.
Inspired by award winning artist, Cherry Manga's 'Bird Song', Bleu Oleander presents 'Bird Song Melody of Remembrance' for MachinimUWA IV: Art of the Artists, which brings together 2 of the powerhouses of virtual worlds, Artists and Machinimatographers!
Entries to the L$300,000 MachinimUWA IV close on the 10th of November and looks for the creation of machinima featuring artworks that are part of the UWA 3D Open Art Challenge.
.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Sunday, August 28, 2011
UWA People's Choice Voting Now Open!
Come experience the 62 amazing entries for the August UWA 3D Open Art Challenge. Choose your favorites for the People's Choice Awards.
VOTING ENDS Saturday 3 September August at noon SLT.
AWARDS ANNOUNCEMENT CEREMONY: 6:00AM SLT Sunday 4 September.
RECEIVING OF ARTWORKS IS NOW OPEN AS WELL FOR SEPTEMBER.
Vote for as many entries as you like, on a scale of 1 to 3. Note that ANY VOTE is a POSITIVE vote. If you don't like something, don't vote for it. It's important that you look at all the works and to vote for all the pieces that truly speak to you. You are, of course, welcome to encourage your friends to come see the show and to vote for their favorite pieces. But please don't ask them to just come and vote for yours. It's about the art, not the artist!
Guest Blogger Rowan Derryth on the August Round
Silene Christen on her August Round Work
Apmel Goosson on the August Roun Works
Guest Blogger Victoria Lennoire on the August Round Works
AUGUST ENTRIES:
1 Alexxannder Firehawk Anyway The Red Can Go
2 Aloisio Congrejo What's happening?
3 Artistide Despres Petite etude sur Olivier Messiaen
4 Betty Tureaud QR Code v05
5 Blunt Fhang Cosmic Cloud
6 Cherry Manga Aerie
7 Cherry Manga Bird Song
8 CHUCKMATRIX Clip Zephyrus
9 CHUCKMATRIX Clip Going Under
10 Corcosman Voom Goat & Flute
11 Daco Monday Sunset
12 Daco Monday Lights
13 Dekka Raymaker Your Confusion - My Illusion
14 Dusty Canning Read My Lips
15 Earl Dinkin Mosquito Coffee Skull Machine Trap
16 Eliza Wierwight The Abandoned Daughter
17 Emilin Nakamori Still Life With Monkeywrench
18 Fae Varriale Phoenix
19 Frankx Lefavre Post Apocalyptic Golgotha
20 Fuschia Nightfire Fighting Stallions
21 Giovanna Cerise Alternate rhythm
22 Gleman Jun The death of the others
23 Gleman Jun Desperation
24 Glyph Graves Excerpts from Realities
25 Harter Fall Deep Maze
26 Harter Fall Behind Columns
27 Haveit Neox Binary Stable
28 Ichiko Miles Digitz
29 Ichiko Miles Bowling with Jesus
30 Jimmy Debruyere Butter in Green
31 Jimmy Debruyere Tiled Totem
32 Kicca Igaly The Monade
33 Lenore666 Loire *DBL* Pointy Thingy
34 Lollito Larkham Infernal Machine
35 Luko Enoch Burning Monk tribute
36 mcarp Mavendorf Multiplexer
37 Miso Susanowa Anemone Cluster with Seahorses
38 Nino Vichan Hamlet - Alas poor Yorick
39 Oberon Onmura The Chasm
40 oona Eiren Do bears shit in the woods
41 PeanutbuttahJellehTime Magic Rise & Shine
42 Penumbra Carter Grand Hotel BON PORT
43 Pixels Sideways Omnipotent
44 RAG Randt MFS 001
45 RAG Randt Saint Mono
46 RazorZ Absquarium
47 RazorZ Thinker! (Thinking in Circles)
48 Romy Nayar En el Viento- In the Wind
49 Romy Nayar En el Agua- In the water
50 Secret Rage for all its beauty, it is still...just a cage...
51 Secret Rage The Great Debate
52 Silene Christen Forest's tears
53 Silene Christen Requiem for Mother Earth
54 Sledge Roffo HOPE Mountain
55 Sledge Roffo In Silico - Pendulum
56 Soda Lemondrop Sarah's Soul
57 Spiral Silverstar Crack in Time
58 Spiral Silverstar Mixed Bag
59 spirit Radikal Flow
60 spirit Radikal Silly Little Planet
61 Thoth Jantzen/Betty Tureaud YouCubed!
62 Wolk Writer de moeder (The Mother)
VOTING ENDS Saturday 3 September August at noon SLT.
AWARDS ANNOUNCEMENT CEREMONY: 6:00AM SLT Sunday 4 September.
RECEIVING OF ARTWORKS IS NOW OPEN AS WELL FOR SEPTEMBER.
Vote for as many entries as you like, on a scale of 1 to 3. Note that ANY VOTE is a POSITIVE vote. If you don't like something, don't vote for it. It's important that you look at all the works and to vote for all the pieces that truly speak to you. You are, of course, welcome to encourage your friends to come see the show and to vote for their favorite pieces. But please don't ask them to just come and vote for yours. It's about the art, not the artist!
