Artists' Choice Triptych Winners

This morning we presented the awards for the winners of the final UWA Artists' Choice theme show as we segue into the UWA 3D Art Challenge: REFLECTIONS. The Artists' Choice series, together with the UWA Centenary 3D Art Challenge and MachinimUWA V: Seek Wisdom, 2012 made for another outstanding year of art for UWA, and we expect 2013 to be just as innovative and engaging.

The exhibition catalogues for each of the Artsts' Choice challenges are being published in the online journal "UWA Studies in Virtual Arts." They can be found here on the UWA blog.

The UWA Artists' Choice challenges are designed to inspire and support the work of artists. The key difference from earlier challenges is that the main awards are determined entirely by the votes of the participating artists and sponsors themselves. It's a special honor to be acknowledged by our colleagues.

We also express our deepest gratitude to all the sponsors for the Artists' Choice events this year, including:

• Armany Thursday and Dyce Underwood for DNA Art and Music Fusion
• Cherry Manga for Mysterious Wave
• Eliza Wierwight and Patron
• fiona Blaylock for artFiona
• Flora Nordenskiold and NordanArt
• Ginger Alsop and Phi Clothing Designs
• JayJay Zifanwe for UWA
• Nexuno Thespian & La Baroque for Colore Art Gallery
• Zachh Cale for Project Z
• and numerous anonymous donors.

TRIPTYCH AWARDS

Triptychs are normally 2D paintings or photographs. But the challenge here is to render a triptych in 3D virtual art. A triptych may be a single idea divided, or is can be three ideas connected. It can be a scene simply divided into three sections. Or it can be separate, related scenes as in Bosch's famous "Garden of Earthly Delights." The only real requirement here was that it represent triplicity in some way.


We received 22 amazing entries for the TRIPTYCH theme by 15 artists.

THE AWARDS:

The People's Choice Award (L$2000) for UWA Artists' Choice TRIPTYCH goes to:
LUMINA by Thoth Jantzen

 The Non-Scripted Award (L$3000) for TRIPTYCH goes to:
THE ARTISTS' STUDIO by Krystali Rabeni

The Third Place Award (L$3000) goes to:
THE ARTISTS' STUDIO by Krystali Rabeni

The Second Place Award (L$5000) goes to:
FROZEN BEGINNINGS by Carmsie Melodie

The First Place Award (L$7000) for the UWA Aritsts' Choice Triptych goes to:
LUMINA by Thoth Jantzen

Congratulations to all the winners and thanks to all who participated all the Artists' Choice shows this past year.

Victoria Lenoirre's Review of Barry Richez's Dreams in Space (Imagination)

For the month of Januarry at LEA6, we have Barry Richez's Dreams in Space (Imagination). http://slurl.com/secondlife/LEA6/240/241/22

When you arrive, you find you are standing on a bright blue circle. Don't forget to grab a Anti-toxic suit, just buy it for 0L. It is a full space suit. You have now entered space, Barry style. There is also a box you can click for translations. Barry reminded me to set world to midnight so that you can see the Aurora Borealis. It is simply divine!

Landing at Dreams in Space (Imagination)

You just follow the wooden plank path to move around this amazing, exciting world. A wooden path marker sign also points in the direction you should travel. It is very windy at this location. I can hear the wind howl and see a tumbleweed blowing around near my feet. Ahead of you is a stone gateway, with words carved into it.

Keep walking and in the next section you'll see a DANGER sign on your left. There are some tree stumps now and fallen trees on the cold  ground as well as sparse patches of grass.

A little further along you reach a wooden bridge. Once at the top of the bridge, you see that below you, the landscape has changed even more. You see the first hints of lushness and a bit more color...a peachy colored  bunch of flowers.

Once off the bridge you are in a small grove of cacti and you see a small, unkempt bush. Then when you keep walking, you find yourself in a lovely meadow. There are many flowers and more grass.

As you go deeper and deeper into the meadow, the foliage gets thicker and the path starts to curve and bend in a more natural way. It gets prettier and prettier. I love the butterflies and birds he put in. It gives the area a lighter, happier feel.

The turning point on the ground is a place with mountains and a small waterfall. From there, the path leads on and it builds into a more habitable, fascinating place. If we think about philosophical thinking, the work takes you from a linear point of view to a nonlinear point of view. After this mountainous area, you see other paths that branch off from the main path and you find hidden rooms or secluded places.

Barry gave me this new LM with a teleporter to the locations in the sky, they make up his version of the Galaxy:
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/LEA6/43/141/2036

You should see 4 options to click in the blue teleporter on the ground. I decided to try Relaxation.

Vic Lenoirre relaxing in Relaxation

It really felt relaxing and it's so beautiful in the Galaxy.

There is also Taichi, Fantasy, and Omega. Omega is my personal favorite.

