On Friday August 2nd, the Linden Endowment for the Arts announced the successful applicants for the 5th round of the LEA’s Artist-in-Residence (AIR) programme.
Nin9 by Marx Catteneo, part of the 4th round of AIR projects
The LEA received over 30 applications, and those selected were viewed as presenting “truly outstanding proposals that represent a diverse range of virtual art.” While round 5 sees some artists returning for a second time, the majority of those selected will be exhibiting at LEA for the very first time.
The successful applicants will each be allocated a full region within the LEA for a 6-month period. They have up to four months to prepare their projects, which range from full-sim immersions, to innovative builds geared specifically for multimedia works such as sound and machinima. Each installation must be open for a minimum of two months of the 6-month allocation, and it is expected that some will be open in advance of the four-month build deadline. All exhibits must be open to the public by the end of November 2013 at the latest.
All openings will, as usual, be announced in the LEA blog.
Ghostville, July 2013) – click any image for full size
It’s most likely the a lot of people first saw Cica Ghost on their radar screens as a result of her LEA13 installation. Called simply Cica, it ran from September 2012 through February 2013 and featured 2D black and white animated stick figures in their village, occupying a 3D immersive space. At the time, it captured the attention of a lot of people for its unique approach to SL art.
It was followed by Rust in March 2013, again at LEA13 (where it can still be seen for a while longer). While very different in approach and look to Cica, Rust nevertheless carries some similar motifs as evidenced in Cica, and includes much of the artist’s humour and playfulness first seen in that installation.
Ghostville, July 2013
Now we have a new installation from Cica to enjoy., and hosted by Per4mance MetaLES. Ghostvillecontinues to build on the motifs seen in Cica and Rust, but presents them in a vastly different way to the other two works.
This is a landscape which echoes that of Rust in some ways, but which is also very distinct. In it is set a series of buildings, each of which is incomplete and yet complete as a build, if you follow me, and which presents its own little tableau or vignette. Among and within them are further echoes of both Cica and Rust, although this is by no means a re-tread of either. The broader influences are very different, with the buildings having something of a Mediterranean look and feel, and several of the vignettes allowing visitors to participate in them – there are chairs and window sills to sit on and at, board games to watch over, and so on.
Ghostville, July 2013
Cica’s own playfulness is once again much in evidence, and the composition of the various little sets is exquisite; you’ll probably need to take a look at each of them twice to catch everything.
There’s also something else here as well, which is hard to define – or at least which I’ve had a hard time defining. While there is a playfulness in the various vignettes, some of also seem to have a deeper feeling about them which is not always easy to catch, and which at times simply comes down to a turn of the camera or a change of viewing position which results in a piece taking on an entirely new appearance.
I honestly have no idea if this is in fact the case, or whether it is simply a product of my over-worked and family-distracted little brain. I do know that I thoroughly enjoyed my explorations of this piece, and will be going back as soon as time permits me the opportunity to spend a little longer there without RL looking over my shoulder.
Ghostville, July 2013
Ghostville opened on July 25th, and will run for two months. It’s not one to be missed.
I’ve been waiting to visit Nino Vichon’s When the Mind’s Eye Listens since it opened, doubly so after seeing Ziki Questi’s piece on the installation. However, I held off for a number of reasons, one of them being that with my decision to get a new PC, I wanted to try my hand at some basic in-world machinima, and Nino’s piece offered itself as the ideal subject.
The piece itself, part of the Linden Endowment for the Arts Full Sim Arts series, represents a journey through the neural pathways of the mind, as they hold your dreams, memories and fantasies, often intertwining with one another or intersecting one another and creating new pathways, combining them with other stimuli, all of which my feed back into the creative drive.
It’s a fascinating piece, largely driven through particle generators, built across a number of individual levels which present an immersive piece which is ideal for experiencing in the first person via Mouselook. Simply use the magic carpet present at each level’s teleport point to ride the neural paths and let your eyes – and ears, as there is an aural element to the piece – take-in the marvels of a quite creative and beautiful journey.
