Category: Art in Second Life

Art in Hats returns

Posted on by Inara Pey
Art in Hats 2014
Art in Hats 2014

Following a successful inaugural event in 2013, Art in Hats returns to Second Life with a new  venue and even more designs and images to see – and more to do!

Art in Hats 2014 is taking place through until the end of July at Boutou. As with the 2013 event, it focuses on hats as both a statement of fashion and art. On display in a open-air, urban-style environment, are around 100 hats and headgear from some eighty designers and artists.

Art in Hats 2014
Art in Hats 2014

Exhibition curators Quan Lavender and Emma Portilo paired the designers with SL photographers, who produced portraits and images of the hats being worn. The result is a stunning display of art and fashion, all of which is available for sale should visitors feel inclined to obtain something to make a splash at the next major event they attend, or if they are looking for fashion-inspired art for a wall of their home. Demos of some of the hats are also available if those who prefer trying-before-buying.

At the centre of the installation is a little gift and freebies area and a selection of classic top hats from The Mad Hattery for sale at L$10 apiece.

Art in Hats 2014
Art in Hats 2014

As well as the main exhibition, Art in Hats will be hosting a fashion show on Saturday June 21st at 14:00 SLT, and there is a special charity auction event being held through until the exhibition closes on July 31st, which features a number of unique hats which are being auctioned-off in support of Feed a Smile. These include the delightful Dark Collection, comprising six items of headwear by Secret Rage, including Symphony, which features piano keys which can be played, and Life of the Party, which turns on and off when touched. Visitors just need to touch the little red top hat next to each item to place a bid.

Visitors can also participate in the Art in Hats contest which offers some very impressive prize packages. All visitors have to do is take the Copy / Mod basic bowler hat on offer, decorate it, take a photo of the finished item (aspect ratio 3:2) and send the image to Quan Lavender. All entries received are displayed in a special section of the exhibition, where they can be voted on by other visitors (who account for 50% of the voting, with the competition’s judges providing the other 50%). So that everyone has an opportunity to see and vote on competition entries, they must be sent to Quan no later than July 27th. The three winning entries will be announced during the closing event on July 31st.

Art in Hats 2014
Art in Hats 2014

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Insidious: the Spread of Ideas

Posted on by Inara Pey
TSOI-11_001
Insidious: The Spread of Ideas – LEA18

Frankx Lefavre’s latest installation at LEA18 may have been put together at relatively short notice after the intended artist had presumably dropped out of the current round of the LEA’s Artist In Residence grants, but it is nevertheless a fascinating piece offering a wonderful breadth and depth of interpretation.

Insidious: The Spread of Ideas presents the visitor with a very alien environment. Around you is a strange, faceted green sky, while the ground beyond the very human-looking walled terrace on which you land is a vivid blue-green, suggestive of a sea frozen in time, waves caught mid-swell. Scattered across it are other indications of former civilisation: collapsed walls, a meandering footpath, and a huge, crystalline form carved into the likeness of a human head.

Insidious: The Spread of Ideas - LEA18
Insidious: The Spread of Ideas – LEA18

Across this landscape spreads a strange tangle of organic-looking growths, reaching outwards from the great monolith and curving around the landscape as if to enfold into slowly spreading arms. Nor is this all, as ranged between these tangled arms, stand creatures for whom the term alien is entirely appropriate.

Whether the landscape is that of Earth in the far-flung future, or another world elsewhere in the cosmos in unimportant; all that matters is that it had once been the home to humans. For a time it had been theirs, but that time has long passed. Whether civilisation here had faltered and failed or moved to other stars and other planets, makes no difference. All that remains are their ideas; stored for the ages to come within a great monolith, carved in their likeness, awaiting others…

Insidious: The Spread of Ideas - LEA18
Insidious: The Spread of Ideas – LEA18

And others have come. So much like us in their curiosity to explore the cosmos around them, yet so unalike in look and form. Perhaps they sought to study the strange monolith; or perhaps it was simply the passage of time and the weakening of age. Whatever the reason, the human ideas have escaped their confines, and now they spread across this otherworldly landscape, growing, spreading like tangled vines. They call to those who have come, drawing them to the monolith; infecting their thoughts, reshaping their ideals and goals, supplanting them. Like a contagion, human ideas will survive; they are insidious.

Is the crystalline head, in which the ideas can be seen shifting, writhing, turning, growing, through the magic of ribbon particles, a honey trap? Did it lure these creatures to it and encourage them to build their stairways up to it and breach its walls to give the ideas within freedom? Or is their presence purely happenstance, the spread of ideas as organic forms already having begun long before their arrival? You decide.

Insidious: The Spread of Ideas - LEA18
Insidious: The Spread of Ideas – LEA18

That ideas can seem like an infection invading us, is not so strange; when struck by an idea, we can react in an excited almost feverish manner.  Thus this installation has something of a resonance for us on a purely natural level. But there is also a lot more here as well; the hint of racial immortality, that in the distant future humankind might outlive its own extinction by infecting other races with its thoughts, ideas, desires, emotions. This brings with it shades of the age-old debate on whether or not humans are planetary parasites, adding a whole new twist to such ideas.

