Category: Art in Second Life

More than an illusion…

Posted on by Inara Pey

August 2013: Flocke, asdescribed here, has gone & the region is under redevelopment.

The world seen through a child’s eye, is a world full of wonders. A world where imagination reveals many paths. The world seen within the eye of an adult can sometimes be scary and make us want to hide and close the eyes. Still we are, even if grown in age, children of this world … A journey about ‘Reality and Illusions’. A visual discussion where you might explore sometimes beauty and sometimes the strange and odd.

This is the description Joanna Corith gives to her new collaborative project at Flocke, which she has developed with Pale Illusion. It’s a region that is bound to grab my attention, as it features water, so I was pleased to get the nudge from Baz D. to go take a look.

Flocke
Flocke

Flocke is a place which can be explored as an art installation and simply as a place to visit. As an art installation, the introductory notecard for the region (tucked neatly aware in a little signboard .. somewhere … :)) reads, “We’d like to invite you to a little visual journey of a discussion we have about ‘REALITY’ and ‘ILLUSION’ and hope you’ll have fun to explore our thoughts, questions and perhaps conclusions we will make.”

As a place to visit, Flocke offers places to dance with a friend, or to sit and contemplate things (or one another) and a little open-air movie theatre.

Flocke
Flocke

Given recent world events, with tornadoes and floods making the headlines, the region’s design is also somewhat evocative and thought-provoking, with shattered houses suspended in the air, flooded ruins on the ground and even a ravaged houseboat.  As such, I admit I found my mind wandering in directions other than the nature of reality and illusion, despite the region’s designed being framed by Albert Einstein’s famous quote, “Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one”. I also found the inclusion of the little rafts with floating candles on one side of the region particularly poignant as a result.

That I was reminded of recent real life tragedies is not to condemn the build in any way. Far from it; that Flocke is so evocative on a number of different levels is to me a demonstration of the visual power of this open, almost minimal design. So I look at my own thoughts while visiting as reflective of the fact that we cannot avoid carrying matters from the real world into our second lives, and can thus find those matters resonating with us in the most unexpected of ways.

Flocke
Flocke

Often, when I visit a region, I tend to tweak my windlight settings, even if the region owner has set a complementary setting of their own. It’s not necessarily that I don’t like the selected windlight; it’s more a case that I like to have a twiddle and a play and present things in a (hopefully) interesting way in my snaps which still allowing anyone who may visit off the back of these pieces the broadest measure of discovery & the opportunity to perhaps tweak and place with their own windlight options.

Flocke, however, is one of the exceptions to this approach. The use of the Bristol pre-set with the region is simply perfect, and gives the region all the atmosphere it needs, so all the pictures here are presented “as-is”, so to speak, although I admit to twiddling with GIMP a little with a couple to get the desired monochrome results on the Flickr slideshow.

Flocke
Flocke

This may be an open and minimalist region in terms of landscaping, but you should keep your eyes peeled; there are some very interesting, subtle, charming and whimsical touches to be found as your wander around.  For those wishing simply to relax, try the little movie theatre in the corner of the region or perhaps spend a little time sitting on the raft.

I spent a good two hours in Flocke with a roaming camera, poking, nosing and snapping – and the truth is, I could happily have spent another two doing exactly the same.  Sadly, the needs of a rumbly tummy and the matter of sustenance proved to be increasingly distracting, despite my attempts to convince myself otherwise by repeating another famous quote on the matter of illusions: “Time is an illusion, lunchtime doubly so.”

Rest assured, however, I’ll be returning to Flocke. It’s that kind of place. Hopefully, I might see you there …

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(view slideshow full-screen)

Touring da Vinci’s World

Posted on by Inara Pey

I recently previewed Sniper Siemen’s new LEA exhibit, Da Vinci’s World. If you’ve not already visited, I really do urge you to do so: the exhibit runs through until the 21st July and is a fabulous piece.

In the meantime, I put together a little video from snaps I took when preparing my original article – please hit the YouTube cogwheel and up the quality to 720p for best results.

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City streets and dungeons deep …

Posted on by Inara Pey

I’ve been covering Chic Aeon’s Machinima Open Studio Project (MOSP) for a while now. Originally a part og the LEA’s Artist-in-Residence programme in 2012, where I first reviewed it, MOSP has more recently become a permanent part of the LEA environs, with a dedicated home on LEA7.

