The Artists’ Village at Campbell Coast, created by BJoyful and Doc Rast (rasterscan) and curated by Owl Dragonash, opened A Street Fair, an extensive ensemble exhibition of 2D and 3D art on Tuesday, September 22nd.
A Scottish themed Mainland residential setting that’s open to the public, Campbell Coast offers access to both Linden roads and protected land and to sailable water, with the Artists’ village occupying one corner overlooking the coastal waters. The exhibition features a mix of residential artists and guest artists, with art displays both within the town houses of the village, along the cobbled streets and on the outdoor walls of some of the the buildings.
Artists’ Village, Campbell Coast: Etamae
Participating artists within the studio spaces comprise: Dhyezl, Moondance, Reycharles, Gidgy Adagio, Whimsical Aristocrat, Michiel Bechir, Owl Dragonash, John and Tempest Huntsman, Suzen Juel, Dimi Ludwig, Jed Luckless, Lexus Melodie, Inara Pey, Larree Quixote, GoSpeed Rasere and Skip Staheli.
Further special exhibits are presented by Etamae, Jaz, Shakti Adored, Thomaz Blackbur, Lena Kiopak, Radagast Malaprop, and Ciottolna Xue.
Artists’ Village, Campbell Coast: Skip Staheli
As might be expected from this list, the art on display is wide-ranging and covers both 2D and 3D art, the former primarily focused on landscapes and avatar studies – although Jed luckless presents a rather unique display of posters from his past exhibitions and those from Phish Bowl events, , whilst GoSpeed offers links to her novels. Ciottolna Xue’s sculptures, meanwhile bring additional life to the local streets, together with some by Reycharles as they sit outside his studio.
Given the sheer volume of art on offer, trying to define all of it would lead to a TL;DR piece – suffice it to say that what is presented is engaging and well worth the visit. And given the sheer volume of art, for those looking for something new for their SL home, as well as those who appreciate art, will find this a worthwhile destination.
The University of Western Australia has been a long-term patron of the arts in Second Life
From 2009 through through 2018, the University of Western Australia (UWA) was a name synonymous with patronage of the arts in Second Life.
The university first became involved in Second Life largely through the encouragement of faculty member Jayjay Zifanwe, and under his guidance and the curation of FreeWee Ling, UWA oversaw a series of art challenges that offered impressive cash rewards for 2D, 3D and machinima artists.
These Art and Grand Challenges yielded some of the most exceptional displays of art and creativity seen within – and beyond – Second Life, and became a hallmark for artistic excellence. Over the years, I attempted to cover down the years through this blog; however, from the end of 2015, UWA started a gradual winding-down of their operations in Second Life.
Pursue Impossible (2015) marked the end of the UWA supporting Second Life artistic expression with large-scale cash prizes. Image courtesy of UWA
Sadly, all good things must eventually come to an end, and the time is coming to say farewell to the last remaining UWA region – and in order to do so, a final art exhibition is to take place in the UWA’s exhibition space over the region.
Open to all 2D and 3D artists, the exhibition has been entitled Gratitude. It is being organised with the approval of the UWA by Chuck Clip, who describes the event thus:
This is a grand finale, a sad farewell to show our gratitude to UWA and all that they did for us as artists, curators, and residents of SL. Their work brought life and beauty to all of us and made the art world in Second Life a thing to behold. Why The Theme “Gratitude”? For over a decade, the University of Western Australia has been synonymous in the minds of many residents of Second Life with the arts and the support thereof. Their work was unparalleled on the grid, and made waves in the art world that, even as they prepare to close their sim, resonate through the art world today.
There are so many people whose lives they touched in one way or another. So many artists found inspiration in their 3D Art Challenge themes, and support in the encouragement of the community they created. Let us all come together this one last time to say thank you to the men and women of this great institution, to celebrate their achievements, their impact on our own achievements, and to mourn their departure.
– Chuck Clip, via note card
Those wishing to participate in this special event should note the following:
The event is open to all Second Life 2D and 3D artists, but is limited to one entry per artist.
Artists will be given a maximum of 150 LI with which to realise their work.
Entries should be able to be interpreted by the casual viewer as being representative of the theme of Gratitude. Where the link to the theme is difficult to ascertain, this should be referenced in a note card accompanying the work.
All entries must be submitted no later than 23:59 SLT on Sunday, November 1st, 2020 via the official UWA Art Show Submissions boxes (see below).
All entries must be accompanied by a note card containing: the artist’s name and a brief biography; the name of the submitted art (this should match the actual name of the piece as an object); a description of the piece; any landmark to more of the artist’s work, if applicable.