Beyond offering multiple interpretations (which tend to grow the longer you explore – just like the ideas within the build are intended to be growing), this piece is fascinating for its use of mesh  – Frankx tells me some 90% of the installation is mesh – to create a very organic look to the environment and the aliens themselves. Ribbon particle effects are also put to good use here as well, as mentioned above, so it is worthwhile taking a little time in explorations to discover them; those not wishing to walk can ride on buglike buggies. Do keep an eye out for the fish as well…

An absorbing installation which will be open through until the end of July as a part of the current round of LEA grants.

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A Maze In Grace in Second life

Posted on by Inara Pey
A Maze In Grace, LEA6
A Maze In Grace, LEA6

Recently opened at LEA6 is Krystali Rabeni’s A Maze in Grace, which offers visitors a two-part maze to explore.

“Labyrinths are arguably mankind’s first creation borne purely of human imagination. Today, labyrinths and mazes cradle millennia of legend and folklore in their twisted articulations,” Krystali says of the piece. “Labyrinth and maze imagery has at different periods of time in various parts of the world been associated with all aspects of human life. It has been used as a symbol of fertility and birth, as well as one of purgatory and death. It has religious and meditative importance in Hindu, Christian, Islamic, Buddhist and Shamanic rituals.”

A Maze In Grace, LEA6
A Maze In Grace, LEA6

The starting point for this particular maze is a raised stone terrace ranged to the west of the region, and which offers visitors a note card on the installation. Much of the rest of the region has been flooded, squat grassy banks dividing the water up into channels which surround the terrace. Fours sets of steps, one on each side of the terrace, descend into the ankle-deep waters. At the foot of each set of steps is a sign admonishing people to Keep Off The Grass – a reminder that the water forms the paths of the maze, not the grassy banks.

Within these channels lie several paths which will lead the explorer around and through the region, passing through gaps in the grass banks and to the entrance to the second part of the maze. This is a classic Venus labyrinth, the labyrinth of love and creation, and itself represented by the water element, and one of the nine celestial labyrinths.

A Maze In Grace, LEA6
A Maze In Grace, LEA6

There are also a couple of secrets to be found as you journey along the watery paths, passing swans and sculptures alike. The first of these is A Maze in Grace; the second, a solitary koi carp. The koi is also reflective of the overall theme of the installation, having a strong life symbolism of it own, as described in the introductory note card.

Krystali tells visitors that as with life, there is no map to help people through this maze. The paths to the centre are many and varied; some people may opt for the short, quick routes to the Venus labyrinth, others may try for the longer paths. There is no right or wrong; but also, as Krystali says, there is no rush nor race. This is a place where you can wander with your thoughts for as long or as short a time as you like.

After all, as many in the past have noted, it is not the destination that counts, but rather the journey taken.

A Maze In Grace, LEA6
A Maze In Grace, LEA6

A Maze In Grace is a part of the LEA’s Full Sim Art series, and will be open through until the end of June 2014.

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LEA open round seven of AIR land grants – and more!

Posted on by Inara Pey

LEA_square_logo_60On June 1st, 2014, the Linden Endowment for the Arts Committee announced the opening of the seventh round of land grants for the Artists in Residence (AIR) programme.

Twenty regions (LEA10 through LEA29), donated by Linden Lab and managed by the LEA, are generally offered under the AIR programme, and successful applicants will be given the use of one full region for a period of five months. The region may then be used on an individual or group basis for such diverse activities as:

  • Full sim exhibitions and / or immersive installations
  • Curated projects, especially those which have a connection to physical exhibitions and events (mixed reality).
The Timewalkers, LEA AIR entry, LEA15, May 2014
The Timewalkers, by Solkide Auers, and LEA AIR entry, LEA15, May 2014

Artists are asked to take no more than 3 months to execute their build, so that their installation is open to the public for at least the last 2 months of their grant. However, artists may also open their installation ahead of the three-month build deadline, and many artists in the past have used their land to have multiple exhibits.

The timeline for application as it currently stands is:

  • Application deadline: June 30th, 2014
  • Notification by: July 15th, 2014
  • Sim handover and public announcement: July 31st, 2014
  • End of round: December 31st, 2014.

Artists and performers wishing to apply should read the round announcement and complete the application form at the bottom of that page.

Other LEA Opportunities

A Cathedral Dreamer by Gem Preiz, a Full sim Art series entrant, January 2014
A Cathedral Dreamer by Gem Preiz, a Full sim Art series entrant, January 2014

A blog post by LEA Committee member Honour McMillan, outlines other available LEA grant options, and how to apply for them. In brief, these are:

  • LEA6 hosts the Full Sim Arts series, curated by JayJay Zifanwe. The region is made available on a one month basis to artists, with slots now open from July 2014 onwards. Applications for the use of the region should be made directly to JayJay in-world
  • Five additional core regions (LEA1, LEA2, LEA4, LEA8 and LEA9) are available. These offer the most flexible use of LEA regions, and can be used for periods of approximately 3 months duration, the time and amount of land provided dependent upon the use defined in the application form, with applications accepted on an ongoing basis
A part of the LEA Gateway at LEA3
A part of the LEA Gateway at LEA3

The remaining three regions of the LEA are all “special purpose” regions. these are:

So whatever you needs arts  and / or performance-wise, the Linden Endowment for the Arts may well have you covered, land-wise. So why not drop them an application today?