Omega

A talk with Barry clarified a few questions I had but also intrigued me even more.

---What Amazes you or interests you about the mind? I've noticed that your works are about the mind and the imagination.

Yes, my work focuses on the imagination because it is essential to my work and what you see when arriving at the sim and all the fruit of my imagination. I wanted to share with the public.

---Do you like Rodin's Thinker?

Yes I think this sculpture represents well what Auguste Rodin wanted to portray. First called The Poet,

this piece is part of an order of the Museum of Decorative Arts in Paris who wanted to create a monumental portrait based on The Divine Comedy of Dante.

Each of the statues of the coin was one of the main characters of the epic poem.

The Thinker was originally represented Dante at the gates of Hell, pondering his poem.

---Is this your first work that explores the galaxy, where you interpet what you think it looks like?

No this is not my first job where I explore the galaxy. I love all the talk about the space conquest of man and how he walked on the moon the first time.

I was then very young and had already dreamed of an innner space installation. The space that you see is purely imaginary.

---What does this work say about dreams?

My work is the dream of a better world, a world where a person can use his (or her) imagination to create positive and great achievements.

---How would you describe your work? What does the installation say about imagination?

When you arrive on the sim and you read the story you dive straight into my imagination. Making your first steps on the sim as you follow the path, you discover the galaxy that the imagination is able to create. And you discover  through some sculptures, symbols like peace and love. The first sculpture in the pyramid  show that we would like to build a new world.

After a great castastrophe we will run more quickly each day and want to remind the world of today, about the  lack of love and peace and how it can lead to a creative imagination and also positivity for a better world.

----Who do you admire most, in RL or SL?

I admire anyone in particular whether rl or sl. And I do not like that word admiration, I prefer words like creation or imagination.

--Did You have help putting this together? This is such an extensive work. You have art on the ground and in the sky. It looks stunning and brilliant!

Regarding the lower part of the sim, I did call a friend who is a  floral wildlife specialist who perfectly understood what I wanted to do and it fit very well within my story.

---In the Galaxy, Which is your favorite planet?

The planet in the galaxy that is my favorite is the moon. I find it very beautiful and mysterious.
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I hope you come visit Barry's latest dream at LEA6 this month! It is definitely stellar and far out! It is mind blowing and very creative and imaginative! Please come see it while you can!

Have fun and enjoy the art!

Victoria Lenoirre

LEA FULL SIM SERIES (JAN): "DREAMS IN SPACE (IMAGINATION)" by Barry Richez

Barry Richez kicks off 2013 at the ground of the LEA FULL SIM ART SERIES @ LEA 6, with , 'Dreams in Space (Imagination)', taking over from Rebeca Bashly. Only one round left from the previous round, as laid out on the blog: LEA FULL SIM ART SERIES (here for full year schedule). Anyone wanting to put their hands up for the March 2013 - March 2014 rounds, do contact Jay Jay Zifanwe or Bryn Oh (or watch for the expression of interest calls).

GRAND OPENING:
1PM SLT, MONDAY, 13th January 2013
LOCATION: HERE AT LEA 6

IN THE WORDS OF BARRY RICHEZ:

FRENCH

L'imagination est tout à la fois la capacité innée et le processus d'inventer un champ personnel,
partiel ou complet, à travers l'esprit à partir d'éléments dérivés de perceptions sensorielles de l'existence commune.

Elle sert également à ceux qui ont un besoin de se créer un monde à eux afin de s'y réfugier
ou tout simplement, pour ne plus être seul ou se désennuyer.

Ce terme est techniquement utilisé en psychologie dans le processus « réanimatif »
de la perception de l'esprit, tirée de l'expérience de la perception sensorielle.
Une hypothèse évolutionniste de l'imagination humaine, c'est qu'elle ait permis aux êtres dotés d'une
conscience de résoudre les problèmes (en augmentant conséquemment la valeur sélective de l'individu)
par l'utilisation de la simulation mentale.

Une hypothèse freudienne : comme le suggère Freud dans Formulations sur les deux principes du cours
des événements psychiques (1911), l'imagination s'est développée au même titre que la pensée suite
aux premières acquisitions du principe de réalité principalement lors du sevrage .

Mais avant le sevrage il y eut l'évènement de la naissance qui a dû être aussi un apprentissage
difficile car il a fallu que l'enfant apprenne à se mouvoir dans la pesanteur terrestre et à gérer les sensations dues au fonctionnement de ses organes.

Par la suite les jeux enfantins et la fantaisie ainsi que les expressions artistiques sont les momentfugitifsparlesquelsles personnes se remémorent cette période sans contrainte, avant la naissance. Peut-être La métaphore poétique ne signifie t-elle pas autre chose que ce transport dans un état d'apesanteur ?

