- by Magellan Egoyan
There is a debate going on in the academic world concerning the role and importance of the idea of "presence" in relation to virtual worlds, with a particular interest with respect to art, especially new media art. Presence is one of those words with many different meanings and contextual uses. Hence the word is used to discuss the effectiveness of immersive virtual experiences (that is, virtual reality is successful if there is a sense of being "present" in a 3D, multisensory manner). But the word is also used to situate various forms of remote immersive experience as a factual descriptor… hence the term "telepresence" is sometimes used for the idea that one’s presence is projected into a given place at some distance from where one is actually located.
Presence is also used to describe the sense of "agency" one may experience in a real or virtual environment. Sometimes "presence" may also have spiritual overtones … do you feel the presence of God? The concept is often used to distinguish formally between agents and avatars – avatars are operated by a person and therefore involve "presence", whereas agents may be pieces of software in relation to which no one is actually "present". However, I believe most people have experienced a sense of "presence" with regard to experiential contexts in which no person is actually involved at the time of the manifestation. Hence, particular works of art may be felt as having a significant presence, even though the artist is not "actually" present at the time the work is viewed.
In a recent multidisciplinary graduate seminar at the university at which I work (Laval University in Quebec City), several experiments were undertaken to explore the concept of "presence" in both real and virtual environments. The class divided itself into three groups for this. The first group explored, in a semi-scientific manner (that is, by posing and evaluating a hypothesis), the idea that a person’s movement abstracted from the body itself using a motion capture measurement system (often called "mocap"), may still reveal the person’s distinctive presence. A second group compared the sense of presence generated by different means – a live actor on stage, a "chinese shadow play" generated by a live actor, a virtual actor recorded using mocap and visualized as an avatar, and the pre-recorded image of an actor. Interestingly, the results revealed the most sense of presence in the interaction between these different manifestations of the actor, rather than in any one representation. Finally, the third group explored the notion of "presence" in the absence of a body, using Samuel Beckett’s play Cette Fois as a focal point. This group was able to generate the greatest sense of presence in a highly simplified visual and auditory immersive environment (in the spirit of Beckettian plays), by having the audience lean in to hear a recording of Beckett that was competing with other auditory mesages from his text in the ambient environment. It was generally agreed that the group has succeeded in generating a sense of "presence" in the total absence of any live actor by these means.
Among the conclusions drawn with regard to the sense of presence evaluated by the different groups, it was determined that presence is perhaps less a characteristic of the involvement of a live actor, than the result of the ability to generate an energetic relationship between performance and/or installation and the audience. Indeed, even the presence that came from a live actor was stronger when the actor was "trained", that is, when the actor understood how to connect with the audience. If this energetic exchange can be achieved without an actual person present, and this seems to be the case, then an installation can evoke a powerful sense of presence.
Although these experiments took place in RL, they are relevant to the world of SL, especially within the context of efforts to develop Virtual Art. Many of the kinetic sculptures that are currently drawing interest in SL are attempting to create "an energetic relationship" with the audience. This is doubly so of so-called "reactive" sculptures, that is, kinetic sculptures which respond or modify their appearance or dynamics as a result of interactions with audience members. Many of these explorations in SL allow us to deepen our understanding of Virtual Art and its relationship to ourselves, both in SL and, eventually in RL.
April 18, 2007
Gazira Babeli at Exhibit A
Written by Plurabelle Posthorn
Monday 16th of April Gazira Babelis exhibition [Collateral Damage] opened on the Odyssey Island at the Exhibit A Gallery, in Second Life. It's a retrospective show, but there are also many brand new pieces made for this exhibition.
On the occation of this exhibition (of one of the best SL-artist according to Plurabelle Posthorn), there has been written a long and good article: Gaz', Queen of the Desert by Domenico Quaranta, where you'll find a lot of information, viewpoints of Gaziras art projects and some good links for further reading. You'll find the press release for the exhibition HERE.
Below, a beautiful creature with blue wings is being deformed by one of Gaziras Avatar on Canvas, a series of three Francis Bacon paintings where the main figure has been replaced by a three-dimensional scripted chair. I always wished my neck was longer.
Below: This is Nudes descending a staircase, also a new piece. Just recently Tasrill Sieyes made an avatar looking like Marcel Duchamps Nude descending a staircase. Gazira lets canvases with nudes fall of the wall and arrange themselves randomly as they fall down the stair. Some of the paintings are SL nudes, and as far as I could see, it looks like Cicciolina has got a Second Life too.
Once a nude is kicked down from the wall, a new one rezzes. It's like a nightmare. Nudes, nudes, nudes. They are deposited and finally disappears, but there will always be new nudes. A never-ending stream of nudes descending staircases.
Cd_grey goo , picture above. Gaziras black full bright hat on a pedestal. Notecard tells you to click on it. You do and the whole gallery is filled with question marks or bananas (the banana created by Andy Warhol for the cover of The Velvet Underground’s first LP) or Super Marios.
Here comes a piece also using Andy Warhols art with a special Second Life twist to it...
Soupcans trying to eat you, or trying to can you as Second soup. The issue of food. Food in Second Life is absurd. To eat or drink or smoke is totally without meaning. But soup we are. Why is it so hard to do something original? Why all this reenacting of real life. Are we afraid of letting it go? Loosing contact with this thing called real life? It's like some sort of SL religion; believing that another life is possible, after this one is logged off.
