Art in Second Life – Page 276 – Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld

LEA announces successful AIR applicants

Posted on March 9, 2013August 31, 2013 by Inara Pey

After extending the application period deadline from midnight SLT on the 19th February, the deadline has been moved to midnight on Sunday February 24th, the Linden Endowment For the Arts council has announced the successful applicants for the next round of the LEA’s Artist-in-Residence programme.

They are: Solkide Auer, Ambi bimbogami, Vaneeesa Blaylock, Marx Catteneo/Krakassus Jigsaw, uan ceriaptrix, Ole Etzel, Cica Ghost, Mac Kanashimi, Seraph Kegel, Ginger Lorakeet, Sowa Mai, Yooma Mayo, Johnas Merlin, Jack Mondegreen, Mantis Oh, Morlita Quan and Noke Yuitza, Sniper Siemens, thingiwishihadsaid, Betty Turead, and Newbab Zsigmond.

I'am standing on a part of AIR Round Three winner Chic Aeon's — Standing on a part of AIR Round Three winner Chic Aeon’s excellent *Machinima Open Studio Project* – read my review here

Commenting on the applications for this fourth round in the AIRS programme, the LEA announcement reads in part:

The LEA received nearly 50 high-quality applications, and it was a difficult decision, but those selected submitted truly outstanding proposals that represent a diverse range of virtual art. While a handful are artists returning for a second round, the majority will be exhibiting at the LEA for the first time. Projects range from full-sim immersions, to innovative builds geared specifically for multimedia works such as sound and machinima projects.

The successful applicants now have up to four months in which to establish their installation, which must be open to the public for a minimum of two months during the six month run of the region allocation. It is anticipated that many of the works will open in advance of the four-month build deadline. All openings will, as usual, be announced in the LEA blog.

UWA 6th Machinima Challenge: L$1.1 million in prizes

Posted on March 1, 2013November 24, 2017 by Inara Pey

On Friday March 1st, the University of Western Australia (UWA) kicked-off their sixth MachinimUWA Challenge under the title Reflections.

This year is the biggest Challenge to date, offering are prizes totalling L$1.1 million (approx. $4,500 US) – almost a 50% increase over the last UWA Machinima Challenge. The figure includes a top prize of L$200,000 for the winning entry as decided by the judges, as well as 9 other prizes ranging from L$150,000 to L$40,000. In addition, the UWA Centenary Prize of L$50,000 will also be awarded to the Machinima that best captures the essence of 100 years of reflections on education, and the UWA Art of the Artists Prize of L$50,000 will be awarded to the Machinima that best incorporates one or a number of the artworks that have been submitted to the UWA Centenary 3D Art Challenge. Finally, all winners will also receive a special RL UWA package.

The theme for this year’s challenge is Reflections, which the UWA press release on the challenge describes as:

Reflections in a pool of water… Reflections of light… Reflecting on the grandeur of the universe… Reflections of art…. An Inner Reflection…..Reflecting on opportunities lost, or seized… How ‘Reflections’ is interpreted is exactly like how beauty is interpreted…. in the eyes of the beholder… or in this case, the eyes and lens of the machinimatographer.

The Major Rule and Requirements

As always, there is the familiar UWA Major Rule and entry requirements.

Your machinima can be about any type of ‘Reflections’ you may wish to portray. There is only one requirement to make this a valid entry. At least one of the 3 major spaces of Reflection at UWA needs to be included in your storyline (the Reflection Pond, the Sunken Gardens, the Somerville Auditorium). You may choose to film in any other area of the campus if you so wish or you could include all 3 locations, but the rule is you need to select at least ONE. You may use props at the location, or maybe want to change the footage later during the post process, this is up to you… as long as one of the 3 spaces you choose to be part of your machinima can be recognised and form part of your storyline.

The other key requirements are:

The recommended running time for entries is around 4 minutes 30 seconds in length. This isn’t a hard rule, but entries aiming for the UWA special prize must fit within the recommended length
Entrants are asked that they acknowledge the works featured in their submission and the lands in which the submission was filmed
All work must be free of copyright issues. If requested, entrants must provide detailed information regarding the source, creator and background information of their work. If any 3rd party materials, such as music, is used, permission must be obtained from the creator
Completed entries should be uploaded to a suitable broadcast medium (e.g. Vimeo, YouTube, etc.), and links to the film sent to the UWA’s Jayjay Zifanwe and LaPiscean Liberty.

Please refer to the UWA presse release for full details on all requirements.

Key Dates

Entries Close at Midnight SLT 30th June 2013
Winners will be announced in August 2013.

And The Audience Can Get a Prize

There are also audience participation awards totalling L$45,000, with a top individual prize of L$15,000. All audience members have to do is watch all of the entrants and compile a top ten list of their favourites. Those which most closely match the judges’ top ten winners list will be awards prizes.