The exhibition will open at 12:00 noon SLT on Wednesday, November 11th, 2020, and will be marked by a special opening event with live entertainment, and will close on December 30th, 2020.
The region is currently set to close on December 31st, 2020, and art will be cleared prior to this occurring.
How to Enter
Place the artwork and covering note card in the UWA Art Show Submissions boxes located in the following regions:
To submit entries, left-click on the entry and HOLD the mouse button down, then press CTRL and drag the entry to the Art Show Submissions box. When the cursor is over the box (red outlines should appear around the receiver box), release your left mouse button and the item is received.
Repeat the above for the note card as well.
If you have problems with the box give artwork to Chuck Clip along with a note card containing your name, together with the art.
General Rules
Any style of 2D and 3D artwork can be submitted, provided it is in keeping with the exhibition theme and meets the General maturity rating for the UWA region and in accordance with Linden Lab’s Terms of Service and Community Standards. Items can be static or animated.
In addition:
All entries cannot exceed a maximum of 20×20 metres.
If scripts are used, they should be kept too a run time of 0.2ms (0.5ms maximum). Anything above this must include an on/off on touch with time out of up to 10 minutes.
By submitting an entry, you are giving permission to the University of Western Australia and Chuck Clip to place the objects anywhere on the UWA region, and to have information and images of the entries placed on UWA websites and on websites promoting the UWA region or events held on the UWA region or to be filmed for machinima purposes.
All work must be original. Renderings of works by others, in part or in whole, whether or not they are under copyright, should be acknowledged and permissions secured when appropriate.
The Muse, September 2020 – click any image for full size
In February 2020, we visited The Muse, a Homestead region designed by the superbly named “United Nerds of Building” (see: Finding The Muse in Second Life). Earlier this month, I received a note from Liss Beattie, that The Muse’s owner, Tribish Tammas, has both relocated and redesigned The Muse, so we took the opportunity to hop over and take a look.
Still occupying a Homestead region, The Muse retains some elements from the design we saw back in February, whilst also offering an entirely new look. As with the previous design, The Muse remains split between a core ground-level build and a sky platform, with the stated aim of the region being to offer a “space for couples, lovers, and friends to relax and spend time together”.
The Muse, September 2020
The main landing point is located in the the ground-level setting, on the south side of the region. Backed by a flat-topped bluff with grassy slopes to its seaward side, the landing point sits within the ruins of an ancient building – perhaps an aged temple – with a westward view towards the surrounding mountains. These sit beyond a small island that appears to have been formed by the local water cutting a channel to separate what had once been a headland.
Reached via a stone bridge that arches between two weather-beaten and somewhat decrepit gates, this little island is home to one of the elements seen within the previous design: an open-air Elven Ballroom.
The Muse, September 2020
The bluff behind the landing point runs east and then north, forming a low-lying table of land, its landward faces formed by rocky cliffs over which a waterfall tumbles to feed a stream that winds its way across the region. In doing so, it neatly cuts the lowlands into two unequal parts. On one of these sits a single barn, converted to an adult play area, surrounded by a sea of flowers. On the other, close to the rocky plateau, is a more expansive ruin that sits close to a place that winds up to the top of plateau.
Two bridges span the stream,providing easy passage between the two parts of the lowlands, while a third bridge reaches across a further channel of water to reach a north-eastern island.
The Muse, September 2020
The north-eastern island has a backbone of cliffs against which the intriguing bulk of The Retreat from The Looking Glass sit.. In the last iteration of The Muse we visited, this formed a mystical library. Now it fulfils more of the role of being a home, its westward aspect commanding a view across the region’s lowlands, ruins, barn and Elven Ballroom all visible among the trees sprinkled across the landscape. Also visible from this vantage point is a large garden bar sitting at the north end of the main island, a comfortable walk from both this house and the barn.
The sky platform is reached via teleport from the landing point (you’ll need to accept the region’s experience when asked). As per the previous iteration of the design, it offers a large dance floor with and animated finish and now bracketed by a pair of floating islands – one the teleport point, the other offering space for Tai chi exercise. It is watched over by a blue whale that swims through the air above it, and the eye of a large moon that slowly orbits the dance floor along with the stars and nebula of skybox surrounding the platform.
The Muse, September 2020
Throughout both settings, ground and sky, are numerous opportunities for dancing and / or sitting and relaxing, whilst on the ground, the islands are nicely rounded-off by a natural sound-scape.
One of the charms of The Muse when we last visited was the manner in which it comprised a series of individual vignettes loosely woven together by the setting in which they sat, rather than presenting a truly contiguous whole. It was both eclectic and yet complete, the various areas offering their own individuality but nevertheless flowing together as a whole.