The "Don't say: New Media" piece...
A black cloud with form of a drop or is it a quotation mark on the floor. Hoovering text: Dont say: new media. Of couse you say: new media. Everybody say new media, new media, they write new media, say new media. I never say new media. How does it feel to say new media?
You: new media
: Plurabelle Posthorn.. Don't Say NEW MEDIA!
: Plurabelle Posthorn.. Say Sorry
: Plurabelle Posthorn.. Say Sorry!
: Plurabelle Posthorn.. Say Sorry!
You: Sorry!
(I'm never going to say it again. Exception: I'll say it to Gaziras "Don't say: New Media" piece...)
Monday 16th of April Gazira Babelis exhibition [Collateral Damage] opened on the Odyssey Island at the Exhibit A Gallery, in Second Life. It's a retrospective show, but there are also many brand new pieces made for this exhibition.
On the occation of this exhibition (of one of the best SL-artist according to Plurabelle Posthorn), there has been written a long and good article: Gaz', Queen of the Desert by Domenico Quaranta, where you'll find a lot of information, viewpoints of Gaziras art projects and some good links for further reading. You'll find the press release for the exhibition HERE.
 | Two pieces made for this exhibition are called U are here. They are exactly what my humanist friends asked for a couple of weeks ago: Doc: Now if you could just touch the paintings and travel into their world... sort of a Third Life in Second Life. Here you can touch the sculptures and be transported into it. It's raining in the desert. It's because the umbrella is there. |
From Domenico Quarantas article:
Created on occasion of the exhibition [Collateral Damage], U Are Here (April 2007) consists in two sculptures which violate the pact of trust implicit in the practice of teleporting. Or rather, they represent an overly-literal application of the latter. The sculptures are two simple models on pedestals: the first represents a desert with some archeological ruins, the other a room with a window we can peep into to see what’s inside: a banal-looking office with a clock, a desk and a computer. By clicking on the models we are transported into the setting in question: an arid, apparently infinite desert, or a closed room with no way out. Have we been shrunk or just taken hostage inside a “real” version of the setting represented by the two sculptures?
-excerpt from "Gaz', Queen of the Desert" by Domenico Quaranta
Below, a beautiful creature with blue wings is being deformed by one of Gaziras Avatar on Canvas, a series of three Francis Bacon paintings where the main figure has been replaced by a three-dimensional scripted chair. I always wished my neck was longer.
Below: This is Nudes descending a staircase, also a new piece. Just recently Tasrill Sieyes made an avatar looking like Marcel Duchamps Nude descending a staircase. Gazira lets canvases with nudes fall of the wall and arrange themselves randomly as they fall down the stair. Some of the paintings are SL nudes, and as far as I could see, it looks like Cicciolina has got a Second Life too.
Once a nude is kicked down from the wall, a new one rezzes. It's like a nightmare. Nudes, nudes, nudes. They are deposited and finally disappears, but there will always be new nudes. A never-ending stream of nudes descending staircases.
Cd_grey goo , picture above. Gaziras black full bright hat on a pedestal. Notecard tells you to click on it. You do and the whole gallery is filled with question marks or bananas (the banana created by Andy Warhol for the cover of The Velvet Underground’s first LP) or Super Marios.
In October 2006 a minor apocalypse hit a beach in Second Life, burying it under a flood of skipping Super Marios. In technical jargon this is called “grey goo”, an expression used in nanotechnology and science fiction to describe a hypothetical apocalyptic scenario in which self-replicating robots consume all living matter on the earth. Although the cataclysm did generate a certain level of anxiety, Gazira appears to be more interested in setting off a mental short circuit than a genuine system collapse. This was why she populated the three-dimensional, baroque world of Second Life with the definitive icon of the 8-bit era.The exhibition is loaded with art and pop cultural references. Gazira is working very much with appropriations. Quaranta's article is also full of references. Namedropping? (I had my head cut of once for namedropping. I'm still a litle sore. ) Whether it could be called namedropping in this case I can't tell for sure. If it is, is it bad? Well, I love all the reference stuff in Gaziras work. It's fun, humorous, raw.
-excerpt from "Gaz', Queen of the Desert" by Domenico Quaranta
Here comes a piece also using Andy Warhols art with a special Second Life twist to it...
 |
-: You love Pop Art - Pop Art hates you! :-Second Soup, performed in May 2006 (and recorded on video), sees Gazira tackling a giant can of Campbell’s soup, another pop art icon. The artist is looking at it on a poster, when all of a sudden the can leaves its paper domain and grabs hold of her. From that moment on she just can’t get rid of it. Gazira jumps, flies and runs, but the can always catches up with her. Pop art as an irksome deity, a cumbersome legacy that we just can’t seem to shed? |
The "Don't say: New Media" piece...
A black cloud with form of a drop or is it a quotation mark on the floor. Hoovering text: Dont say: new media. Of couse you say: new media. Everybody say new media, new media, they write new media, say new media. I never say new media. How does it feel to say new media?
You: new media
: Plurabelle Posthorn.. Don't Say NEW MEDIA!
: Plurabelle Posthorn.. Say Sorry
: Plurabelle Posthorn.. Say Sorry!
: Plurabelle Posthorn.. Say Sorry!
You: Sorry!