Each level is entirely self-contained with its own carpet ride, and if you like you can try Nino’s suggested experiment and ride the carpet with your eyes closed and just listen to the sounds around you (best done with headphones).
If you want to enjoy the visual element of the installation, take a few minutes to adjust your viewer to get the best experience: set your time to midnight, push your particle effects up (if like me, you tend to tone them down during “normal” SL use), and if you have a viewer which allows you to do so easily, push up your rendered glow and luminance a few stops each.
I’ve long enjoyed particle-based art in SL – as many know, I’m a paid-up member of the Tyrehl Byk fan club 🙂 – and Nino’s 3D work presented here is another excellent demonstration as to what can be achieved with the constructive use of particles in SL. With new particle capabilities already available server-side and just waiting the viewer-side controls, I’m looking forward to seeing what artists like Nino and Tyrehl come up with in the future.
Another thing which has long fascinated me in SL is machinima and video-making. While I have posted a few videos in my time to YouTube, all of them have relied upon still images and creative editing on my part to produce what amounts to slide shows with music, rather than true videos. This is because the old PC never really had the horse-power to handle SL and video capture. That’s changed with the new machine, and while I’m not going to be rushing off and filming everything at every turn, I did want to see what it would be like to capture and edit some “real” in-world video.
While it may seem a little cheeky on my part, Nino’s piece has been the ideal candidate for me, as I’m somewhat limited with things like camera movement as I only have a trackball (no Space Navigator or anything super-neat), and am currently reliant on the free version of FRAPS until I work out what it is I actually want to do by way of filming in SL. Nino’s use of magic carpet rides around the installation therefore freed me from the worry of camera movement while recording. I’m the first to admit I’ve got a lot to learn where video making is concerned, but, here’s my initial attempt.
If you haven’t already seen Nino Vichon’s When the Mind’s Eye Listens, I urge you to do so; it’s an amazing piece. Fare moreso than my video might suggest.
On June 16th the Linden Endowment for the Arts announced applications for the next round of land grants is now open in the Artists in Residence (AIR) programme. For artists not familiar with the LEA or the land grant process, the following is taken from the formal announcement:
The LEA Land Grant program seeks to promote and nurture the arts in Second Life, through a five-month land grant to recipients. 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. The LEA is able to offer land grants through the generosity of Linden Lab.
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 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 (augmented reality)
Land grant regions: LEA10 through LEA29
The announcement goes on to state:
Criteria
We feel one of the strengths of the LEA committee is that we come from different backgrounds – artists, architects, curators, historians, etc. – all of whom have different ideas on what makes virtual art great. We share a passion for this project, emboldened by differing viewpoints. What this means for the LEA Land Grant applicants is that there is no one ‘right’ project. Some committee members like immersive builds, others enjoy highly technical and scripted work, still others look for projects embracing collaborative, curatorial, or education projects. Some might wish to select those who have a history of successful exhibits in SL, while others are passionate about providing experiences to new and emerging artists. This is great news for applicants, as it means that ANYONE has a chance at getting sim, provided you show us you have an idea for a great project (even if it isn’t completely thought through, and we realise that this will most likely change in your working process).
APPLICATION TIMELINE
(Dates subject to change by LEA in the event of unforeseen circumstances.)
Applications open – June 16, 2013
Application deadline – July 16, 2013
Final Decision Committee Deadline – July 24, 2013
Notification period, and selection of alternates if need be – July 31, 2013
Sim handover and public announcement – August 1, 2013
HOW TO APPLY?
Complete the form at the end of the LEA blog entry, taking care to provide as much information about the proposal as possible and include relevant SLurls and web links to your work (if possible) in order to help the LEA committee make an informed decision.
I’ve been a little pressed for time recently, with both SL and RL conspiring against me, and in rushing to keep up with things like SL news and SL10BCC, I’ve managed to let a few things slip.
So here’s an attempt to redress the balance on two of them. I recently received nudges about two art exhibitions currently underway: the Madpea Art Festival and Art in Hats – Hats in Art.