Un grand MERCI a mes amis qui ont bien voulut participer et aider a la réalisation de mon projet
AMA AVRO - ISAGENE - THANOS RUNNER et MERCI a Jayjay Zifanwe Owner of the University of Western Australia SIM et a The Linden Endowment for the Arts (LEA)
 

ENGLISH

The imagination is both innate ability and process to invent a field staff, full or partial, through the mind from elements derived from perceptions sensory communal existence.

It also serves those who have a need to create a world for them to take refuge or simply to avoid being alone or boredom. This term is technically used in psychology in the process "réanimatif" the perception of the mind, drawn from the experience of sensory perception.

An evolutionary hypothesis of the human imagination is that it has allowed beings have a consciousness to solve the problems (therefore increasing the fitness of the individual) by use of mental simulation.

A Freudian hypothesis: as suggested by Freud in Formulations on the two principles of psychic events (1911), the imagination is developed in the same way that thought after the first acquisitions of the reality principle mainly at weaning.

But before weaning there was the event of the birth has also been a steep learning curve as it took the child to learn to move in the Earth's gravity and manage the sensations caused by the operation of its organes.Par following children's games and fantasy and artistic expressions are fleeting moments in which people reminisce this time without constraint before birth. Perhaps Poetic metaphor does not she something other than transport in a state of weightlessness?

A big THANK YOU to my good friends who wanted to participate and assist in the realization of my project
AMA AVRO - ISAGENE - THANOS RUNNER and THANK Zifanwe Jayjay Owner of the University of Western Australia SIM and The Linden Endowment for the Arts (LEA)

.

Destination: Earth

The latest of the UWA Artists' Choice 3D Art Challenges was on the theme: "EARTH." Awards for the competition were presented this morning in the specially constructed sim-wide gallery. Taralyn Gravois emceed the proceedings.

The Artists' Choice awards are determined by the participating artists themselves. Each artist ranks their favorite entries (not counting their own) for the overall prizewinners, and a separate ballot for the special non-scripted award. There is a separate voting system for the public to vote for the People's Choice award. We had 27 entries by 24 artists.

And the winners for this round are as follows:

The First Place Award (L$7000) for the UWA Aritsts' Choice EARTH show goes to:
CHERISH AND RENEW by Carmsie Melodie


Carmsie is the first winner in the Artists' Choice series to win both the People's Choice award and the overall First Place.


The Second Place Award (L$5000) goes to:
EARTH PASSION by Nexuno Thespian

Nexuno's compact expressions of emotion are beautiful and unique, with exquisite attention to the positioning of figures and other elements that bring the works to life.

The Third Place Award (L$3000) goes to:
WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD by Krystali Rabeni

Krys continues to excel in her execution of well conceived projects. Her diorama of a bucolic garden scene takes on new dimensions, both literally and figuratively, as it climbs the walls of the box that contains it.

Despite a diverse vote, the Non-Scripted Award tally resulted in a three-way tie. The three non-scripted winners will split a L$3000 prize. The Non-Scripted Award for EARTH goes to:

GOODBYE GALILEO, WE ARE REDESIGNING THE EARTH TO BE FLAT! by Sir Real

EARTH CHILD by Secret Rage

CONCEPTUAL EARTH by Silene Christen

The full transcript of the awards presentation follows:
 -----------------

Welcome to the sixth edition of the UWA Artists' Choice Awards!

As is tradition at the University of Western Australia, we would like to acknowledge that the University is situated on Nyoongar land and that the Nyoongar people remain the spiritual and cultural custodians of their land and continue to uphold their values, languages, beliefs and knowledge.

Before we announce the winners, FreeWee would like me to remind you that this amazing EARTH show is officially closing today, though it may remain up for another few days while the TRIPTYCH show gets installed. Do please take a last tour ASAP.

The exhibition catalogues for each of the Artsts' Choice challenges are being published in the online journal "UWA Studies in Virtual Arts." The current "EARTH" show will be added to the previous six editions that cover the "3D Self Portraits," "Perfume," "Music", "Air," “Water,” and "Fire" shows earlier this year. The catalogues for WATER and FIRE should be published very soon, with the EARTH edition coming shortly thereafter.. They and the earlier editions can be found on the UWA in SL blog: http://uwainsl.blogspot.com/p/uwa-siva.html

FreeWee also urges you to submit your work for the next show on the theme: "TRIPTYCH". Deadline for submissions is TODAY, SUNDAY at 6:00 PM SLT. The gallery for TRIPTYCH is under construction and the show should be open within a couple of days. Full details on the Artist’s Choice Challenges are on the website at this URL: http://goo.gl/eDF9j

Looking ahead, TRIPTYCH will be the LAST of the Artists Choice theme shows. 2012 has been another outstanding year of art for UWA and we expect 2013 to be just as innovative and engaging. We will be announcing a new major art and machinima competition to begin very soon and which will last a few months similar to last year's Centenary challenges. Details are being finalized now, so watch for notices.