Chic herself continues to revise and enhance the facilities in the region, adding additional sets, props and vista in order to provide machinima makers with the widest choice of opportunities to meet their filming needs. Overall, the best way to keep up with the updates and changes is via the MOSP blog. The two most recent updates include a full region cityscape and a dungeon environment, both of which are well-suited to a number of uses.

"Night had fallen by the time I reached the city. The streets were deserted while all around me, lights shone from the high-rises and apartment blocks; a thousand silent eyes watching my every move..."
“Night had fallen by the time I reached the city, and I came full circle. The streets were deserted while all around me, lights shone from the high-rises and apartment blocks; a thousand silent eyes watching my every move…” – MOSP’s full region cityscape

The City build is a simple but effective set, offering a backdrop of tall buildings, streets, a row of shops and a large open area suitable for a number of uses, such as a park scene or open-air concert scene, and so on. Cars parked along the roadside add a measure of additional depth and the shops themselves are suitable for outfitting – or could even double as a row of houses.

The Dungeon is another simple but effective build, offering a series of torch-lit rooms built of stone and with stone floors which could easily be taken as the island of a castle or the cellars of a great, old house or simple a goal or cells standing out their own (there is a desert-like landscaping outside).

MOSP
MOSP: Dungeon set

Chic intends to keep on adding to the various sets as time goes on, and in introducing more in the way of mesh as a primary building option, which is not to stay the current prim builds will vanish any time soon.

“When I started putting the first MOSP together — and again when it was resurrected on LEA7 — I wasn’t terribly concerned with prim counts. I mean, a WHOLE sim!” she explains on the MOSP blog.

“But as more sets were added, those new land impact points became more important. So part of my self-described job description for the future will be continuously updating existing builds with the emphasis on super quality and low land impact mesh. My personal equation has something to do with visual impact in comparison to land impact costs. So some older prim buildings will certainly remain for a while. They have their own charm and are some of the most popular places at MOSP.

“But I suspect that in a year, most of LEA7 will be mesh, so much more can be fitted in.”

As it is, and especially with the ground-level vistas, she’s achieved a good balance between mesh and prim builds, presenting a range of sets and options which are suitable for both machinima filming and photography. With the arrival of the new city and dungeon sets, Chic has further added to the many opportunities MOSP offers the machinimatographer and photographer.

"I knew the SUV was Calhogie's; who else would drive something so over-the-top these days? Parking opposite, I got out of my car, feeling the comforting bulk of Mr. Redemption snuggled under my right arm inside my jacket. The SUV's headlight flashed twice, and I paused, determined to get Calhogie out into the open...."
“I knew the SUV was Calhogie’s; who else would drive something so over-the-top these days? Parking opposite, I got out of my car, feeling the comforting bulk of Mr. Redemption snuggled under my right arm inside my jacket. The SUV’s headlight flashed twice, and I paused, determined to get Calhogie out into the open….”

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Enter da Vinci’s World

Posted on by Inara Pey

LEA_square_logo_60Opening on May 22nd, and running through until July 21st on LEA 25, Da Vinci’s World is a fascinating insight into the life, work and times of Leonardo da Vinci which has been four years in the making.

The full region installation is a beautiful piece conceived and built by Sniper Siemens which includes no fewer than 25 reproductions of da Vinci’s machines and engineering marvels together with reproductions of many of his works of art and his drawings and papers, all presented in a rural setting modelled da Vinci’s (and Sniper’s) native Tuscany. Within this setting also stand models of the Castello dei Conti Guidi and the Church of Santa Croce, from the town of Vinci,  and a model of the farmhouse a short distance from the village, where Leonardo was born.

Da Vinci's World
Da Vinci’s World

“Da Vinci’s World” is a project born 4 years ago,” Sniper says of the piece, “The construction of the first machine of Leonardo was almost by accident. Now after several exhibitions including one from my friend Mexi Lane to the MIC I had the opportunity, thanks to LEA, to be able to realize my dream.”

In developing the installation, Sniper not only shows her own passion for da Vinci’s life and works, she also brings to bear her knowledge as a long-term mentor and helper: the entire region is carefully laid-out, the exhibits spread along walkways which progress you through the installation from the arrivals point through to the buildings of da Vinci’s birthplace, with plenty of singage along the way. Each piece includes an information giver offering notecards in a number of languages.

Da Vinci's World
Da Vinci’s World

The machines on display represent a good cross-section of de Vinci’s work, with offensive and defensive weapons standing alongside various flying machines, and mechanical systems such as hydraulic pumps, swing bridges, musical instruments and his architectural designs, all which combine to present a vivid picture of de Vinci’s genius.