MadPea Art Festival
The MadPea Art Festival kicked-off on June 15th and will run through until June 29th.
The first festival of its kind the MadPea crew have organised, the festival show-cases the work of 24 of SL’s top artists, and includes daily entertainment sessions throughout the event from some of SL’s top DJs, live performers and dancers.
Located in a very Tron-esque environment high above Salette, the festival is jointly sponsored by MadPea Productions, Branwen Arts, Cha Klaar and Sally Lavender, and features art ranging from sculpture to painting to immersive pieces to the abstract and even the erotic.
Full details of the event, including the entertainment schedule, can be found on the MadPea website.
Art in Hats- Hats in Art
A new exhibition at Veekay Navarathna’s Art India Gallery started on June 17th and runs through until July 28th. Sponsored by AVENUE magazine, it focuses on hats as both a fashion statement and an art statement, bringing together hats from well-known couture designers and SL designers to present images of the hats being worn in a way which tells a story about the hat itself.
Visitors to the exhibition are invited to take a basic, full permissions cloche hat, which they can then decorate howsoever they please and take a photo of it (on its own or being worn). Snaps should be passed to Quan Lavender, Art India’s Curator, who will display them in the arrivals area of the exhibition. Visitors to the exhibition will be invited to vote on the displayed submissions, and the first three winners (as decided by 50/50 vote from visitors and a panel of judges), will be awarded the following prizes:
1st prize: L$3000 voucher to AVENUE Models Academy
2nd prize: L$2000 voucher to AVENUE Models Academy
3rd prize: L$1000 voucher to AVENUE Models Academy
All three winners will also receive a selection of hats featured in the exhibition.
Entries recently closed for the University of Western Australia’s (UWA) 3D Art Challenge, which was open to artists from February 1st through May 30th 2013.
Entitled “Reflections”, the Art Challenge was run in tribute to the 2013 Centenary of the University of Western Australia, as UWA reflects on its 100 years of existence and ponders the question of what the next 100 years will bring. The 2012 Art Challenge was also run in tribute to the Centenary. 2012 is 100 years since the first staff were hired at UWA and 2013 is 100 years since the first students started studying at UWA.
Artists were challenged to come up with a piece of 3D art which fits the theme of the challenge, and to do so using no more than 150 prims (LI 150). In all 64 artists from around the world accepted the challenge, and their works are now on display for all to see on one of the UWA’s regions.
Judging is underway by a panel of invited judges, and the winners will be announced in August 2013, at a special event which will include the winners of the 2013 UWA Machinima Challenge, which is also being held on the same theme.
However, between now and midnight SLT on July 10th, SL residents have a chance to vote on the 64 entries – and in doing so, win a share of L$20,000 and some real-life rewards in the process!
All you have to do to participate, is visit the UWA exhibition of the 64 pieces, and a select your personal top 10 in order of preference. Send your entries either by e-mail (jayjayaustralia@hotmail.com) or list them on a notecard and send it in-world to Jayjay Zifanwe (please make sure you put your name on the title of the notecard with the words REFLECTIONS UWA Centenary 3D Audience Event).
The five entries which most closely match the juried top ten will each receive the following L$ prizes:
1st Prize (mostly closely matching the judges’ top 10): L$ 7,000 and an invitation to be on the judging panel for the next UWA grand art challenge.
2nd Prize: L$ 5,000
3rd Prize: L$ 4,000
4th Prize: L$ 2,500
5th Prize: L$1,500
In addition, aLL five winners will receive in the mail a special pack that includes a copy of the book, ‘100 Treasures of UWA’ which was produced for UWA’s Centenary.
For full details on the audience participation judging, please make sure you read the UWA blog article, which includes links to both the start of the exhibition tour, and directly to each of the 64 entries in the competition.
On Friday August 2nd, the Linden Endowment for the Arts announced the successful applicants for the 5th round of the LEA’s Artist-in-Residence (AIR) programme.