The UWA Artists' Choice challenges are designed to inspire and support the work of artists. The key difference from earlier challenges is that the main awards are determined entirely by the votes of the participating artists and sponsors themselves. It's a special honor to be acknowledged by our colleagues.

We received 27 amazing entries for the EARTH theme by 24 artists.

L$15,500 was donated by our sponsors this month. Clearly, none of this would have been possible without the tremendous support of UWA in SL, and most especially the imagination and vision of JayJay Zifanwe.

We also express our deepest gratitude to the other sponsors for this event, including:

Armany Thursday and Dyce Underwood for DNA Art and Music Fusion
Flora Nordenskiold and NordanArt
Ginger Alsop and Phi Clothing Designs
and new this month are Nexuno Thespian & La Baroque for Colore Art Gallery
We also thank several anonymous donors for their generosity this month. Anyone wishing to support future challenges, please contact FreeWee Ling.

Now to the awards. Choosing "EARTH" for the latest theme was inspired by the idea of having four related shows based on the alchemical "elements” of air, water, fire, and earth. The interpretations of "EARTH" have been diverse as usual. From impassioned statements urging ecological consciousness, to satirical explosives to beautiful abstractions. In the call for entries, the artists were given this general impression of what the theme might mean:

        "Mother Earth, nurtures and sustains us all, a small orb among many orbiting an insignificant star. The origin of life, and destined to receive life back again as dust. A delicate balance. Tectonic plates shifting. Species, including us, evolving and facing threats of extinction. The planet is so strong and so delicate. It's astounding that life is resilient enough to survive here. And yet here we are. Show us what Earth is to you."

The EARTH show has hosted over 230 unique visitors who cast a total of 373 votes for the People’s Choice award.

The voting was close, with only 2 points separating the winner from its closest competitor.

The People's Choice Award (L$2000) for UWA Artists' Choice EARTH goes to:

CHERISH AND RENEW by Carmsie Melodie

Rounding out the top five were entries by GeeJAnn Blackadder, Herbie Haven, Nexuno Thespian, and Brunequildalalinda Birdsong,

Next we go to the Non-scripted Award. This was determined by a separate vote by the artists. This time there were six non-scripted entries to choose from. The voting was interesting, with certain entries getting a lot of lower scores while others may have gotten fewer votes, but higher rankings. Despite the chaos, the result was actually a bit starling.

The Non-Scripted Award for EARTH goes to:

GOODBYE GALILEO, WE ARE REDESIGNING THE EARTH TO BE FLAT! by Sir Real

But wait, there's more!

The Non-Scripted Award ALSO goes to:

EARTH CHILD by Secret Rage

And as if that was not enough, but this time we have an unprecedented 3-way tie!!

The Non-Scripted Award ALSO goes to:

CONCEPTUAL EARTH by Silene Christen

The three non-scripted winners will split a L$3000 prize.

Now to the overall awards.

The voting was diverse as always, with only one point separating the first and second place winners, and only 2 points separating 3rd place from 4th. So there was a solid consensus for the top group of winners.

The Third Place Award (L$3000) goes to:

WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD by Krystali Rabeni

Krys continues to excel in her execution of well conceived projects. Her diorama of a bucolic garden scene takes on new dimensions, both literally and figuratively, as it climbs the walls of the box that contains it.

Proceeding now to the next award,

The Second Place Award (L$5000) goes to:

EARTH PASSION by Nexuno Thespian

Nexuno's compact expressions of emotion are beautiful and unique, with exquisite attention to the positioning of figures and other elements that bring the works to life.

And finally we come to the First Place award.

The voting was close, but this entry seemed to be overwhelmingly popular among the participating artists as well as the visitors.

The First Place Award (L$7000) for the UWA Aritsts' Choice EARTH show goes to:

CHERISH AND RENEW by Carmsie Melodie

Carmsie is the first winner in the Artists' Choice series to win both the People's Choice award and the overall First Place. Our congratulations to Carmsie!

Other artists who ranked strongly in the overall voting included Misprint Thursday's EARTH SIGNALS, Jeneve Felwitch's EARTH PRIESTESS, and Herbie Haven's THE BIG SQUEEZE.

Congratulations to all the winners and thanks to all who participated in another great show! Please take a final look around before you leave today.  The EARTH show will all be gone soon to make room for TRIPTYCH, opening soon. Thank you all for coming! Have a great day!

Victoria Lenoirre's Review of December LEA Full Sim: Rebecca Bashly's Tower

Hi people of UWA and LEA! I hope you're enjoying  the weather, the shopping, the sightseeing.....
Speaking of sightseeing, I hope you all come and sightsee at Rebecca Bashly's Tower.