The Muse, September 2020
This new iteration presents farm more a feeling of being a contiguous whole at ground level, a single environments with multiple points of interest. On the one hand, this means the current Muse perhaps lacks the eclectic mix of the old, but on the other, it means it offers its own unique look and feel – that of a temperate island that has seen the passage of time and human habitation, and is now a retreat from the pains and pressures of the world, ready to greet and comfort all who visit it.
Recently opened at Niccoli Sweetwater’s Basilique region is a joint exhibition of art organised by the Focus team, and featuring the work of Looker Lumet and Sophie Marie Sinclair (Perpetua1010), both of whom are artists new to my eyes. This is something of a “split level” exhibition of work, the core being located at Basilique’s skyborne exhibition and event space, Palazzo di Basilique, with some of Looker’s work also appearing at the ground level Galleria rotunda.
Located on the Lago di Garda terrace at the rear of Palazzo di Basilique, Sophie Marie Sinclair presents Yellow Expressions, a portfolio of her physical world art with – as might be expected from the title – something of a yellow theme running through them.
Basilique: Sophie Marie Sinclair (Perpetua1010)
Sophie’s background is perhaps as fascinating as her art. A graduate of the Academy of fine Arts Vienna, she is also by turn a cartoonist, having had a particular focus on political satire, an author and a ghost writer for certain well-known comedians. As a painter, she is an experimentalist in terms of materials she uses, but has a leaning towards plaster, glue, terracotta, stones, bones, ash, charcoal, and the use of natural pigments.
Sophie describes her artistic focus as being on the nude body and also abstract art, and the former is certainly demonstrated in Yellow Expressions, which features 10 studies of the male and female form, most of which appear to be pen or charcoal drawing finished in a water or ink wash to provide the natural yellow tone within them, with one piece (Mind N) offering the suggestion of a more oil-like and textured / layered finish that also involves richer hues.
All ten pieces are superbly rendered, their finish highly suggestive of being produced on porous plaster rather than canvas, something that gives them a highly tactile sense, whilst their neo-classical styling presents them as pieces that would fit any home environment admirably.
Basilique: Looker Lumet
Straddling the upper terrace at the front of Palazzo di Basilique and the ground-level Galleria rotunda, Looker Lumet offers a selection of his Second Life landscape photography (although he also produces avatar studies and portraits as well), with 12 pieces on the terrace, eight of which are also offered within the Galleria. I’m not entirely sure of the reason for this, although I assume it is to allow visitors to Basilique itself to view an art display without them necessarily being aware of the exhibitions up at Palazzo di Basilique.
Either way, Looker’s landscape work is rich in atmosphere, with the pieces offered in this selection perhaps leaning more towards darker tones and hues, some of which are fitting, given the theme (such as with The Graveyard in the Forest), whilst with others it offers a genuine and fitting depth of broodiness that emphasises Nature’s changing moods or the overall tone of the piece in question (see Abandoned and Seasight).
Which is not to say this is a “heavy” exhibition in terms of colour and tone: there are several brighter pieces that stand as memories of happy times on the beach or the splendour of a day’s sailing, all of which stands as an engaging exhibition.
Basilique: Looker Lumet
I gather both Sophie’s and looker’s work will remain at Basilique through until mid-October.
Poughkeepsie, September 2020 – click any image for full size
Poughkeepsie is a parcel covering just under a quarter of a Full region which has the bonus LI capacity applied, that was recently highlighted in the Destination Guide, prompting me to hop over and take a look.
Held and in part designed by Peresphone Kore (LeriaDraven) – Loly Hallison performed a lot of the general landscaping -, the parcel has an interesting description and greeting, reading in turn (via About Land and a sign post at the landing point):
An amazingly whimsical photography sim with plenty to see and do. From date night, chilling by the fire, relaxing in the library, or taking on a game in the arcade (yes the games really work!) This is all my own creation and I’m super excited for this!
Warning. You are about to enter someone else’s dream.
Poughkeepsie, September 2020
Both the description and the sign present a huge promise, and visually, the parcel does deliver on this promise. Located in the north-west of the region, it offers a north-facing beach cupped between a curtain wall of rock that runs diagonally across the back of the parcel from east to south-west, and an upland area. The curtain of cliffs neatly separates Poughkeepsie, with the western table plateau overlooking the north beach and the lowlands running back from it to the feet of the cliffs.
Topped to a large house, the rocky plateau falls directly to the sea to the west, but also hides a low-lying corner of the parcel in which sits a second house complete with a west-facing beach of its own, both screened by giant oaks. This house, and the one top the plateau appear open to the public, with the latter reached by curving stone steps rising from the landing point, the former by following a winding path that curls around the base of the rocky table. This second house, sitting within its screen of giant oaks has something of a Halloween feel in the grounds on its landward side, whilst the shingle beach on its waterside offers the opportunity for a game of chess.