(I'm never going to say it again. Exception: I'll say it to Gaziras "Don't say: New Media" piece...)
 |
| Buy Gaz' 4 one Linden! The full outfit that makes the Gazira Babeli avatar (minus a skin) for sale: 1L$! So if you go to a slingo, work as a window washer, or rides the steam train at Caledon and you think you recognize this characteristic figure dressed in black with dark glasses and a flexi top hat as Gazira Babeli, it's probably not her. Not after 16th of April 2007. It could be me, it could be anybody. It might very well be me, because I felt very comfortable in the Gazira outfit, this lovely female body shape all in black. |
 Now, this exhibition is full of adventure and lots of inspiration for other SL artists I would think. Many of Gaziras scripts can be found on her website free for us to try out in our own art experiments. Just some word about: |
Come Together (April 2007). If you click on one of the pose balls you will start to dance or make other movements up on the pedestal. Hopefully someone will join you and you will get very intimate, even luckier you may experience a treesome, fivesome. No, of course this is not about sex, it's about sculpture. You have to make the sculpture yourself, like in the Avatar on canvas, you are becoming art or a part of Gaziras art work. Come Together for a random composite sculpture. There will be no art without you. (Could also be a reference for the SL group tool called Come Together...) |
  |
 | Some avatars are developing their physical relationship on other terms, like Wirxli here and his adoptive avatar daughter Fwwixli. |
April 15, 2007
Report from SL dorkbot meeting 15th of April
A group member named Maximillian Nakamura gave you Rhizomatic, Odyssey (84, 148, 32).
dorkbot LM gave you DORKBOT SESSION, Odyssey (50, 192, 297).
UUID Phonic Emitter: Adding Plurabelle Posthorn to play list.
Maximillian Nakamura: Hello Everybody!
Max Nakamura shouts: HELLO EVERYBODY!
Maximillian Nakamura: Welcome to the second dorkbot session in second life here a Odyssey!
Maximillian Nakamura: My name is Maximillian Nakamura. I am the dorkbot guy. *smiles*
Our motto is: ppl doing strange things with electricity. Dorkbot refers to a group of affiliated organizations worldwide that hold meetings of artists, engineers, and designers working in the medium of electronic art. In SL the dorkbot motto slightly changed to ppl doing strange things with second life.
So please welcome: SL Soundartist and New Media Artist AngryBeth Shortbread aka Annabeth Robinson from the UK, who will speak first and the famous SL Artist Dancoyote Antonelli aka DC Spensley.
I would also kindly ask you all to take a seat at this gorgous rhizomatic seating system Sugar Seville made for the dorkbot sessions, because seating reduces lag.
Maximillian Nakamura: Now I would like to introduce AngryBeth Shortbread. She is doing really interesting work with sound in Second Life. http://www.annamorphic.co.uk/
ANGRYBETH SHORTBREAD
AngryBeth Shortbread: hello
quick intro of me, my current background - in RL I'm a moving image artist - encompassing Short Film Drama to multi-screen video installations. I am also a senior lecturer in Ba(hons)/FD Design for Digital Media, at Leeds College of Art and Design, UK.
My Academic background - included a Ba in Interactive Arts at Newport, in 1993, opened my mind to the possibilites of screen based and telepresent based digital art and design. I was quite fortunate to have forward thinker, Roy Ascott as head of course.
Roll on a decade, and the technology has caught up with some of the ideas. I did a fair bit of macromedia director work in the late 90's, especially for the Lovebytes digital art festival, and developed several ideas for sound toys, and interactive moving image graphics for VJing.
By, 2005, I came to Second Life, via staff research at college, when exploring alternatives to webCT and Moodle for creating online learning environments for art and design process and practice.
My interest in exploring the possibilites of artistic practice and distribution within the metaverse, is what made me stay in second life. I was hooked very early on.
Early on Machinima caught my attention, as it gelled well with my RL moving image background.
As I discovered scripting, I found it reminded me of director lingo and actionscript, and found it quite easy to get my head into it. When I started Second Life, it was fortuitus, that the Port Community, led by artists Goldin & Senneby, had just set up. Joining quite early on, I was involved in many of the collaborative projects, with an exciting bunch of early adopters investigating and creating SL Arts. If you want more info about the port - goto http://theport.tv
The Pencil Factory ( my gallery in Second Life ), was my addition to the Port 3D wiki. I tend to think of it to myself, as an online sketchbook. - a record of what I do can be found on my website at - http://www.annamorphic.co.uk/projects.html
As I was saying earlier, my interest was to explore process, and the Pencil Factory housed many of my projects, in either state of completion or work in progress.
I felt it important to think of Second Life as a Studio, and I had no problem with people seeing ideas in development, rather than only finished work. This in itself fed back to my interest in looking at Second Life's educational value.
Most of my work, generally evolves.. taking ideas or processes from older projects and adapting them into new forms.
AngryBeth Shortbread: Tonight going to show you a work in progress - at the moment called height harp, and how it emerged from other ideas. So I'll be asking for volunteers. Lately most of my interest has been looking at new ways to create sound toys in second life, using various ways to play / interface them , rather than just a simple touch based interface. Some exploration has been to use physics and collisions to produce notes eg. the synthycube, others like the UUID emitters in front of you use data about the avatar to produce the sequence of notes.