In the artist's own words, "In fables the towers there is someone captured -- a princes and stuff like that. So it becomes metaphor for bondage, limits, etc."

When you arrive, you'll see a lovely, forest green flower and a wooden box that says "Click for all locations teleports." I'm in ultra and the glowing circle by my elbow is where you click to get the Locations notecard.

Me at the Starting point

I decided to sit on the lovely flower and see where it would take me. So, here I go....

Seconds later, I find myself on the bottom of a flight of steps.

The Stairs

A number of life-size glass jars are above me as i climb the wide steps. The figures are agonized, tortured, even a bit grotesque. Such suffering in their faces...like inside their souls are tortured by some internal or external pain. These figures are being punished for some sins or crimes they have committed. This is the Stairs. The torture and pain gets worse the higher you climb.

At the top of the flight of stairs is another flower.

After sitting on it, you are taken to a slightly lighter room that looks much like an alley or a prison cell. There is a dead end. Four figures are in various crouching positions. One is on the floor and the other three are clinging to opposite facing walls as they attempt to scale the high walls. This is Delirium. The four figures are going crazy within the cramped room with no doors or windows. This room is more specifically about mental anguish, unlike the Stairs which featured varying degrees of physical and mental anguish. A green flower at the end of the room signals the door to another level of this tower.

Next you find yourself in Casting Shadows.

Casting Shadows

A lone figure is sitting alone with its back to you. Tree branches cast shows along the wall and floor. The imagery suggests that the person is suffering alone, facing some deep inner turmoil surrounded by shadows of their past. They just cannot face it, but it is always at the back of their mind...following close behind them. Rebeca disagreed with my assessment and explained, "It's about growing some spine to make a tree to make a nice shadow for yourself as security, to feel safe."

Turn away from the figure and move on to the next level, This Walls.

This Walls is an intriguing level. This room is a bit bigger and there is a separator splitting the room in half. One figure is on each side of the divider. Both look like they're climbing up, feet planted firmly into the wall, the back hunched over and the hands pressed down onto the wall as they balance precariously on the fairly smooth wall. It is a bit mottled but mostly smooth.

My exchange about This Walls with Rebeca is below:

 Lady Victoria Lenoirre (victoria.lenoirre): what is this walls about? it looks similar to Delirium in that the women are climbing up on the wall.

Rebeca Bashly: in this walls, woman are not climbing they are merged with walls. If you dont go outside your home for  2 days you will capture that feeling. 

Lady Victoria Lenoirre (victoria.lenoirre): cabin fever

Rebeca Bashly: yess

Just when you thought it couldn't get any more interesting, you come to another room called The Sound of Music. This room is even bigger and has 2 dividers. The dividers form prison cells. In the first 2 cells, the figures are covering their ears to block out music or sound. Is it an annoying noise made by the prison warden or guard or is it an obnoxious piece of music? Sound can be such an irritant. And I have heard that one form of torture is keeping prisoners awake all night by constant noise blaring from speakers. Perhaps this is what we're seeing in this room. Rebeca said that "it is about listening over and over same story from the same source...its a woman screaming in pain not being able to take one more word, u have 3 scenes there, 1 she is standing, 2 she is on her knees curled up, 3 she is gone." She has gone to the next level. 

Notice that as you ascend the tower, the floor and wall textures get darker and darker, it is as though the punishment and suffering is bleaker and bleaker. The third cell is your ticket out and on to the next tower room.

Beauty is where you arrive from the dark flower. You are now in a dark cavern of rock. Beauty is up on a ledge. Keep walking forward and you'll see her. She is the figure bent in supplication with dark green flowers stuck in her shin, thigh, and hand. Rebeca tells me, "In the next level, you see a damaged statue with gorgeous flowers growing from her flesh. She is free from the begining of the story. In every step there is beauty, in beauty level itself, it explodes.

I noted that the textures get rougher and darker as you ascend the tower. Rebeca said, "dark is not really a negative thing in my head. But with roughnes you have a point. If you are in a tower, some dark corner hides you pretty well.

The final level is Hiden.

Hiden, background was lightened in GIMP, originally was black

There are two figures hugging each other tightly. I lightened the background on the photo. The black background makes it hard to make out the figures. It's like they are hidden.

Rebeca says, "hiden is thebeautiful part, but it is still part of the tower."

Do they escape the tower? We may never know.

Thank you Rebeca Bashly for building The Tower! It is a phenomenal, masterful body of work. The figures and flowers are mesh, so use a viewer that lets you view mesh like the SL official viewer or Firestorm viewer. 

Please come over to LEA and see it, before it's gone! 