Guest Blogger Rowan Derryth on the August Round
Silene Christen on her August Round Work
Apmel Goosson on the August Roun Works
Guest Blogger Victoria Lennoire on the August Round Works
AUGUST ENTRIES:
1 Alexxannder Firehawk Anyway The Red Can Go
2 Aloisio Congrejo What's happening?
3 Artistide Despres Petite etude sur Olivier Messiaen
4 Betty Tureaud QR Code v05
5 Blunt Fhang Cosmic Cloud
6 Cherry Manga Aerie
7 Cherry Manga Bird Song
8 CHUCKMATRIX Clip Zephyrus
9 CHUCKMATRIX Clip Going Under
10 Corcosman Voom Goat & Flute
11 Daco Monday Sunset
12 Daco Monday Lights
13 Dekka Raymaker Your Confusion - My Illusion
14 Dusty Canning Read My Lips
15 Earl Dinkin Mosquito Coffee Skull Machine Trap
16 Eliza Wierwight The Abandoned Daughter
17 Emilin Nakamori Still Life With Monkeywrench
18 Fae Varriale Phoenix
19 Frankx Lefavre Post Apocalyptic Golgotha
20 Fuschia Nightfire Fighting Stallions
21 Giovanna Cerise Alternate rhythm
22 Gleman Jun The death of the others
23 Gleman Jun Desperation
24 Glyph Graves Excerpts from Realities
25 Harter Fall Deep Maze
26 Harter Fall Behind Columns
27 Haveit Neox Binary Stable
28 Ichiko Miles Digitz
29 Ichiko Miles Bowling with Jesus
30 Jimmy Debruyere Butter in Green
31 Jimmy Debruyere Tiled Totem
32 Kicca Igaly The Monade
33 Lenore666 Loire *DBL* Pointy Thingy
34 Lollito Larkham Infernal Machine
35 Luko Enoch Burning Monk tribute
36 mcarp Mavendorf Multiplexer
37 Miso Susanowa Anemone Cluster with Seahorses
38 Nino Vichan Hamlet - Alas poor Yorick
39 Oberon Onmura The Chasm
40 oona Eiren Do bears shit in the woods
41 PeanutbuttahJellehTime Magic Rise & Shine
42 Penumbra Carter Grand Hotel BON PORT
43 Pixels Sideways Omnipotent
44 RAG Randt MFS 001
45 RAG Randt Saint Mono
46 RazorZ Absquarium
47 RazorZ Thinker! (Thinking in Circles)
48 Romy Nayar En el Viento- In the Wind
49 Romy Nayar En el Agua- In the water
50 Secret Rage for all its beauty, it is still...just a cage...
51 Secret Rage The Great Debate
52 Silene Christen Forest's tears
53 Silene Christen Requiem for Mother Earth
54 Sledge Roffo HOPE Mountain
55 Sledge Roffo In Silico - Pendulum
56 Soda Lemondrop Sarah's Soul
57 Spiral Silverstar Crack in Time
58 Spiral Silverstar Mixed Bag
59 spirit Radikal Flow
60 spirit Radikal Silly Little Planet
61 Thoth Jantzen/Betty Tureaud YouCubed!
62 Wolk Writer de moeder (The Mother)
Exploring 6 Exhibits from the UWA Design Challenge (by guest blogger Victoria Lenoirre)
Walking around the challenge sim, there is lots to see and touch. Like always, I feel like a small child gazing up in wonder at all the builds and colors. The feeling never goes away and so I thought I'd write about 6 exhibits that caught my eye. All the builds are most excellent and my thanks and respect to all the artists who spent hours creating inworld and offworld. You rock! So, here goes my brief glances at the 6.
I first stumbled upon The Monade by Kicca Igaly.
It's certainly a vision in purple. I saw at least 3 contrasting shades of purple. It looks like a snow globe, except that are stars inside it. There is even a place to sit. Just left click on the outside of the globe and you can meditate. The backside is shrouded by mists while the front side is mostly clear. Monade comes from the Greek word monos, which means "unique." According to the philosophy of Leibniz, the monad is the smallest unit and indivisible of spiritual substance of which all things are composed. Enter this little universe enclosed in the sphere, concentrate and listen to the little red heart, your heart..." To see more of her work visit her Flickr page.
Infernal Machine by Lollito Larkham
It is made up of 2 conveyor belts with 2 disembodied arms that pick up canisters from the belts and dump them into a deep bin. The animation of the arms looks quite efficient and fluid. Lollito uses blender. He made the avatar animations and loop sound. The mechanical arm was rigged and posed in Blender. You can see a blender screenshot and more of his work at his flickr page. He wanted to build something funny and interactive. Lollito gave me one word of warning, "Be careful, machines can have unexpected behavior..." Will you come play with his machine and see what happens?
Requiem for Mother Earth by Silene Christen
At first glance you see a golden orange altar with pink lotuses strewn on the top. Behind the altar stand about 12 monks humbly offering a lotus plant that they hold in both of their hands. These are their small offerings to give to Mother Earth. The fact that they are all faceless demonstrates their humbleness...their separation from their ego. The altar is under one black arch and the supllicants are under another arch. Some supplicants are even standing above the arch like they are alighting from the sky to make an offering and honor Mother Earth.
Inspiration for Requiem came from a documentary about Sydney [sic] starring Cate Blanchett "where she struck up a dialogue with a biologist about nature that is still preserved and of its representation of the past. They also spoke of the importance of any element in the equation of nature, even a tiny field mouse who is in danger of extinction. This documentary, the passion with which they spoke, I[t] came [from] deep inside. A procession of beings on a permanent pilgrimage to the last remains of life on a planet in decline: humidity, cave, underground, and human beings among inorganic, tenderness, love .... Everything moved like a blender in me and [I] saw the image of what I have shown in this work."