The Sponsors

This year’s UWA Machinima Challenge is generously sponsored by: The Parramatta City Council, Aview TV (LaPiscean Liberty), MetaHarpers (Arhenn Oberlander), Freemnason Magic and a very generous anonymous donor.

Seek Wisdom: Second Place winner of the 2012 MachinimUWA Challenge, by Karima Hoisan and Natascha Randt

LEA Full Sim artists 2013-14 announced

Posted on March 1, 2013August 31, 2013 by Inara Pey

The Linden Endowment for the Arts has announced their choices for the 2013 Full Sim Art series, which will now run through until the end of April 2014.

The Full Sim Art series offers artists across the grid a full month’s access to an LEA region in which they can host a show of their choosing. As such, applicants receive:

A full, 15,000-prim region (inclusive of the media) – not all the prims have to be used!
The freedom to choose when to open the show to the public
Coverage within the LEA and UWA blog & potentially in any other blogs confirming their continuing support of the series

Access to regions will be granted to successful applicants on the first day of each month, and must end and be cleared from the region on the last day of the month.

The 2013-14 line-up, as announced by the LEA on Wednesday 27th February, comprises:

2013

March: Fuschia Nightfire, Fuschia’s Fantasy Fairyland
April: Krystali Rabeni, Virtually Real
May: paleillusion, Frozen in Time
June: Kalanglarik Tomorrow
July: Nino Vichan, Musical Tonalities & Colour
August: SerenVide, Hope Springs
September: Secret Rage, Connected by Commonalities
October: Rebeca Bashly, Key
November: Lilia Artis & Moeuhane Sandalwood The Machine
December: Giovanna Cerise Fisicofollia

2014

January: Gem Priez Fractal Cathedral
February: Sea Mizin California Giant Redwood Forest
March: Mary Wickentower, CINEMA! Take II
April: michaelromani & beawildered Americana Retread

LEA AIR-4 application deadline extended

Posted on February 19, 2013August 31, 2013 by Inara Pey

The Linden Endowment for the Arts has extended the application deadline for the fourth round of the Artist-in-Residence (AIR) programme.

Originally schedule to close at Midnight SLT on the 19th February, the deadline has been moved to midnight on Sunday February 24th. The announcement of the extension reads in part:

While many well-known virtual artists have received grants, the LEA has also had the pleasure of hosting ‘younger’ AIRs and hopes to continue in that tradition. You need not have a great deal of experience, just some good ideas. The application is a bit more detailed to help guide you in thinking through your project, which we do expect at this point to be an idea in progress and not necessarily a portrait of the final result – more like a loose sketch! We also welcome applications from across the spectrum of the arts, for example performance groups that might want to embark on a bigger/longer term project than we can support at our performing arts space!

The LEA AIR programme seeks to promote and nurture the arts in Second Life, through providing limited term full-sim land grants to be used for creative projects and art installations over the course of a few months. Recipients can be individuals or groups interested in creating or curating art, or proposing cultural projects which would require/utilise a full-sim build and can be completed within the allotted time frame (5 months). The LEA is able to offer land grants through the generosity of Linden Lab.

Up to twenty regions, donated by Linden Lab and managed by the LEA, are generally offered under the land grant programme, and successful applicants will be granted the use of one full region for a period of six 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 (augmented reality)

Applications are not limited to visual art but are welcomed from all areas of artistic expression, including performance, music, and film.

Preference is for submitted works to be original in nature, although curated projects may present extant works. Successful applicants will have up to four months in which to execute their build, and must have it open for public viewing for at least the last two months of the grant period. Artists may alternatively use the land for multiple exhibits, but it is imperative that projects will be ready within four months from acceptance, and this time-frame should be considered (and reflected) in applications.

So if you have not yet applied for the programme, there is still time to do so!

Key Dates

Applications open: February 5, 2013
Application deadline: February 24, 2013
Sim handover and public announcement: March 8, 2013
End of round: July 31, 2013

Applications forms can be found at the end of the LEA website announcement for Round 4, together with all other necessary information.

Teleports to the exhibits by the current Artists in Residence, which will be open until the end of the month, can be found at LEA 3.

When a Song Bird did sing to me

Posted on February 16, 2013April 9, 2021 by Inara Pey

Song Bird (Flickr)

I discovered Song Bird, JadeYu Fhang’s wonderful homestead region, entirely by chance during my random roamings in SL. Part art installation, part gallery, part store, part photographers dream, Song Bird is perhaps best summed-up in a single word: exquisite.

The are three distinct parts of the region. There is the ground-level art installation, which is both a veritable tour-de-force of sculpture and artistic expression in SL, and also visually stunning when taken as a whole work of art in itself, complete with windlight settings. Overhead, and high in the sky, are JadeYu’s store, Dark Tears, and her art gallery – both of which should very much form part of anyone’s visit to Song Bird.