A Virtual Lens and a creative eye

Posted on by Inara Pey
Virtual Lens: Selected Images, 2013-2014
Virtual Lens: Selected Images, 2013-2014

Opening at 13:00 SLT on Friday June 6th, is Virtual Lens: Selected Images, 2013-2014, an exhibition of Ziki Questi’s photography captured over the two years in the title, as selected by the artist herself.

Taking place at Vita Theas’ Serena Imagine Arts Center at Wolves Land, Virtual Lens is a personal presentation for Ziki. “The images are simply ones that I particularly enjoyed as I looked back on my work since the beginning of 2013,” she explains. “While there isn’t any particular theme to the photographs as a whole, there is one grouping along the eastern shore that depicts scenes from Roche, a sim by ddsm2 Mathy, where I’ve worked with depth of field and tilt-shift techniques.”

Virtual Lens: Selected Images, 2013-2014
Virtual Lens: Selected Images, 2013-2014

As an admirer of Ziki’s images (she is one of two SL photographers who have had significant indirect influence on my own attempts with the viewer’s snapshot floater), I felt very privileged to have a preview of the exhibition while she was still setting things up.

The display space takes the form of a summer glade surrounded on three sides by water. A path of dry earth winds through the trees and passes a lighthouse at the water’s edge before meandering onwards – be sure to follow it under hill to ensure you see all the pieces on display.

Ziki’s photographs are displayed alongside the path, each one mounted on its own plinth and in her familiar panoramic format. Details of the location featured in each picture, and the date it was captured, can be found on the reverse side of each frame.

Virtual Lens: Selected Images, 2013-2014
Virtual Lens: Selected Images, 2013-2014

Taken as a whole, it’s a striking, natural environment into which, whether by accident or designs, the selected pictures fit perfectly.

Some of my favourite images are on display here; I can’t ger the hang of tilt-shift for love nor money with the snapshot floater. Ziki, however, has it down to a fine art, and the images she has selected from her time at Roche demonstrate this admirably. So much so, that when looking at some of them, it is easy to believe you’re seeing not images captured in a digital world, but rather precisely framed pictures of model miniatures. They really are that life-like.

Virtual Lens: Selected Images, 2013-2014
Virtual Lens: Selected Images, 2013-2014

This is a superb installation, forming something of a retrospective stretching back over the last 18 months by one of Second Life’s premier photographers, and definitely not one to be missed. And if you fancy taking one of the images on display home with you – you can; all of them are offered for sale.

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A chaotic parade of demons

Posted on by Inara Pey
Hyakki Yagyou - Chaotic Parade
Hyakki Yagyou – Chaotic Parade – LEA19

Now open through until June 30th on LEA19 is Hyakki Yagyou – Chaotic Parade. Curated by Yooma Mayo, this is a collaborative / shared space installation, featuring the work of 25 SL artists (see the installation poster at the end of this article for the names of all who participated), which draws its inspiration from the Gazu Hyakki Yagyō.

Dating from the 1770’s, Gazu Hyakki Yagyō, “The Illustrated Night Parade of a Hundred Demons” was the first volume in an ehon by Toriyama Sekien, and which featured illustrations of assorted beasts, demons, ghosts, monsters and more, drawn (literally and figuratively) from assorted Japanese folklore, stories and artwork.

Hyakki Yagyou - Chaotic Parade
Hyakki Yagyou – Chaotic Parade – LEA 19

Sekien’s demonic parade, spread over a number of volumes, was not something you’d wish to encounter, as doing so could prove fatal or result in the procession laying claim to you, and carrying you away.

The parade at LEA19 features quite the menagerie winding its way up into the sky over the region. I confess to not being sufficiently familiar with all of the beasties and assorted demons and others from the original to say which among those spiralling upwards in Second Life are drawn directly from Japanese lore – although some educated guesses can be taken. However, it is fairly clear that a number of the demons here are from times a lot more recent that the 1770/1780s – which doesn’t make them any less fascinating to witness.

Hyakki Yagyou - Chaotic Parade
Hyakki Yagyou – Chaotic Parade – LEA19

For those wishing to poke and pry some more into the individual creations, Yooma has provided a list of all the demons in the parade (broken down into three parts) listing their name and the artist responsible for creating them, together with a snapshot of the creature in question.

Hyakki Yagyou - Chaotic Parade
Hyakki Yagyou – Chaotic Parade – LEA19

Rather than run through them here, what I will say is that this parade is an imaginative, vibrant swirl of colour and motion, each piece within it forming a unique part of the whole. Each of them is delightfully detailed – even the creepy-crawlies – and naturally draw you in and encourages careful camming and studying in order to capture it all. Doubtless when doing so, you’ll find you’ll have certain favourites among the gathering…

…Just be careful they also don’t decide to make you their favourite, and spirit you off forever on their nocturnal chaotic meanderings!

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poster