Follow this link and this link to see more pictures.
Frankx Lefavre - Golgotha
It's a dark night scene with plenty of lightning bolts in the backdrop, which is made up of 3 panels. In the center is erected a sort of lopsided cross with an anguished-looking skeleton nailed onto it by his hands and feet, a man being crucified. Golgotha is the place where Jesus was crucified, according to the Bible. There are skulls and bones lying on the dark ground Death is the white horseman in the back panel texture. there is also a second cross. i clicked it and found my avatar bolted down to it, my head bent low over my chest, like i was very ashamed of myself. Frankx told me that the exhibit is about "the basic futility in believe there's a God to save humankind from its own self destructive instincts. Jesus did not return for a 'second coming', "so all that's left is a Post-Apocalyptic Golgotha." The empty cross that I found myself on, that is where you "are crucified to await your own God. The idea behind this exhibit is that there really is no God and people die in vain, waiting for Him to arrive. Frankx says, "They've crucified another son of God yet again and the world's ended anyway...They're waiting for something that is never going to come."
Sarah's Soul by Soda Lemondrop
It's a dreary-looking scene in a rich, wooden frame. You can see a girl sitting on some concrete steps at a train or bus station, bent over her knees, with both hands over face like she is crying. There are pigeons behind her that look as if they're watching her in her distress. The viewer of the picture is the observer as are the pigeons.
Soda says about this piece:
I searched through my collection of photos and felt drawn to use this one. It’s a picture taken of a stranger, a student probably since she is wearing a backpack and there are colleges nearby, and her pose made me think of her having an inner moment. She seems withdrawn from the world around her and the small dog nearby seems to be her only companion. To further add to the theme of inwardness, the edges of the photo were blurred giving it a feel of an inner concentration and focus where peripheral details are lost and ignored by ones mind which is traveling inward. I isolated the figure of the girl in a second photo and added a red tint then layered this image over the first one in the work of art I created. I then placed the images in a box which to me added to the feel of containment. Ones soul is housed and contained, confined to the body during a lifetime, and I used the box to convey this feeling of the walls within which we feel ourselves. Walls of personality, opinion, and belief.
Petite etude sur Olivier messiaen by Aristide Despres
It means "Small Study on Olivier Messiaen."
My first thought was that it looks like an abacus with balls and cyclinders going up and down, around and around. Some background info: "Olivier Messiaen [1908..1992] may be considered as the master of modern classical music. He was also interested in ornithology and studied the bird songs which he used in his music.
Aristide says, "I wanted to create a piece that would tell about the complexity of such a person as Messiaen, without being illustrative."
The technical side of this exhibit is that the SL wind is causing the balls and cylinders to go crazy. During the displacement, you can hear them making a sound like birds. You just click on one cylinder to reset it back to its original position.
I hope you all vote for your favorite masterpiece! One of the ones I've mentioned OR one of the ones I haven't depicted here. Voting ends by September 3rd! Well done to all the artists who have submitted to the UWA 3d Challenge this month!
I first stumbled upon The Monade by Kicca Igaly.
 |
| The Monade |
Infernal Machine by Lollito Larkham
 |
| Infernal Machine |
It is made up of 2 conveyor belts with 2 disembodied arms that pick up canisters from the belts and dump them into a deep bin. The animation of the arms looks quite efficient and fluid. Lollito uses blender. He made the avatar animations and loop sound. The mechanical arm was rigged and posed in Blender. You can see a blender screenshot and more of his work at his flickr page. He wanted to build something funny and interactive. Lollito gave me one word of warning, "Be careful, machines can have unexpected behavior..." Will you come play with his machine and see what happens?
Requiem for Mother Earth by Silene Christen
 |
| Requiem for Mother Earth |
At first glance you see a golden orange altar with pink lotuses strewn on the top. Behind the altar stand about 12 monks humbly offering a lotus plant that they hold in both of their hands. These are their small offerings to give to Mother Earth. The fact that they are all faceless demonstrates their humbleness...their separation from their ego. The altar is under one black arch and the supllicants are under another arch. Some supplicants are even standing above the arch like they are alighting from the sky to make an offering and honor Mother Earth.
Inspiration for Requiem came from a documentary about Sydney [sic] starring Cate Blanchett "where she struck up a dialogue with a biologist about nature that is still preserved and of its representation of the past. They also spoke of the importance of any element in the equation of nature, even a tiny field mouse who is in danger of extinction. This documentary, the passion with which they spoke, I[t] came [from] deep inside. A procession of beings on a permanent pilgrimage to the last remains of life on a planet in decline: humidity, cave, underground, and human beings among inorganic, tenderness, love .... Everything moved like a blender in me and [I] saw the image of what I have shown in this work."
Follow this link and this link to see more pictures.