Loop Luo: volunteer!! here :DD
AngryBeth Shortbread: Some exploration has been to use physics and collisions to produce notes eg. the synthycube, others like the UUID emitters in front of you use data about the avatar to produce the sequence of notes. the UUID emitters are the green thingy's making the choral sounds' The UUID emitters - are playing the avatar's key - or unique id number, - this is translated into a phrase of music, each phrase representing the avatar musically. The emitters play these key's at random, based on a list of avatars it has sensed over time. So when you
have several of these emitters, they play a harmony, kinda representing a community in music.
a very early script I created for the Letter well installation, - which I call wordbreaker, is the engine that runs some of the projects I make, including the UUID emitters.
I'll just demo the script, its in the green box in front of me
Wordbreaker shouts: t
Wordbreaker shouts: h
Wordbreaker shouts: e
Wordbreaker shouts:
Wordbreaker shouts: u
Wordbreaker shouts: u
Wordbreaker shouts: i
Wordbreaker shouts: d
Wordbreaker shouts:
Wordbreaker shouts: e
Wordbreaker shouts: m
Wordbreaker shouts: i
Wordbreaker shouts: t
Wordbreaker shouts: t
Wordbreaker shouts: e
Wordbreaker shouts: r
Wordbreaker shouts: s
Wordbreaker shouts:
Wordbreaker shouts: -
Wordbreaker shouts:
Wordbreaker shouts: a
Wordbreaker shouts: r
Wordbreaker shouts: e
Wordbreaker shouts:
Wordbreaker shouts: p
Wordbreaker shouts: a
Wordbreaker shouts: y
Wordbreaker shouts: i
Wordbreaker shouts: n
Wordbreaker shouts: g
Wordbreaker shouts:
Wordbreaker shouts: t
Wordbreaker shouts: h
Wordbreaker shouts: e
Wordbreaker shouts:
Wordbreaker shouts: a
Wordbreaker shouts: v
Wordbreaker shouts: a
Wordbreaker shouts: t
Wordbreaker shouts: a
Wordbreaker shouts: r
Wordbreaker shouts: '
Wordbreaker shouts:
Wordbreaker shouts: k
Wordbreaker shouts: e
Wordbreaker shouts: y
Wordbreaker shouts:
Wordbreaker shouts: -
Wordbreaker shouts:
Wordbreaker shouts: o
Wordbreaker shouts: r
Wordbreaker shouts:
Wordbreaker shouts: u
Wordbreaker shouts: n
Wordbreaker shouts: i
Wordbreaker shouts: q
Wordbreaker shouts: u
Wordbreaker shouts: e
Wordbreaker shouts:
Wordbreaker shouts: i
Wordbreaker shouts: d
Wordbreaker shouts:
Wordbreaker shouts: n
Wordbreaker shouts: u
Wordbreaker shouts: m
Wordbreaker shouts: b
Wordbreaker shouts: e
Wordbreaker shouts: r
Wordbreaker shouts: ,
Wordbreaker shouts:
Wordbreaker shouts: -
Wordbreaker shouts:
Wordbreaker shouts: t
Wordbreaker shouts: h
Wordbreaker shouts: i
Wordbreaker shouts: s
Wordbreaker shouts:
Wordbreaker shouts: i
Wordbreaker shouts: s
Wordbreaker shouts:
Wordbreaker shouts: t
Wordbreaker shouts: r
Wordbreaker shouts: a
Wordbreaker shouts: n
Wordbreaker shouts: s
Wordbreaker shouts: l
Wordbreaker shouts: a
Wordbreaker shouts: t
Wordbreaker shouts: e
Wordbreaker shouts: d
Wordbreaker shouts:
Wordbreaker shouts: i
Wordbreaker shouts: n
Wordbreaker shouts: t
Wordbreaker shouts: o
Wordbreaker shouts:
Wordbreaker shouts: a
Wordbreaker shouts:
Wordbreaker shouts: p
Wordbreaker shouts: h
Wordbreaker shouts: r
Wordbreaker shouts: a
Wordbreaker shouts: s
Wordbreaker shouts: e
Wordbreaker shouts:
Wordbreaker shouts: o
Wordbreaker shouts: f
Wordbreaker shouts:
Wordbreaker shouts: m
Wordbreaker shouts: u
Wordbreaker shouts: s
Wordbreaker shouts: i
Wordbreaker shouts: c
Wordbreaker shouts: ,
Wordbreaker shouts:
Wordbreaker shouts: e
Wordbreaker shouts: a
Wordbreaker shouts: c
Wordbreaker shouts: h
Wordbreaker shouts:
Wordbreaker shouts: p
Wordbreaker shouts: h
Wordbreaker shouts: r
Wordbreaker shouts: a
Wordbreaker shouts: s
Wordbreaker shouts: e
Wordbreaker shouts:
Wordbreaker shouts: r
Wordbreaker shouts: e
Wordbreaker shouts: p
Wordbreaker shouts: r
Wordbreaker shouts: e
Wordbreaker shouts: s
Wordbreaker shouts: e
Wordbreaker shouts: n
Wordbreaker shouts: t
Wordbreaker shouts: i
Wordbreaker shouts: n
Wordbreaker shouts: g
Wordbreaker shouts:
Wordbreaker shouts: t
Wordbreaker shouts: h
Wordbreaker shouts: e
Wordbreaker shouts:
Wordbreaker shouts: a
Wordbreaker shouts: v
Wordbreaker shouts: a
Wordbreaker shouts: t
Wordbreaker shouts: a
Wordbreaker shouts: r
Wordbreaker shouts:
Wordbreaker shouts: m
Wordbreaker shouts: u
Wordbreaker shouts: s
Wordbreaker shouts: i
Wordbreaker shouts: c
Wordbreaker shouts: a
Wordbreaker shouts: e
AngryBeth Shortbread: spammy as hell
It simply takes a string of text and breaks it down into individual letters. As the key of an avatar is also string, it can break this line of numbers and letters down individually. Once I have those, I can assign notes to these values.its also the same script that powers the dna sequencer.