Happy Holidays to everyone! Have a Happy New Year!

http://slurl.com/secondlife/LEA6/140/143/21

Have fun and enjoy the art!

-Victoria Lenoirre

LEA FULL SIM ART SERIES (DEC): Rebeca Bashly's "The Tower"

Rebeca Bashly, one of the most successful LEA FULL SIM artists, returns with the incredible 'The Tower',  taking over at LEA 6 for the DECEMBER ROUND of the LEA FULL SIM ART SERIES (here for full year schedule), bringing to life a metaphor, with "THE TOWER".

 
GRAND OPENING:
6AM SLT, SUNDAY, 2nd DECEMBER
LOCATION: HERE AT LEA 6
 
Tight lipped as to what the installation is about, and setting up an entire SIM in under 24 hours, Rebeca explained, that 'The Tower' is symbolic of  restrictive areas, of closed minds, of self limitations and the like, as in kids fables.

V. Lenoirre's Review of Project Guernia at LEA6

On November 13th at 2pm SLT, Project Guernica, a full sim build by Lizzie Gudkov and London Junkers, opened. http://slurl.com/secondlife/LEA6/67/126/30

 Project Guernica is dedicated to Pablo Picasso's famous painting, Guernica. The painting portrayed the bombing of the Basque town, Guernica, during the Spanish Civil War. He created this huge mural in 1937 at the request of the Spanish Republican government.

The landing point to this full sim gallery is on a circular platform, surrounded by a railing. Lizzie and London stayed for a few hours to welcome friends and guests to their opening.

The platform location and its design is really quite clever. You feel like you're in the middle--at the very core of the art installation. And above and in front of you is the great mural....Guernica. It is like a grand presentation for your senses. You're in the midst of a great piece of art, kind of like being in the midst of war. It's awesome in its effect on your mind and your eyes. The images, the news, the people, the casualties...it is so real, yet at times you find it so surreal.

Landing platform at Project Guernica Nov. 13th, 2012

Closeup of Project Guernica, the red circle is SaveMe Oh. :-)

You can click either of the signs in the first picture for a Project Guernica gift and for a notecard describing the Project.

The rendering of this scene is great. Lizzie and London constructed it with prims. The 3-dimensional aspect is absolutely wonderful. One guest was thrilled at being able to sit on a section of this enormous build.

I even got a close up of the center of this image, the fallen horse and the fallen knight.

Center of Project Guernica

The timing for this work is relevant. The world is involved in the Iraq War and War in Afghanistan. There's just so much bloodshed and suffering. This mural has light that symbolizes hope. So my first question to Lizzie and London is: Where do you see hope in the wars we're facing right now?



*Where do you see hope in the wars we're facing right now?


London: Hope is a quality that we have. As the human kind progresses, culture changes and more of us understand that war is a futile effort. We shall never give up hope that peace will prevail some day.

Lizzie: Art is often an expression of reality, feelings and it may even anticipate solutions. Hopefully, art will have its share of contribution in finding a resolution for wars in the world.



*Is this your favorite work by Picasso?


Lizzie: Picasso is such an amazing artist, that it is difficult to choose one single piece!

London: I agree with Lizzie! It is definitely one of his best pieces but too difficult to compare to other epochs and styles of his work.



*What fascinates you about it?


London: Its dimension and what it represents.

Lizzie: I think that it is an impressive piece. It's incredibly rich and it allows for a diverse interpretation, in many ways reflecting our individual experiences and backgrounds.



*What was the hardest part about building this masterpiece in 3d for LEA6?


Lizzie: *points to London* :)

London: Building this piece was a joy and a challenge. In terms of the pieces the original painting has, the translation to a 3D environment of the horse was the biggest challenge.



*Where else do you have art showing in SL?


London: We had artwork in the UWA where we have participated in several of their contests. Plus we have also taken part recently in The Art of Protest exhibit.

Lizzie: We would like to thank LEA for giving us this chance and we are happy that the  Second Life community is enjoying it. The comments have been very positive. Thank you, Victoria, for this opportunity to share a few thoughts about "Project Guernica"!

------

To Lizzie and London, you are most welcome. I enjoy seeing your art and I love being able to ask you and other artists about your work. Building can take awhile and it is always wonderful to see the result. A lot of time and love really goes into it. Your time and effort is very much appreciated!

If you haven't seen it yet, you should visit LEA6 to see Project Guernica! It is up for your pleasure until the end of this month!

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American fellows in SL!

Have fun and enjoy the art!