Frankx Lefavre - Golgotha
 |
| Golgotha |
It's a dark night scene with plenty of lightning bolts in the backdrop, which is made up of 3 panels. In the center is erected a sort of lopsided cross with an anguished-looking skeleton nailed onto it by his hands and feet, a man being crucified. Golgotha is the place where Jesus was crucified, according to the Bible. There are skulls and bones lying on the dark ground Death is the white horseman in the back panel texture. there is also a second cross. i clicked it and found my avatar bolted down to it, my head bent low over my chest, like i was very ashamed of myself. Frankx told me that the exhibit is about "the basic futility in believe there's a God to save humankind from its own self destructive instincts. Jesus did not return for a 'second coming', "so all that's left is a Post-Apocalyptic Golgotha." The empty cross that I found myself on, that is where you "are crucified to await your own God. The idea behind this exhibit is that there really is no God and people die in vain, waiting for Him to arrive. Frankx says, "They've crucified another son of God yet again and the world's ended anyway...They're waiting for something that is never going to come."
Sarah's Soul by Soda Lemondrop
 |
| Sarah's Soul |
It's a dreary-looking scene in a rich, wooden frame. You can see a girl sitting on some concrete steps at a train or bus station, bent over her knees, with both hands over face like she is crying. There are pigeons behind her that look as if they're watching her in her distress. The viewer of the picture is the observer as are the pigeons.
Soda says about this piece:
I searched through my collection of photos and felt drawn to use this one. It’s a picture taken of a stranger, a student probably since she is wearing a backpack and there are colleges nearby, and her pose made me think of her having an inner moment. She seems withdrawn from the world around her and the small dog nearby seems to be her only companion. To further add to the theme of inwardness, the edges of the photo were blurred giving it a feel of an inner concentration and focus where peripheral details are lost and ignored by ones mind which is traveling inward. I isolated the figure of the girl in a second photo and added a red tint then layered this image over the first one in the work of art I created. I then placed the images in a box which to me added to the feel of containment. Ones soul is housed and contained, confined to the body during a lifetime, and I used the box to convey this feeling of the walls within which we feel ourselves. Walls of personality, opinion, and belief.
Petite etude sur Olivier messiaen by Aristide Despres
 |
| Petite Etude Sur Olivier Messiaen |
It means "Small Study on Olivier Messiaen."
My first thought was that it looks like an abacus with balls and cyclinders going up and down, around and around. Some background info: "Olivier Messiaen [1908..1992] may be considered as the master of modern classical music. He was also interested in ornithology and studied the bird songs which he used in his music.
Aristide says, "I wanted to create a piece that would tell about the complexity of such a person as Messiaen, without being illustrative."
The technical side of this exhibit is that the SL wind is causing the balls and cylinders to go crazy. During the displacement, you can hear them making a sound like birds. You just click on one cylinder to reset it back to its original position.
I hope you all vote for your favorite masterpiece! One of the ones I've mentioned OR one of the ones I haven't depicted here. Voting ends by September 3rd! Well done to all the artists who have submitted to the UWA 3d Challenge this month!
MachinimUWA IV: Tutsy Navarathna's 'Welcome to the Other Side'
Reigning MachinimUWA champion, Tutsy Navarathna throws down the gauntlet with another epic creation, 'Welcome to the Other Side' for MachinimUWA IV: Art of the Artists, which brings together 2 of the powerhouses of virtual worlds, Artists and Machinimatographers!
Entries to the L$300,000 MachinimUWA IV closes on the 10th of November and looks for the creation of machinima featuring artworks that are part of the UWA 3D Open Art Challenge.
In Tutsy's words:
"The Medium is the Message" With the emergence of virtual worlds, the iconic phrase of Marshall McLuhan is quite topical. What about the extensions of our central nervous system in our avatars? A confrontation with the virtual worlds where, to escape the sad reality of a world which wavers, life in all its forms explodes. A peculiar visit of the virtual ARTS present on Second Life.."
MUSIC: TOIRES "Manara"
3D ARTISTS FEATUREDEupalinos Ugajin, Anleys Piers, Ub Yifu,Toughlove Sabra, Oona Eiren, Dusty Canning, Igor Ballyhoo, Misprint Thursday, Pixel Sideways, Oberon Onmura, Elie Maurice, Cherry Manga, Theoretical Afterthought, Feathers Boa, Typote Beck, Nish Mip, Bryn Oh, Rose Borchovsky, Aequitas, Gleman Jun , Claudia222 Jewell, Lalie Sorbet, Miso Susanowa, Artistide Despres, Secret Rage, Haveit Neox, Harter Fall, Fuschia Nightfire.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
UWA Professor's SL Article in Journal of Marketing Education & Virtual Worlds Research
.
Professor Wade Halvorson, UWA's most published author with all matters Second Life has another 2 articles up, this time in the Journal of Marketing Education and the Journal of Virtual Worlds Research.
The JME article is written in collaboration with academic staff from Monash University & RMIT University (both in Victoria, Australia), this article focuses on the use of Second Life in the teaching of marketing.
An abstract is as below, and the full article can be downloaded from the Journal of Marketing Education Website if your institutions provide access or if you subscribe.Click HERE
ABSTRACT
There are compelling reasons for educators to consider incorporating virtual worlds (VWs) in their marketing curriculum. That said, the ways in which VWs can be implemented into the teaching curriculum are many and varied. This article reports on two studies in which notionally similar graduate classes are taught about marketing in Second Life (SL). The degree of student and instructor immersion is intentionally varied: One class is taught entirely in SL, by a technically expert instructor, while novice/intermediate instructors teach the second class in an interactive tutorial setting. Taken together, these studies offer marketing educators insights into developing “full” and “lite” approaches to teaching in SL, thereby lowering the barrier to uptake of the technology by catering to a broader spectrum of both instructor and student competencies, interests, and abilities.