The attention to detail is wonderful. Not only are the machines very well constructed and scripted, wander into the buildings and you’ll find da Vinci’s paintings on the walls, and his papers, sketches and notes scattered across tables or piled on the floor as if dropped there as the great man himself ran through his works and ideas, adding notes here and there or revising plans before hurrying off somewhere just before you reached the room…

Da Vinci's World
Da Vinci’s World

There is also more whimsical element to the exhibition as well – inside one of the buildings is a piece freely inspired by the film the Da Vinci Code, offering a chance to mixed fact with fiction.

This is very much an installation worth taking the time to explore. The wealth of information is huge, and the setting and exhibits worthy of the time taken visit.

Highly recommended.

Related Links

Da Vinci's World
Da Vinci’s World

When visiting Da Vinci’s World, note the region has dedicated windlight settings; those used in the images here are of my own choosing.

E-scape with Whiskey

Posted on by Inara Pey

I’ve blogged previously about Whiskey Monday’s fabulous artistry, which has been (rightly) the focus of many SL-related blogs and which last year made the transition into real life as well.

Starting on Wednesday May 15th, a selection of her work, hand-picked by Whiskey, and entitled “E-scapes” will be on display at he the Kelly Yap Art Gallery in Healy.

Whiskey Monday at the Kelly Yap Art Gallery
Whiskey Monday at the Kelly Yap Art Gallery

This show will run through until the 15th July, and features a number of Whiskey’s landscape shots, captured in-world. All of them are intended to evoke a feeling of solitude, although Whiskey herself has resisted added any text (or subtext) to the images she’s chosen to display, preferring to let them speak directly to the heart of those looking on them.

If you’ve never seen Whiskey’s work first-hand, I urge you to go along and see the exhibition; I’ve little doubt you’ve find yourself drawn-in to her work and very probably leaving with a couple tucked under your arm (you can buy any of the pieces on display).

Healy-2_001

For those who are particularly drawn to her work and wish to enjoy it in real life, you can do so through Fine Art America, where a further range of Whiskey’s work is on offer.  And don’t forget her Flickr stream and blog (see the links below).

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Nin9: the making of a machinima series

Posted on by Inara Pey

Marx Catteneo is a name perhaps known to some. He’s been involved in Second Life since 2007, and has made his mark as a machinima maker with an eye for detail, as with his video of the 2012 Fantasy Faire, and a quirky sense of humour which has created Staying Alive, a somewhat different take on the SL zombie scene to that portrayed in the official promo videos…

As a successful applicant to the 2013 Artist in Residence programme, Marx opens up the doors on the machinima film-making process in May as he starts work on his new web series Nin9, and is offering SL residents the chance to see the sets of the 9-part series, which will be debuting in Spring 2013.

The Streets of Felice, Michigan - a part of a set from Nin9
The Streets of Felice, Michigan – a part of a set from Nin9

Set in the fictional city of Felice, Michigan in late 2000, the series is described as a dark and disturbing psychological thriller playing in an alternative reality and which influenced by the likes of Se7en, Twin Peaks, Hitchcock, Basic Instinct, European Graphic Novels. The introduction to the series frames the story:

Francis Maddox, lieutenant and head of the homicide division at FPD, comes across a very nasty Neko murder.  It has all signs of a serial killer’s first victim. The crime scene brings back traumatic events from Francis’ past. The investigations will lead him into the seductive world of Neko strippers. Will he be able to withstand the charms of Layla? Is she just a colleague of the first victim, is she involved herself, or is she next on the killer’s list?

Felice
Felice, Michigan – a part of a set from Nin9

The set is currently open to public viewing from now until the 15th of May, when filming the series commences. Built by Rachelle Raviprakash, it packs-in an incredible amount of detail into the comparatively small space of a single region, which beautifully renders the run-down heart of an aging city. Several of the principal locations are present, including the Police Headquarters for District 13 and the strip club where (I assume) the mysterious Layla works.

Felice
Felice, Michigan – a part of a set from Nin9

I’m not sure if the region will remain open to the public during filming, or only open between the times when shooting in going on. The LEA blog post on the project suggests the former might be the case, but without sight of a filming schedule, it’s hard to be sure.

If you do opt to pop along and filming is going on, do note that the region is rated Adult, and that Nin9 is aimed “at an adult audience (it’s not porn but there will be nudity and violence). European graphic novels have a long tradition in this kind of adult genre and many of them are on the edge of art and entertainment (Moebius, Enki Bilal, Jacques Tardi, Schuiten & Peeters).”

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