-Victoria Lenoirre

Down to Earth

The UWA Artists' Choice Challenge for this month is on the theme: "EARTH". This is the last of the elemental themes the began with AIR, followed by WATER and FIRE.
Runs through Dec. 9.  SLURL

Mother Earth, nurtures and sustains us all, a small orb among many orbiting an insignificant star. She is the origin of life and is destined to receive life back again as dust. A delicate balance. Tectonic plates shifting. Species, including us, evolving and facing extinction. (A metaphor for every individual life?) The planet is so strong and so delicate. It's astounding that life is resilient enough to survive here. And yet here we are. Our artists were asked to show us what Earth means to them.

We received 27 entries from 26 artists (including one collaborative work and three artists with dual entries). People's Choice voting is now active for you to go explore and rate your favorites. The entries include:

• Aquaglo, MellyDee Macfanatic, Dinny Voom    Earth, without her?... We would NOT exist! 
• Barbara Wardell    Protect Our Planet Earth
• Brune BB Crash Queen    Madre Tierra
• Carmsie Melodie    Cherish and Renew
• Corcosman Voom    Harvest Dance
• Dragon Lord    Pachamama
• Dragon Lord    Please Recycle
• Finn Lanzius    The Formation of the Earth
• FreeWee Ling    Persistent Effects
• FreeWee Ling    It's the End of the World As We Know It
• GeeJAnn Blackadder    Microcosm
• Haveit Neox    Road Kill
• Herbie Haven    Earth (The Big Squeeze)
• Jeneve Felwitch    Earth Priestess
• Johnas Merlin    The desert in bloom
• Kandinsky Beaumont    EAT DIRT OR BE DIRT
• Krystali Rabeni    What a Wonderful World
• Lilia Artis    Earthen Patterns
• Lucignolo (coddax)    Universe Tao Ming
• Misprint Thursday    Earth Signal
• Nexuno Thespian    Earth Passion
• Secret Rage    Earth Child
• Secret Rage    Earth to Earth
• Silene Christen    Conceptual Earth
• Sir Real (vgtar.carlberg)    Goodbye Galileo, We are Redesigning the Earth to be Flat!
• Talia Sunsong    Abundant Earth Gaia Statue
• Talia Sunsong    I Will Shelter You

LEA FULL SIM ART SERIES (NOV): LONDON & LIZZIE'S GUERNICA

London Junkers & Lizzie Gudkov take over at LEA 6 for the NOVEMBER ROUND of the LEA FULL SIM ART SERIES (here for full year schedule), bringing back yesteryear with "PROJECT GUERNICA".
 
GRAND OPENING:
2PM SLT, TUESDAY 13th NOVEMBER
LOCATION: HERE AT LEA 6

IN LONDON'S WORDS:
In 1937 Spanish painter Pablo Picasso created one of the most important icons of the 20th century when he made the Guernica.

Painted in black and white, depicting the horrors of war, it is today as solid and modern as it was when it was first shown  in the 1937 International Fair in Paris.  T

he intention of re-creating this masterpiece in Second Life comes from the love for the original mural itself and what it represents. After a lot of thought and experimenting with external 3d software,a decision was made, this installation would be built primarily in prims, as an exercise of the possibilities that LEA has given us. With this piece, we would like  to pay  homage to Picasso and let visitors learn more from it.

A Ziki Questi image from the Grand Opening of Project Guernica

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Extinguishing the Fire

Saturday morning brought the latest in the UWA Artists' Choice Challenge awards presentation and the official closing of the "FIRE" show. Taralyn Gravois emceed the event.

By an overwhelming consensus, Nexuno Thespian won the First Place award for the October challenge, which featured the theme "FIRE".Nexuno's entry titled "Fireflower" seemed to have everything one could want -- exquisite use of form, color, figures, animation, and music to express a surreal vision of passion and heat and beauty.

In Second Place was Krystali Rabenow's "Tragedy", a poignant diorama showing a puppet theater on fire, the collapsed marionette resigning to his fate of impending doom as the result of an unrequited love .

In third place was Secret Rage's cryptic, surrealistic vision titled "When Lightning Strikes."

While we had no unscripted entries in last month's "Water" themed show, this month we had five to choose from. There was a separate balloting for this award, and the participating artists chose Corcosman Voom's "Fire Birds."

The FIRE show was featured on the SL login screen for the last few days of the show, resulting in a flurry of voting for the People's Choice award. With over 700 votes cast overall, the decisive favorite was Barry Richez's "Douce Colombe" ("Sweet Dove") inspired by poem of Mlle. NGEUFEU KENNE Alvine of Cameroon.

The full transcript of the awards presentation follows:
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Welcome to the sixth edition of the UWA Artists' Choice Awards!

As is tradition at the University of Western Australia, we would like to acknowledge that the University is situated on Nyoongar land and that the Nyoongar people remain the spiritual and cultural custodians of their land and continue to uphold their values, languages, beliefs and knowledge.

Before we announce the winners, FreeWee would like me to remind you that this amazing FIRE show is officially closing today, though it may remain up for another few days while the EARTH show gets installed. Do please take a last tour ASAP.