With the Journal of Virtual Worlds Research, the article is a single author paper, in the May issue (Vol 3, No 3), "Third Places Take First Place in Second Life: Developing a Scale to Measure the 'Stickiness' of Virtual World Sites". Full Article Here. Abstract as below:
ABSTRACT
"The objective of this study is to examine what drives visitor retention in successful businesses operating in online virtual world environments. The study draws motivation from increasing anecdotal evidence reporting on high profile corporate brands withdrawing from operations in Second Life - citing low visitor traffic as their motivation. Early adopter corporations that established business operations in Second Life did so anticipating benefits from the new technology akin to the quantum leap made when they embraced the World Wide Web. While disappointingly low visitor numbers left many virtual world operations looking like desolate ghost towns, there are businesses enjoying active repeat customers. Drawing on Oldenburg’s Theory of Third Place, this study seeks to quantify the reasons for high customer retention in successful virtual communities. To this effect, a questionnaire is developed and administered by a team of avatar researchers who interviewed over 250 avatars in Second Life. Website stickiness measures are reviewed and applied to virtual world sites. Conclusions are drawn and future research directions proposed."
Professor Wade Halvorson, UWA's most published author with all matters Second Life has another 2 articles up, this time in the Journal of Marketing Education and the Journal of Virtual Worlds Research.
The JME article is written in collaboration with academic staff from Monash University & RMIT University (both in Victoria, Australia), this article focuses on the use of Second Life in the teaching of marketing.
An abstract is as below, and the full article can be downloaded from the Journal of Marketing Education Website if your institutions provide access or if you subscribe.Click HERE
ABSTRACT
There are compelling reasons for educators to consider incorporating virtual worlds (VWs) in their marketing curriculum. That said, the ways in which VWs can be implemented into the teaching curriculum are many and varied. This article reports on two studies in which notionally similar graduate classes are taught about marketing in Second Life (SL). The degree of student and instructor immersion is intentionally varied: One class is taught entirely in SL, by a technically expert instructor, while novice/intermediate instructors teach the second class in an interactive tutorial setting. Taken together, these studies offer marketing educators insights into developing “full” and “lite” approaches to teaching in SL, thereby lowering the barrier to uptake of the technology by catering to a broader spectrum of both instructor and student competencies, interests, and abilities.
 |
| Professor Halvorson and his alter-ego Wad Halberstadt |
ABSTRACT
"The objective of this study is to examine what drives visitor retention in successful businesses operating in online virtual world environments. The study draws motivation from increasing anecdotal evidence reporting on high profile corporate brands withdrawing from operations in Second Life - citing low visitor traffic as their motivation. Early adopter corporations that established business operations in Second Life did so anticipating benefits from the new technology akin to the quantum leap made when they embraced the World Wide Web. While disappointingly low visitor numbers left many virtual world operations looking like desolate ghost towns, there are businesses enjoying active repeat customers. Drawing on Oldenburg’s Theory of Third Place, this study seeks to quantify the reasons for high customer retention in successful virtual communities. To this effect, a questionnaire is developed and administered by a team of avatar researchers who interviewed over 250 avatars in Second Life. Website stickiness measures are reviewed and applied to virtual world sites. Conclusions are drawn and future research directions proposed."
Monday, August 22, 2011
Rowan's Reflections: Not Just Virtual But Variable Art (by Guest Blogger Rowan Derryth)
 |
| Glyph Graves' 'Enfolded' |
First, an apology and a disclaimer. Jayjay invited me to blog for the UWA at the start of this year’s challenge, and I was honoured and excited about it. Since then my world has been increasingly busy, and I simply haven’t had the time to write like I wished to. But this was also somewhat exacerbated by my own hesitance to pick and choose which art to write about, what with being on the final judging panel.
But I’ve come to the realisation that I can write about art here with a clear conscience, as I have no idea who will end up in the finals; and if last year’s results were any indication, my own tastes are far from mainstream anyway. So for these last three months of this challenge, I’ve decided to throw that hesitation out the window and write just a bit about some of the works that have received top marks from me in the monthly people’s choice (but by no means are these mentions comprehensive of my top votes!). With that…
I’m sure by now most UWA patrons will have at least read about, if not actually seen, Glyph Graves new artwork/performance piece ‘Composition in Realities’ in which he interfaces (literally, with his face) with SL via a Kinect. I wrote about it, as did Dividni Shostakovich, Colemarie Soleil (who first filmed it), and even NWN picked it up after Hamlet got a fantastic film of the ‘behind the scenes’ of it in the ‘real’ world. I’m not going to talk more about the awesomeness of this pioneering work again here, but rather I’m going to talk about a few pieces which I think are similarly pioneering in their embrace of Variable Reality at the UWA this month.
I suppose I should start, then, with Glyph’s entry which is a portion of the aforementioned installation, ‘Excerpts from Reality’, which includes two of his new beautiful sculptures, ‘Forests of Water’, and ‘Enfolded’(image above), which are driven by real-time data. In this latter case, the algorithmic information rather spectacularly comes from beyond our world – space in fact – as the data is solar wind measurements taken from the ACE Satellite. Glyph’s art that is truly out of this world! (I couldn’t help myself.)
 |
| Betty Tureaud's 'QR Code v.05' |
For anyone aware of the SL art world, Betty Tureaud should by now be a familiar name. She is an artist in both the physical and virtual realms, but she is vehement that her work in SL is made entirely in world. This isn’t to say it isn’t about ‘reality’, however – she tackles incredibly difficult and thought-provoking political and social subject in fantastically impactive ways.