The height harp, follows on from playing with other ideas for sound toys and one area that caught my interest was baseing tones based on the height of an avatar. the height harp, uses a sensor to detect avatars inside the circle, reads their height, and assigns a note, a sensor can only detect 16 avatars at once so i'll need upto 16 avatars, to hop in and out of the circle
Loop Luo: here :D
AngryBeth Shortbread: it has a cycle of about 4 seconds to detect you, to change you assigned note - simply change you height in appearnce, so you can physically tune yourself
Maximillian Nakamura: nice
AngryBeth Shortbread: your height needs to be between 1.4 m and 2.1 m, it uses the scale o C. something that forced the issue with the kinda of tones I used was the 10 sec limit to uploaded sounds, so I created samples with a slow attack and decay over 10 secs, which when used along with llTriggersound , produces that quite nice baroque sound
Alan Dojoji: have you found any way around the limit?
AngryBeth Shortbread: no I work within that constraint.
Your height needs to be between 1.4 m and 2.1 m.
Since doing an Interactive arts degree - active art , rather than passive has interested me, and at present, the role of the avatar as part of the work, is something I'm focusing on
Eifachfilm Vacirca: is your interest more exploring the possiblities rather than having a message or content?
AngryBeth Shortbread: yep, the possibilities are what excite me
DANCOYOTE ANTONELLI
Maximillian Nakamura: So now we go on with dan. dan is going to do a performance with his group
Tran Spire:
Dan Coyote shouts: HELLO EVERYONE!
Dancoyote Antonelli: dorks!
Dancoyote Antonelli: ok so there is a lot of things in SL that are experimental. I try to push as much as possible past the RL analogs
Dancoyote Antonelli: I want to teleport most of you to my stage to see the ZeroG SkyDancers
And so we did, after some teleporting issues. The dancers did two sets for us of this marvellous piece of art work.
AngryBeth Shortbread: hello
quick intro of me, my current background - in RL I'm a moving image artist - encompassing Short Film Drama to multi-screen video installations. I am also a senior lecturer in Ba(hons)/FD Design for Digital Media, at Leeds College of Art and Design, UK.
My Academic background - included a Ba in Interactive Arts at Newport, in 1993, opened my mind to the possibilites of screen based and telepresent based digital art and design. I was quite fortunate to have forward thinker, Roy Ascott as head of course.
Roll on a decade, and the technology has caught up with some of the ideas. I did a fair bit of macromedia director work in the late 90's, especially for the Lovebytes digital art festival, and developed several ideas for sound toys, and interactive moving image graphics for VJing.
By, 2005, I came to Second Life, via staff research at college, when exploring alternatives to webCT and Moodle for creating online learning environments for art and design process and practice.
My interest in exploring the possibilites of artistic practice and distribution within the metaverse, is what made me stay in second life. I was hooked very early on.
Early on Machinima caught my attention, as it gelled well with my RL moving image background.
As I discovered scripting, I found it reminded me of director lingo and actionscript, and found it quite easy to get my head into it. When I started Second Life, it was fortuitus, that the Port Community, led by artists Goldin & Senneby, had just set up. Joining quite early on, I was involved in many of the collaborative projects, with an exciting bunch of early adopters investigating and creating SL Arts. If you want more info about the port - goto http://theport.tv
The Pencil Factory ( my gallery in Second Life ), was my addition to the Port 3D wiki. I tend to think of it to myself, as an online sketchbook. - a record of what I do can be found on my website at - http://www.annamorphic.co.uk/projects.html
As I was saying earlier, my interest was to explore process, and the Pencil Factory housed many of my projects, in either state of completion or work in progress.
I felt it important to think of Second Life as a Studio, and I had no problem with people seeing ideas in development, rather than only finished work. This in itself fed back to my interest in looking at Second Life's educational value.
Most of my work, generally evolves.. taking ideas or processes from older projects and adapting them into new forms.
AngryBeth Shortbread: Tonight going to show you a work in progress - at the moment called height harp, and how it emerged from other ideas. So I'll be asking for volunteers. Lately most of my interest has been looking at new ways to create sound toys in second life, using various ways to play / interface them , rather than just a simple touch based interface. Some exploration has been to use physics and collisions to produce notes eg. the synthycube, others like the UUID emitters in front of you use data about the avatar to produce the sequence of notes.
Loop Luo: volunteer!! here :DD
AngryBeth Shortbread: Some exploration has been to use physics and collisions to produce notes eg. the synthycube, others like the UUID emitters in front of you use data about the avatar to produce the sequence of notes. the UUID emitters are the green thingy's making the choral sounds' The UUID emitters - are playing the avatar's key - or unique id number, - this is translated into a phrase of music, each phrase representing the avatar musically. The emitters play these key's at random, based on a list of avatars it has sensed over time. So when you
have several of these emitters, they play a harmony, kinda representing a community in music.
a very early script I created for the Letter well installation, - which I call wordbreaker, is the engine that runs some of the projects I make, including the UUID emitters.