Song Bird (Flickr)

I cannot fully express how marvellous the ground level installation is. I’ve no idea how often JadeYu may change it (if she does at all), so if you’ve not seen it already, you should. Amazing really doesn’t cover it.

The pieces of the installation are on a grand scale, towering over a landscape which is covered in places by ghost-like dandelion seed heads which tower over you, or hanging in the air with a surreal precision. Such is the scale of things here that is some respects it is easier to look around via camera rather than explore on foot – but if you opt for this approach, be sure you do so carefully, as there is much here on more “normal” scales which can be easily overlooked when camming between the larger pieces.

Several of the pieces feature repeated motifs, which give a sense of theme to the various pieces, while other pieces appear to stand entirely on their own, leaving one with a very mixed set of impressions; JadeYu doesn’t provide any descriptive notecards for the various pieces, so the mind is free to offer-up its own interpretations – or to simply admire.

Song Bird (Flickr)

Many of the pieces are themselves vendors – hovering the mouse over them will display the L$ icon, and the prices at which they are offered are not going to break anyone’s bank – so those looking for sculptures and pieces with which to decorate their own regions / larger parcels with some very striking pieces of art may well find a visit to Song Bird more than worthwhile.

Overhead, the gallery displays a range of JadeYu’s striking paintings, which are also offered for sale as well and which would more than grace most homes. The pieces are all uniquely evocative and eye-catching. One thing I would perhaps recommend is that you turn your sound down before entering the gallery building – there is a background noise which I have to admit I found almost headache-inducing.

Song Bird (Flickr)

Also reached via teleport is JadeYu’s whimsical store – where having the stream active is liable to have your foot tapping (well it did mine, as I can’t resist the likes of the Andrews Sisters, Artie Shaw and Billie Holiday). Here you’ll find her skins and shapes, horns, wings and clothing, all in a cosy house atop a hill in a Halloween-style setting, and with the aforementioned music tripping out of a lovely pre-war radio by Lauren Bentham which is a delight in and of itself.

All-in-all, Song Bird is a real joy to visit, which anyone with a love of photography and art is going to find appealing.

Thoroughly recommended – just don’t forget the donation points and tip jars scattered around the region and at the gallery and store :).

Song Bird (Flickr)

Tripping out in Second Life

Posted on February 12, 2013May 5, 2025 by Inara Pey

It isn’t every day that one enters an art installation comes with a health warning. Yet that’s exactly what you get with Thoth Jantzen’s Mediamorphosis, the notecard for which opens:

WARNING!!
Seriously, If you suffer from epilepsy or are otherwise adversely affected by flashing lights and colours, do NOT play media here. You won’t get the proper experience, but you may just survive!

"My God, it's full of stars!" - a Bowman-like start to Mediamorphosis — “My God, it’s full of stars!” – a Bowman-like start to Mediamorphosis

This is a fully immersive multimedia presentation which features a mix of music, particle effects, set-pieces, art and a touch of interaction. There’s an extensive backstory to the piece, which forms a narrative and helps points the way towards explorations, but as Thoth points out, there are many ways through the piece (and several points where you can sit back and enjoy the show). Equally, while there is a certain depth and purpose to the piece, it’s not intended to be meaning-of-life deep.

The key thing with this piece is to make sure you have streaming media on and set to play all (if using a media filter) and use the local windlight (or set your viewer to midnight) and – explore.

When you arrive, you’ll find yourself in a white room with a single exit – the wormhole. Walk through – you’ll find the 2001 motifs clear – and the teleport to the exhibit proper in the form of one of the set pieces, the Hopper Cafe. Read the notecard offered and then follow the road. Along the way you’ll find pods you can jump into and enjoy a trippy little ride or two mixing particle effects, art and the various set-pieces, into an immersive show.

You can also spend time inside the Hopper Cafe and witness some of the show projected onto the windows, or you teleport to the other builds which make up the installation, where there are additional opportunities to sit and watch the light / image show. Just be aware that wherever you go – you have yourself become a part of the show for anyone else watching!

Metamorphosis is a piece which is hard to quantify. As the artist himself says in explanation of it, “Huh? What..?” … It is a piece which should, by its nature, be experienced rather than described – although it’s certainly not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. Or coffee, for that matter.

Ican only say enjoyed my time exploring and trying out the first-person pods and seats in which you hand over control of your camera to the scripts controlling the exhibit itself, leaving you with nothing to do but just enjoy (and the show is great with the lights out in the room!). Everything is looped, so “rides” take only a few minutes, although it is worth running through things a couple of times to enjoy the complete magical mystery tour.

If I have any complaint at all, it is that there should perhaps be more choice in the music – a loop of just three tracks which can be heard throughout one’s visit to the installation can start to get one’s teeth grinding by the time the fourth or fifth loop is reached…

However, this is just a niggle. Overall, Mediamorphosis is immersive, engaging, unusual and, well, trippy.

Go see for yourself.

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Category: Art in Second Life

LEA announces successful AIR applicants

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