That said, I was somewhat surprised by the austere silver cube that was entered by her this month, a far cry from her usual colourful and immersive work. I walked through the phantom wall, expecting to encounter such a display, but was again surprised to find nothing more than what looked like a poseball (and wasn’t, but I think it gave me a notecard), and a small replica iPhone on the ground. Hmm. Then I looked up, and saw another cube textured in a strange (but aesthetically pleasing) black and white pattern. Aha!
I’ve been hearing of QR Code for a little while now, but exploring this bit of tech hasn’t yet squeezed into my hectic schedule, so I was very excited to have the chance. Clicking the iPhone sent me to a free App for a QR Code reader, which I eagerly downloaded (this tech is also available to non-Appleheads, more is at the wiki link above). Once installed, I scanned away (an aside – I LOVE scan technology on smart phones; I’ve scanned my entire bookshelf which put my in PhD bibliography heaven!). Now, I’m going to pause in my description of Betty's work here, because I want YOU to go to see the work, and interact, and think about the messages therein, because they are every bit as thoughtful as the rest of her art (if perhaps more direct). But for using this bit of technology alone, and for a fantastic example of Variable Reality, Betty gets top marks from me. From here, I'd like to see her push it a bit, and start incorporating the codes with her colourful immersive work.
Betty also has a collaborative work with Thoth Jantzen, a walk-through kaleidoscope which, while not necessarily a unique concept in SL, is rather beautiful and worth a pause.
 |
| Eliza Wierwight's 'The Abandoned Daughter' |
It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of Eliza Wierwight (and not just because she doesn’t give a crap if I’m her fan, and teaches me how to make cool stuff anyway). Friendship aside, she is simply a brilliant artist, and one of the most hard-working I know. Her entry this month is born from her interest in Surrealism (she’s recently been exploring appropriations of Frida Kahlo in her virtual photomontages), and as well her love of contemporary fashion (in this case Vivienne Westwood). Like her fantastic ‘Three Dresses Triptych’, ‘The Abandoned Daughter’ explores issues of beauty, femininity and the body via a sculpture that is part couture window display and part readymade assemblage. While this might not seem like the kind of pioneering embrace of technology as the aforementioned pieces, it has earned a place here because, like Betty and Glyph, she is dedicated to making her work inworld, while moving between the physical and the virtual to achieve her desired affect. For example, weaving textures on prims, photographing them, and then reimporting them as whole new textures. She works back and forth in this manner, really using SL as an artistic tool.
 |
| 'The Abandoned Daughter', detail. |
Sunday, August 21, 2011
A Review of Chuckmatrix Clip's Immanentize the Eschaton Exhibit (by Victoria Lenoirre )
The UWA FULL SIM ART SIM went offline late afternoon on August 18th. But at least for the last 2 days, I got the chance to walk around CHUCKMATRIX Clip's exhibit, Immanentize the Eschaton.
Imagine living in a mythical, war-ravaged world where dragons, giants, and other creatures of fantasy roam free! The sky is red and angry-looking and the place is in turmoil. It's a realm of death and hate. After I landed, I noticed an altar with skulls piled on another and a cross, "Forbidden Romance". Unfortunately, I did not get a picture of the altar and skulls before the sim went down. At the base of the altar were about 3 skulls. The fire from the altar was a bright purple, quite a contrast with the white and red colors. The altar also had a cross to go with it.
All through this exhibit I am struck by the colors, the greens, the browns, the grays, even the purple. It's vivid and it serves as a dichotomy of life & majesty and death & destruction. You can see the difference between small and huge...standing still or being in motion. Though some of the characters are static, their limbs are bent and positioned like they're moving...like they froze as they were moving. There is creation and destruction. The Omen is an interesting example of creation and destruction. Watch him bow, crumble into rocks, and then reform again. The effect is startling and truly creative.
You can also see good versus evil. In front of The Omen are two winged creatures frozen in battle. One is ivory white and the other is black like The Omen. Will Good win over Evil in this world CHUCKMATRIX has created?
The pictures I have taken were taken at the sim where CHUCKMATRIX has his gallery, :CMC:. I got to meet this talented artist and chat with him a bit about his work.
CHUCKMATRIX describes his depiction as "the War of the Worlds"...a mythical war of epic proportion. It's a war of big and small, good and evil, hope and despair, darkness and light, life and death.
His exhibit is truly incredible and I enjoyed walking around it while I still could. The work and detail put into every object and figure is so careful and beautiful. He told me that one of his giants, The Omen, took him several weeks just to plan and build. The Omen was around 50 meters tall, complete with animation. And his builds are all prim...and you thought only sculpts could look good?! Well, you have to see his work and do visit his store. I'm sure he'd love to show you around...when he's not busy building or spending time with his friends.
CHUCKMATRIX went on a year long hiatus from SL and came back a few months ago. So this is his grand comeback into art. Well done, Chuck and welcome back!
Review of Choices by Nazz Lane
Imagine living in a mythical, war-ravaged world where dragons, giants, and other creatures of fantasy roam free! The sky is red and angry-looking and the place is in turmoil. It's a realm of death and hate. After I landed, I noticed an altar with skulls piled on another and a cross, "Forbidden Romance". Unfortunately, I did not get a picture of the altar and skulls before the sim went down. At the base of the altar were about 3 skulls. The fire from the altar was a bright purple, quite a contrast with the white and red colors. The altar also had a cross to go with it.