I'll just demo the script, its in the green box in front of me
Wordbreaker shouts: t
Wordbreaker shouts: h
Wordbreaker shouts: e
Wordbreaker shouts:
Wordbreaker shouts: u
Wordbreaker shouts: u
Wordbreaker shouts: i
Wordbreaker shouts: d
Wordbreaker shouts:
Wordbreaker shouts: e
Wordbreaker shouts: m
Wordbreaker shouts: i
Wordbreaker shouts: t
Wordbreaker shouts: t
Wordbreaker shouts: e
Wordbreaker shouts: r
Wordbreaker shouts: s
Wordbreaker shouts:
Wordbreaker shouts: -
Wordbreaker shouts:
Wordbreaker shouts: a
Wordbreaker shouts: r
Wordbreaker shouts: e
Wordbreaker shouts:
Wordbreaker shouts: p
Wordbreaker shouts: a
Wordbreaker shouts: y
Wordbreaker shouts: i
Wordbreaker shouts: n
Wordbreaker shouts: g
Wordbreaker shouts:
Wordbreaker shouts: t
Wordbreaker shouts: h
Wordbreaker shouts: e
Wordbreaker shouts:
Wordbreaker shouts: a
Wordbreaker shouts: v
Wordbreaker shouts: a
Wordbreaker shouts: t
Wordbreaker shouts: a
Wordbreaker shouts: r
Wordbreaker shouts: '
Wordbreaker shouts:
Wordbreaker shouts: k
Wordbreaker shouts: e
Wordbreaker shouts: y
Wordbreaker shouts:
Wordbreaker shouts: -
Wordbreaker shouts:
Wordbreaker shouts: o
Wordbreaker shouts: r
Wordbreaker shouts:
Wordbreaker shouts: u
Wordbreaker shouts: n
Wordbreaker shouts: i
Wordbreaker shouts: q
Wordbreaker shouts: u
Wordbreaker shouts: e
Wordbreaker shouts:
Wordbreaker shouts: i
Wordbreaker shouts: d
Wordbreaker shouts:
Wordbreaker shouts: n
Wordbreaker shouts: u
Wordbreaker shouts: m
Wordbreaker shouts: b
Wordbreaker shouts: e
Wordbreaker shouts: r
Wordbreaker shouts: ,
Wordbreaker shouts:
Wordbreaker shouts: -
Wordbreaker shouts:
Wordbreaker shouts: t
Wordbreaker shouts: h
Wordbreaker shouts: i
Wordbreaker shouts: s
Wordbreaker shouts:
Wordbreaker shouts: i
Wordbreaker shouts: s
Wordbreaker shouts:
Wordbreaker shouts: t
Wordbreaker shouts: r
Wordbreaker shouts: a
Wordbreaker shouts: n
Wordbreaker shouts: s
Wordbreaker shouts: l
Wordbreaker shouts: a
Wordbreaker shouts: t
Wordbreaker shouts: e
Wordbreaker shouts: d
Wordbreaker shouts:
Wordbreaker shouts: i
Wordbreaker shouts: n
Wordbreaker shouts: t
Wordbreaker shouts: o
Wordbreaker shouts:
Wordbreaker shouts: a
Wordbreaker shouts:
Wordbreaker shouts: p
Wordbreaker shouts: h
Wordbreaker shouts: r
Wordbreaker shouts: a
Wordbreaker shouts: s
Wordbreaker shouts: e
Wordbreaker shouts:
Wordbreaker shouts: o
Wordbreaker shouts: f
Wordbreaker shouts:
Wordbreaker shouts: m
Wordbreaker shouts: u
Wordbreaker shouts: s
Wordbreaker shouts: i
Wordbreaker shouts: c
Wordbreaker shouts: ,
Wordbreaker shouts:
Wordbreaker shouts: e
Wordbreaker shouts: a
Wordbreaker shouts: c
Wordbreaker shouts: h
Wordbreaker shouts:
Wordbreaker shouts: p
Wordbreaker shouts: h
Wordbreaker shouts: r
Wordbreaker shouts: a
Wordbreaker shouts: s
Wordbreaker shouts: e
Wordbreaker shouts:
Wordbreaker shouts: r
Wordbreaker shouts: e
Wordbreaker shouts: p
Wordbreaker shouts: r
Wordbreaker shouts: e
Wordbreaker shouts: s
Wordbreaker shouts: e
Wordbreaker shouts: n
Wordbreaker shouts: t
Wordbreaker shouts: i
Wordbreaker shouts: n
Wordbreaker shouts: g
Wordbreaker shouts:
Wordbreaker shouts: t
Wordbreaker shouts: h
Wordbreaker shouts: e
Wordbreaker shouts:
Wordbreaker shouts: a
Wordbreaker shouts: v
Wordbreaker shouts: a
Wordbreaker shouts: t
Wordbreaker shouts: a
Wordbreaker shouts: r
Wordbreaker shouts:
Wordbreaker shouts: m
Wordbreaker shouts: u
Wordbreaker shouts: s
Wordbreaker shouts: i
Wordbreaker shouts: c
Wordbreaker shouts: a
Wordbreaker shouts: e
AngryBeth Shortbread: spammy as hell
It simply takes a string of text and breaks it down into individual letters. As the key of an avatar is also string, it can break this line of numbers and letters down individually. Once I have those, I can assign notes to these values.its also the same script that powers the dna sequencer.