Poughkeepsie, September 2020
Each of the houses is fully furnished, offering multiple rooms to explore, while the house on the plateau additionally offers a rock-and-wood terrace / deck for outdoor seating and an outbuilding that looks like a greenhouse converted for use as a little café. A barn and field, home to cattle and sheep may at first give the impression this is a working farm. However, given the expansive nature of the house, and the small number of animals, it’s hard not to wonder if the latter are more a hobby for the owners, rather than a working source of income.
The lowlands of the parcel offer their own attractions. There’s the sandy, north-side beach, with multiple places to sit and a view of an off-shore (and off-region, although it doesn’t appear to be phantom / without physics) fairy-tale castle. On the grass behind the beach is a little open market area offering fresh fruit and veg, with a seating area ranged before it, complete with cakes, toffee apples and drinks available to visitors. It again suggests that maybe the house up on the plateau is might be a working farm – but equally, it also stands as a vignette on its own.
Poughkeepsie, September 2020
Also to be found in the lowlands are ruins, a folly and the unexpected – an old British red telephone box – as well a sculptures and a fair amount of local wild life. There’s even a touch of Tolkien waiting to be found, although saying Mellon before it as instructed by the runes didn’t result in the expected (and by “saying Mellon” I do mean touching it to see if anything happened, given its scripted nature).
Photogenic, rich in detail and with much to see, Poughkeepsie makes for a rewarding visit – but I say so with a caveat: a visit does come with something of a performance hit. How much of this is down to what is in the parcel itself, and how much is down to what’s in the region as a whole, is hard to say (some of the sculptie giant oaks in the parcel do have high render costs). I found my system peaked a 7 fps with shadows enabled at a moderate draw distance, mostly hovering at 4-5 fps. Disabling shadows raised this to the mid-teens., although even this could drop into single-digits – so be prepared to make adjustments if you’re on a mid-range system and are used to having things like shadows on all the time.
Poughkeepsie, September 2020
Nevertheless, Poughkeepsie offers a rewarding visit for those willing to make any necessary adjustments.
All4Art, IMAGOLand, September 2020: Mareea Farrasco
Recently renewed and reformed, the All4Art Project, managed by Carelyna Resident, opened its latest ensemble exhibition at IMAGOLand, on September 17th, 2020. It features the work of Sandi Benelli, Leonorah Beverly, Carey Chenault, Carisa Franizzi, Rose Hanry, Black Rose and Carelyna, together with Mareea Farrasco, who is also providing the setting for the exhibition on her IMAGO Land.
Described as being attached Mareea’s IMAGO Galleries, IMAGO Land is described as “an open area for visitors who love to explore or simply relax and for landscape photographers. Conceived as small islands, the different spots have different destinations: a park, a fishers village, a vacation resort, a beach, a country home with its yard, a bar and a dance floor, etc. As such, the location is perfect for the art on display, given the emphasis throughout on natural and natural – particularly coastal – settings.
All4Art Project, IMAGOLand, September 2020: Carey Chenault
The landing point for the exhibition sits within what might be called the social / events area of this half-region design, located on one of the larger islands in the the group that includes the dance floor and an old barn converted into a simple bar area. From here, three wooden board walks offer a choice of routes around the rest of the setting – which you take is entirely up to you, as the art is spread out around the various islands awaiting discovery as one explores.
Most of the artists participating in the exhibition are well known in these pages, and seeing them all together offers a delightfully complementary and also contrasting selection of images. Each artist has provided 5 images for the exhibition with some presenting their work on both sides of each canvas, simply because the layout of the island means their work can be seen / approached from either side.
All4Art Project, IMAGOLand, September 2020: Carisa Franizzi
With the exception of Black Rose, who provides a set of stunning original paintings, all of the images presented have been captured in Second Life. With a similar exception of Carisa Franizzi, who offers five black and white images that can quite capture the eye, all are presented in colour, from the soft tones of images post-processed to give a watercolour look and feel, to the vibrant hues and tones of Autumn and and bright hues of summer cast through an oil painting like finish.
Together, all of the images presented through this exhibition help remind us that beyond the walls of self-isolation and the constraints of social distancing and limited travel opportunities, there is still a rich and vibrant world around us. A world, one might be tempted to say, that is doing rather well because of our enforced absence – but will nevertheless be waiting to greet our return when times are such that we can once again roam freely and appreciate all of nature’s delights. Further, many of the places presented in these images remind us, however subliminally, that humans and nature can get along side-by-side.
All4Art Project, IMAGOLand, September 2020: Black Rose
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 