All through this exhibit I am struck by the colors, the greens, the browns, the grays, even the purple. It's vivid and it serves as a dichotomy of life & majesty and death & destruction. You can see the difference between small and huge...standing still or being in motion. Though some of the characters are static, their limbs are bent and positioned like they're moving...like they froze as they were moving. There is creation and destruction. The Omen is an interesting example of creation and destruction. Watch him bow, crumble into rocks, and then reform again. The effect is startling and truly creative.
You can also see good versus evil. In front of The Omen are two winged creatures frozen in battle. One is ivory white and the other is black like The Omen. Will Good win over Evil in this world CHUCKMATRIX has created?
The pictures I have taken were taken at the sim where CHUCKMATRIX has his gallery, :CMC:. I got to meet this talented artist and chat with him a bit about his work.
CHUCKMATRIX describes his depiction as "the War of the Worlds"...a mythical war of epic proportion. It's a war of big and small, good and evil, hope and despair, darkness and light, life and death.
His exhibit is truly incredible and I enjoyed walking around it while I still could. The work and detail put into every object and figure is so careful and beautiful. He told me that one of his giants, The Omen, took him several weeks just to plan and build. The Omen was around 50 meters tall, complete with animation. And his builds are all prim...and you thought only sculpts could look good?! Well, you have to see his work and do visit his store. I'm sure he'd love to show you around...when he's not busy building or spending time with his friends.
CHUCKMATRIX went on a year long hiatus from SL and came back a few months ago. So this is his grand comeback into art. Well done, Chuck and welcome back!
Review of Choices by Nazz Lane
Friday, August 19, 2011
The LEA FULL SIM ART SERIES Comes to Life!
 |
| LEA FULL SIM ART SERIES rises from the ashes of UWA |
The LEA FULL SIM ART SERIES, will initially run for 6 months, starting 1st October 2011, and ending on the 31st of March 2012. All artists in SL will be able to apply to have a FULL SIM art show, and the closing date for applications is the 10th of September (we would be keen to highlight those whose works have not had the opportunity to have been shown on such a scale before)
What you get:
1) The FULL SIM to use inclusive of the media and UP TO 15,000 prims (you dont have to use all)
2) The SIM will be given to the artist on the 1st day of the month
3) When to launch the show will be up to the artist
4) Shows will end on the final day of the month, and the next artist will receive use of the SIM from the 1st day of the next month
5) An article on the LEA Blog, UWA Blog, Bryn Oh's blog, Second Life arts and entertainment, the ToxxNews Website and the Virtual Outworlding Blog will appear at the start of the show or during the show (The list above are those who had expressed their interest in writing about each of the exhibits. Other bloggers who have a similar interest, need only to inform of us of their desire and they will be added to the list.)
How to Apply:
1) Send a NC to both Jayjay Zifanwe and Bryn Oh with a 100 word description of what your plan for the full sim artwork is.
2) Include in the NC, the names of anyone who might be working with you on the FULL SIM creation
3) Indicate on the NC which month you prefer, Oct 2011, Nov 2011, Dec 2011, Jan 2012, Feb 2012, Mar 2012 (1st, 2nd, 3rd preference)
* As serendipity would also have it, one hour prior to me writing this announcement, Fae Varriale submitted the Phoenix pictured above to the August Round of the UWA 3D Open Art Challenge.
The LEA Blog is relatively new. Do link to it!
Linden Lab Destination Guide on the LEA FULL SIM ART SERIES
Linden Lab Blog on the LEA FULL SIM ART SERIES
Bryn Oh Blog on the LEA FULL SIM ART SERIES
Virtual Outworlding Blog on the LEA FULL SIM ART SERIES
Virtually Real Blog on LEA FULL SIM ART SERIES
Modemworld Blog on the LEA FULL SIM ART SERIES
Toxx News on the LEA FULL SIM ART SERIES
From Japan to SL (Temi Sirbu Blog)
This is that the land looks like now!
 |
| Untouched |
Thursday, August 18, 2011
A Yesikita Coppola Machinima of the July Winners of the UWA 3D Open Art Challenge
.
We are happy to announce the return of our official machinimatographer after 2 valiant rounds filled in by Laslopantomik Yao & Bert Jedburgh.
A Yesikita Coppola Machinima of the July Round winners of the UWA 3D Open Art Challenge!
Harmonies in C Great by Artistide Despres
Not everything Is plain Black and White by Fushia Nightfire
Living Fractal by June Clavenham
The Matter of Ideas by Gleman Jun
Tunnel with Light at the End of It by RazorZ
Hurdle by Corcosman Voom
Fantasy by Anley Piers
Child Play by Ub Yifu
The Superheroes Breakfast by Typote Beck
Nude Descending a Staircase by Dekka Raymake
Dotty Autoportrait by Cherry Manga
Down on the Data Farm by Miso Susanowa
Inside a Troubled Mind by Toughlove Sabra
MACHINIMA
Filmed & Edited by Yesikita Coppola
Music:
Miss Under Standing
By Music Inside
UWA 3D Open Art Challenge - Winners July 2011 from Yesikita Coppola on Vimeo.