The height harp, follows on from playing with other ideas for sound toys and one area that caught my interest was baseing tones based on the height of an avatar. the height harp, uses a sensor to detect avatars inside the circle, reads their height, and assigns a note, a sensor can only detect 16 avatars at once so i'll need upto 16 avatars, to hop in and out of the circle
Loop Luo: here :D
AngryBeth Shortbread: it has a cycle of about 4 seconds to detect you, to change you assigned note - simply change you height in appearnce, so you can physically tune yourself
Maximillian Nakamura: nice
AngryBeth Shortbread: your height needs to be between 1.4 m and 2.1 m, it uses the scale o C. something that forced the issue with the kinda of tones I used was the 10 sec limit to uploaded sounds, so I created samples with a slow attack and decay over 10 secs, which when used along with llTriggersound , produces that quite nice baroque sound
Alan Dojoji: have you found any way around the limit?
AngryBeth Shortbread: no I work within that constraint.
Your height needs to be between 1.4 m and 2.1 m.
Since doing an Interactive arts degree - active art , rather than passive has interested me, and at present, the role of the avatar as part of the work, is something I'm focusing on
Eifachfilm Vacirca: is your interest more exploring the possiblities rather than having a message or content?
AngryBeth Shortbread: yep, the possibilities are what excite me
DANCOYOTE ANTONELLI
Maximillian Nakamura: So now we go on with dan. dan is going to do a performance with his group
Tran Spire:
Dan Coyote shouts: HELLO EVERYONE!
Dancoyote Antonelli: dorks!
Dancoyote Antonelli: ok so there is a lot of things in SL that are experimental. I try to push as much as possible past the RL analogs
Dancoyote Antonelli: I want to teleport most of you to my stage to see the ZeroG SkyDancers
And so we did, after some teleporting issues. The dancers did two sets for us of this marvellous piece of art work.
Plurabelle Posthorn
April 13, 2007
Van Gogh's Second Life
written by Cyanide Seelowe
hanging out in Van Gogh's Cafe
Virtual Starry Night, a museum run by the Dutch Masters Group of Second Life, is a beautiful juxtapose of modern Second Life Architecture and the classic pre-impressionistic paintings of Van Gogh.
In addition to being informative- trivia is abound at nearly every corner you turn- it is also an interactive exhibit. Time was taken to piece together Van Gogh's bedroom, street cafe, and boat studies into 3-dimensions so you can crawl through the mind of the painter. Also a great place to visit if you're looking for an interesting addition of furniture to your Second Life bedroom :]
standing inside of Van Gogh's bedroom
Be sure to check out the Dutch Masters Group frequently- they have plenty of interactive exhibits of the Master's paintings in the works, and may eventually be offering space for the residents of Second Life to show their work.
Virtual Starry Night- Vincent's Second Life
hanging out in Van Gogh's Cafe
Virtual Starry Night, a museum run by the Dutch Masters Group of Second Life, is a beautiful juxtapose of modern Second Life Architecture and the classic pre-impressionistic paintings of Van Gogh.
In addition to being informative- trivia is abound at nearly every corner you turn- it is also an interactive exhibit. Time was taken to piece together Van Gogh's bedroom, street cafe, and boat studies into 3-dimensions so you can crawl through the mind of the painter. Also a great place to visit if you're looking for an interesting addition of furniture to your Second Life bedroom :]
standing inside of Van Gogh's bedroom
Be sure to check out the Dutch Masters Group frequently- they have plenty of interactive exhibits of the Master's paintings in the works, and may eventually be offering space for the residents of Second Life to show their work.
Virtual Starry Night- Vincent's Second Life
VAA Interviews Kriss Lehmann
This reporter is once again delighted to present an interview with one of SL's prominent residents, photographer / designer / builder / artist Kriss Lehmann, who took time from her busy schedule to answer some of our silly questions for the VAA weblog.
VAA: Thanks for talking to me for the VAA weblog!
KL: Thank you! Everyone says I go on and on, at least now I have a reason :P
VAA: :) To start you going then: you opened a new gallery and studio earlier this year in Solbim; how's that been going, and is there anything you'd like to tell us beyond what's in the PixelPulse piece? And where else in SL can people see your work?
KL: The gallery in Solbim is doing great, although it's gotten a bit of a facelift, recently. Traffic and sales both have been fabulous, thanks to word of mouth and the occassional article. Since the PixelPulse article I've changed my approach to how I plan on working in SL with portraits. The portraits really served as an excellent way to hone some rusty art skills, and now that I've laid down a style I'm happy with I am going to move to the second phase of my work, mainly using SL as the set/render base for digital art. Although I'll be sad to see it go, I'll probably have to shift my main online gallery from Flickr to Deviant Art, as my work will become less and less a reflection of what is possible with raw SL rendering.
I currently have work at the main gallery, and smaller collections in Dark City, Nomine, and Caffeine Gardens. My Info Island show has been running since February 23rd, although that's about to wrap up.
VAA: Although the gallery focuses on your 2D art, you're also a builder in SL, and I've been blown away by builds with your name on them both in Dogfight Atoll and in Pleasantville. Tell us something about building in SL, 3D vs. 2D art, the relationship between your photography and your world-building, and/or anything else that comes to mind.
