And here’s a little more about each of them.
I’m particularly delighted to see Owl Dragonash at the Park. I imply no favouritism here, but I’ve been wanting to have Owl join us ever since I took on curating the exhibition spaces at Holly Kai. But circumstances have meant it’s not worked out – until now.
Owl’s art – and her writing – are always thought-provoking, evocative, and beautifully conceived and presented. I’ve been in awe of her work for a long time, and through it, she has taught me a few things which I hope have improved my own attempts at SL photography.
For her time at Holly Kai, Owl presents a series of images which reflect both her love of places in Second Life, and her exploration of personal expression through her avatar. When not photographing, exploring or writing, Owl host art exhibitions and handles booking live music artists for Commune Utopia. More of her work can be seen on her Flickr stream.
Physical world artist Kayly Iali both presents her work in Second Life and promotes the art of other artists through her galleries. I’m particularly in her debt for introducing me to Silas Merlin and Sheba Blitz, so her appearance at Holly Kai Park is a genuine delight.
Kayly entered art in 2009, and started exhibiting in Second Life in 2010. Her pieces are expressive oil paintings which she produces in one or two sittings, allowing them to appear as fresh as her subjects. She was recently selected for entry into a major regional art competition, the Crocker/Kingsley Art Competition – and was just one of 75 selected to participate out of 1200 applicants.
I’ve admired Frankx Lefarve’s immersive 3D art environments ever since his debut appearance at the Linden Endowment for the Arts in January 2014 with Glass and Light. There is a spectacular beauty in his use of light, colour and form which is exquisite; his installations often incorporate elements which look as if they have been spun from glass and transported in-world.
Whether full region installations, such as those presented at the LEA, or smaller pieces such as those produced for the UWA or SL Birthday celebrations, Frankx never fails to stun and delight the eye. His art can also be deeply personal. With Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor for example, he explores his experiences in dealing with anxiety and depression; it’s an evocative piece, one I sought to try to capture in both words and film.
For Holly Kai Park, Frankx presents his interactive Reflections at Midnight – please follow the instructions on the board leading up to it in order to enjoy it to the fullest – and Oracle.
“Capturing the wonderful ambiance and environments created by so many talented landscapers in Second Life is my way to relax and explore my imagination,” Kody Meyers says of his photography. “Each picture depicts a story or is a reminder of an experience one can reflect upon when admiring it. As a perfectionist, I take the time necessary to capture the picture, experimenting with different angles, framing and windlights, until the perfect shot is created — the one that comes alive.”
The result is work which, whether focused on an avatar or a landscape or piece of art, never fails to captivate the eye and hold the attention – as can be seen from his Flickr stream. I’ve long admired Kody’s work at exhibitions in Second Life, and am very pleased to welcome him to Holly Kai Park.
“I’ve been involved in the arts most of my life,” Bluesrocker Resident says of himself. “Coming from a musical background, I have had a very keen appreciation of the creative process, whether it be in music, the performing arts, painting, writing or photography. Having that interest sparked my involvement in the artistic possibilities of Second Life.
“I much prefer shooting out on location in the multitude of amazing sims which populate SL than in a studio, as I feel I get much better results that way,” he continues. “Since starting seriously taking photographs in SL about two years ago, I have broadened my horizons in what wonders this virtual world has to offer. Really, the only limits are those of the imagination.”
I’ve shared a number of exhibitions with Bluesrocker, and have always been intrigued by his work. His involvement and fascination with the creative process is readily apparent in his work, which is richly diverse in content and approach. This latter point is illustrated by the selection of images he has brought to Art at the Park, and can further be seen throughout his Flickr stream.
Caitlin Tobias has always lived her Second Life to the full. A former C:si combat player, specialising in the katana, she has been and active blogger and photographer since 2012, and has gained a rightful reputation for emotive, evocative, richly layered images which not only illustrate her blog and Flickr stream, but have also graced the pages of the RFL Fantasy Faire website.
“Taking pictures in Second Life is a hobby and I do not consider myself an SL Artist,” Caitlin says modestly. I’m not sure I agree; the artistry in her work is readily apparent, and amply demonstrated in her exhibit, Come As You Are.
“I asked six good friends one simple question, would you pose with me? And the answer to their question on what to wear was: ‘Come as you are’. It is not just posing, it is about accepting friends – as they are. I have used the same pose (by Del May) for all six and the men in them are: Almost Finished (nearly.doune), Temperance Haalan (tem.haalan), Huckleberry Hax, Grabriel (gabriel4botto.resident), JC Underwood and Brad Zeurra, and I want to thank them so much for their time and patience!”
You can also try your hand at photographing yourself and a friend using the provided poses and backdrop.
My thanks to all of the above artists for participating in Art at the Park, and I hope you’ll pay them a via at Holly Kai Park between now and December 31st.