The exhibition catalogues for each of the Artsts' Choice challenges are being published in the online journal "UWA Studies in Virtual Arts." The current "FIRE" show will be added to the previous five editions that covered the "3D Self Portraits," "Perfume," "Music", "Air," and “Water” shows earlier this year. The catalogues for WATER and FIRE should be published very soon. They and the earlier editions can be found at this link: http://uwainsl.blogspot.com/p/uwa-siva.html

FreeWee has published the complete photo archive (166 images) of "FIRE" at this URL: http://goo.gl/Sqs7S

FreeWee also urges you to submit your work for the next show on the theme: "EARTH". Deadline for submissions is TOMORROW, SUNDAY at NOON SLT. The gallery for EARTH is under construction and the show should be open within a couple of days.

Looking ahead, start working on your submissions for the show to follow EARTH as we finish out the series of Artists Choice theme shows in December with a theme called "TRIPTYCH." Deadline for TRIPTYCH will be announced very soon. Full details on the Artist’s Choice Challenges are on the website at this URL: http://uwainsl.blogspot.com/p/artists-choice-challenge.html

The UWA Artists' Choice challenges are designed to inspire and support the work of artists. The key difference from earlier challenges is that the main awards are determined entirely by the votes of the participating artists and sponsors themselves. It's a special honor to be acknowledged by our colleagues.
We received 26 amazing entries for the FIRE theme by 20 artists.

L$15,000 was donated by our sponsors this month. Clearly, none of this would have been possible without the tremendous support of UWA in SL, and most especially the imagination and vision of JayJay Zifanwe.

We also express our deepest gratitude to the other sponsors for this event, including:

• Armany Thursday and Dyce Underwood for DNA Art and Music Fusion
• Flora Nordenskiold and NordanArt
• Ginger Alsop and Phi Clothing Designs
• and special donations by anonymous donors

Anyone wishing to support future challenges, please contact FreeWee Ling.

Now to the awards. Choosing "FIRE" for the October theme was inspired by the idea of having four related shows based on the alchemical "elements” of air, water, fire, and earth. The interpretations of "FIRE" have been diverse as usual. From fiery passion to nuclear fission to hot peppers and fried eggs. This has been one of the most engaging shows in the series.

The FIRE show was a featured site on the SL Login screen for a day or two this week. We have hosted over 300 unique visitors who cast a total of 725 votes for the People’s Choice award.

The voting was clear, with just over 20  points separating the winner from its closest competitor.
The People's Choice Award (L$2000) for UWA Artists' Choice FIRE goes to:

DOUCE COLOMBE by Barry Richez

Rounding out the top five were: both entries by Nexuno Thespian, Krystali Rabeni’s “Tragedy”, and Talia Sunsong’s “Ignite Passion”.

Next we go to the Non-scripted Award. This was determined by a separate vote by the artists. Last month there were no non-scripted entries. This time there are five to choose from.

The Non-Scripted Award for FIRE (L$3000) goes to:

FIREBIRDS by Corcosman Voom

Corcosman’s entry was followed closely by Chic Aeon’s “Global Warming”, with Dividni Shostakovich’s "Fire Is a Verb”, Dragon Lord’s “Man on fire an eternal flame”, and Hypatia Pickens’s “Fire Elemental: Salamander” rounding out the top five (with only one point separating the last three).
We go now to the overall awards.

The voting was diverse as always, with only one point separating each of the 4th-through 2nd places. But the First Place winner got more than double the score of the next highest competitor.

The Third Place Award (L$3000) goes to:

WHEN LIGHTNING STRIKES by Secret Rage

Secret’s piece has so much going on, it takes close examination to take it all in. Her work always reflects a unique, often surrealistic, vision.

The Second Place Award (L$5000) goes to:

TRAGEDY by Krystali Rabeni

The aptly titled story of a marionette with a love that could never be touched many viewers. A work finely executed with a strong emotional impact.

Which brings us to the First Place award.

There seemed to be no question at all as to the winner of this round. By an overwhelming vote, the First Place Award (L$7000) for FIRE goes to:

FIREFLOWER by Nexuno Thespian

Our congratulations to Nexuno! Other artists who ranked strongly in the overall voting, in no particular order, included Nexuno’s other entry LEAVES DON'T FALL, RUST MAN by Herbie Haven, DOUCE COLOMBE by Barry Richez, PHOENIX RISING by Silene Christen, and FIERY FLAMES OF PASSION by Aquaglo and MellyDee Macfanatic.

Congratulations to all the winners and thanks to all who participated in a great show! Please take a final look around before you leave today.  The FIRE show will all be gone soon to make room for the EARTH, opening soon. Thank you all for coming! Have a great day!