We are happy to announce the return of our official machinimatographer after 2 valiant rounds filled in by Laslopantomik Yao & Bert Jedburgh.
A Yesikita Coppola Machinima of the July Round winners of the UWA 3D Open Art Challenge!
Harmonies in C Great by Artistide Despres
Not everything Is plain Black and White by Fushia Nightfire
Living Fractal by June Clavenham
The Matter of Ideas by Gleman Jun
Tunnel with Light at the End of It by RazorZ
Hurdle by Corcosman Voom
Fantasy by Anley Piers
Child Play by Ub Yifu
The Superheroes Breakfast by Typote Beck
Nude Descending a Staircase by Dekka Raymake
Dotty Autoportrait by Cherry Manga
Down on the Data Farm by Miso Susanowa
Inside a Troubled Mind by Toughlove Sabra
MACHINIMA
Filmed & Edited by Yesikita Coppola
Music:
Miss Under Standing
By Music Inside
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
THE END: UWA FULL SIM ART SERIES
.
Nish Mip's incredible creation, 'The Last Ocean', which took out the 2nd overall prize in the Grand Finale of the UWA 3D Art & Design Challenge in 2010, came with the following words:
"What I had in mind here was the death of a virtual world . It's been playing on my mind for some while...When virtual worlds die they go with a flick of a switch but I imagined a rag tag bunch of characters hanging on to the last remains as an inflated sun gradually drys their virtual oceans the search for other worlds begins . The whispers you can hear are remaining messages blowing in the binary wind ."
This is what we will witness in the next week, when the lights go out on the UWA FULL SIM ART SERIES. Chuckmatrix Clip, Silene Christen & June Clavenham are holding the fort in the final days as the sun drys the virtual ocean.
I would like to thank the brilliant array of some of Second Life's finest artists who have helped make the UWA FULL SIM ART SERIES what is, and what it has been. I hope in its brief time, it has found its own place in the historical annals of virtual art.
2011 UWA FULL SIM ART SERIES
JANUARY : Betty Tureaud's 'Art Planet'
FEBRUARY : Blue Tsuki's 'Vesel'
MARCH: Cherry Manga, Anley Piers & Elfe Imako's 'Other World'
APRIL: soror Nishi's 'Transubstantiation'
MAY: Wizard 'Wizzy' Gynoid's 'The Art of Wizard Gynoid'
JUNE: FreeWee Ling's 'Angry Gods'
JULY: The Artists of AEONIA's 'Ant Vegas: Migr-Ants'
AUGUST: Chuckmatrix Clip's 'Immanentize The Eschaton', Silene Christen's 'Childhood' and June Clavenham's 'Choices'
Review of UWA FULL SIM ART SERIES CREATIONS
Review on 'Ant-Vegas' by Thinkerer Melville (SL)/ Selby Evans (RL)
Review of 'Choices' by Nazz Lane
Review of Immanentize the Eschaton by Victoria Lennoire
Notes on 'Childhood' by Silene Christen
TEMI SIRBU'S Review of the the Final Month of the UWA FULL SIM ART SERIES
Thank you one and all!
POSTSCRIPT: The Phoenix rises with the dawn of the LEA FULL SIM ART SERIES
.
 |
| Nish Mip's 'Last Ocean' still stands at UWA |
Nish Mip's incredible creation, 'The Last Ocean', which took out the 2nd overall prize in the Grand Finale of the UWA 3D Art & Design Challenge in 2010, came with the following words:
"What I had in mind here was the death of a virtual world . It's been playing on my mind for some while...When virtual worlds die they go with a flick of a switch but I imagined a rag tag bunch of characters hanging on to the last remains as an inflated sun gradually drys their virtual oceans the search for other worlds begins . The whispers you can hear are remaining messages blowing in the binary wind ."
This is what we will witness in the next week, when the lights go out on the UWA FULL SIM ART SERIES. Chuckmatrix Clip, Silene Christen & June Clavenham are holding the fort in the final days as the sun drys the virtual ocean.
I would like to thank the brilliant array of some of Second Life's finest artists who have helped make the UWA FULL SIM ART SERIES what is, and what it has been. I hope in its brief time, it has found its own place in the historical annals of virtual art.
2011 UWA FULL SIM ART SERIES
JANUARY : Betty Tureaud's 'Art Planet'
FEBRUARY : Blue Tsuki's 'Vesel'
MARCH: Cherry Manga, Anley Piers & Elfe Imako's 'Other World'
APRIL: soror Nishi's 'Transubstantiation'
MAY: Wizard 'Wizzy' Gynoid's 'The Art of Wizard Gynoid'
JUNE: FreeWee Ling's 'Angry Gods'
JULY: The Artists of AEONIA's 'Ant Vegas: Migr-Ants'
AUGUST: Chuckmatrix Clip's 'Immanentize The Eschaton', Silene Christen's 'Childhood' and June Clavenham's 'Choices'
Review of UWA FULL SIM ART SERIES CREATIONS
Review on 'Ant-Vegas' by Thinkerer Melville (SL)/ Selby Evans (RL)
Review of 'Choices' by Nazz Lane
Review of Immanentize the Eschaton by Victoria Lennoire
Notes on 'Childhood' by Silene Christen
TEMI SIRBU'S Review of the the Final Month of the UWA FULL SIM ART SERIES
Thank you one and all!
POSTSCRIPT: The Phoenix rises with the dawn of the LEA FULL SIM ART SERIES
.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