KL: Well, thank you! I really just like to build what comes to mind, like so many of the content creators in SL, and the fact that people enjoy those as well gives me the warm fuzzies. Building in SL, at least for me, is one part planning, one part "Why won't you bend that way!?" and a splash of "How the heck did I make that happen?" *laughs* I don't consider builds or sculpture in SL any less of an artform than digital or traditional artwork. That's what I love about Second Life. You see so many visions and expressions reflected all around you. It's a fun and beautiful place to be. That is something I can really take advantage of in SL. No matter what kind of image I find popping up in my head, with enough cursing and time and experimentation, I can make it.
VAA: Tell us something about yourself and those things you make: your philosophy of art, how you got into SL, anything you'd like to say about your RL being, any embarassing personal relevations you'd like to let slip, or like that. :)
KL: I actually got into SL initially to attend a virtual meetup for a podcast Iused to listen to. After running around for a week or so, I knew that SL was a place I could call home. In RL, I do a lot of work digitally, and have always had a love for 3D and online worlds. Being able to hop into something so freeform and just express myself however I see fit... It's a dream come true.
VAA: About RL and SL art: while it seems blindingly obvious to some of us that art within SL has just as much potential authenticity as art anywhere else, we have heard doubters opine that SL art isn't "real". What's your take on this issue?
KL: Just because you can't reach out and touch a picture in SL, or run your hands along the lines of a 3D sculpture, it doesn't make it any less"real". If that was the case, then the term "digital artwork" (14,300,000 hits on Google) wouldn't be relevant. Obviously there are differing skill levels, but ultimately, art is in the eye of the beholder. People have made it possible to take those pieces out of the virtual world and into the realworld as well. Fabjectory and Jubilee Druart with Secondlife-art.com are two that come to mind immediately.
VAA: What experience have you had with the SL art community? What's your advice to a relatively new SL resident who wants to get into the art scene, either as a creator, an appreciator, or a patron?
KL: I can't attend every art function in SL, unfortunately. If I tried, I doubt I would have time for anything else! I do pick and choose my battles, though. Sasun Steinbeck's gallery list kiosk is the first place I go when I have spare time. It's such an amazing resource. If you are just coming into SL, and want to know just what is out there in the virtual art world, that should be your first stop. I proudly have one right next to the front door of my own gallery, and strongly encourage all visitors to pick up a list. If you are having trouble finding a kiosk, just pull up a search window and look for "art". I don't think you will be disappointed. There are also several SL groups dedicated to specific galleries and virtual art in general. Join a couple and say hello!
VAA: Obligatory SL question: what one or two places in SL would you recommend that our readers will love and that they might not have been to yet?
KL: Obligatory Answer: Come to Pleasantville! *laughs* Two of my favorite sims at the moment are The Wastelands and Koreshan. They are both excellent examples of the creative minds that make SL so unique.
VAA: Cool! Any other questions you'd like to answer that I forgot to ask?
KL: "What exactly ARE Bling Bewbs?" to which I would answer:
"The perfect argument for why I shouldn't always build what enters my brain. Say "No" to Bling!"
VAA: lol! Ty again...
Respectfully submitted, with thanks again to the amazing Kriss,
Dale Innis
VAA: Thanks for talking to me for the VAA weblog!
KL: Thank you! Everyone says I go on and on, at least now I have a reason :P
VAA: :) To start you going then: you opened a new gallery and studio earlier this year in Solbim; how's that been going, and is there anything you'd like to tell us beyond what's in the PixelPulse piece? And where else in SL can people see your work?
KL: The gallery in Solbim is doing great, although it's gotten a bit of a facelift, recently. Traffic and sales both have been fabulous, thanks to word of mouth and the occassional article. Since the PixelPulse article I've changed my approach to how I plan on working in SL with portraits. The portraits really served as an excellent way to hone some rusty art skills, and now that I've laid down a style I'm happy with I am going to move to the second phase of my work, mainly using SL as the set/render base for digital art. Although I'll be sad to see it go, I'll probably have to shift my main online gallery from Flickr to Deviant Art, as my work will become less and less a reflection of what is possible with raw SL rendering.
I currently have work at the main gallery, and smaller collections in Dark City, Nomine, and Caffeine Gardens. My Info Island show has been running since February 23rd, although that's about to wrap up.
VAA: Although the gallery focuses on your 2D art, you're also a builder in SL, and I've been blown away by builds with your name on them both in Dogfight Atoll and in Pleasantville. Tell us something about building in SL, 3D vs. 2D art, the relationship between your photography and your world-building, and/or anything else that comes to mind.
KL: Well, thank you! I really just like to build what comes to mind, like so many of the content creators in SL, and the fact that people enjoy those as well gives me the warm fuzzies. Building in SL, at least for me, is one part planning, one part "Why won't you bend that way!?" and a splash of "How the heck did I make that happen?" *laughs* I don't consider builds or sculpture in SL any less of an artform than digital or traditional artwork. That's what I love about Second Life. You see so many visions and expressions reflected all around you. It's a fun and beautiful place to be. That is something I can really take advantage of in SL. No matter what kind of image I find popping up in my head, with enough cursing and time and experimentation, I can make it.
VAA: Tell us something about yourself and those things you make: your philosophy of art, how you got into SL, anything you'd like to say about your RL being, any embarassing personal relevations you'd like to let slip, or like that. :)
KL: I actually got into SL initially to attend a virtual meetup for a podcast Iused to listen to. After running around for a week or so, I knew that SL was a place I could call home. In RL, I do a lot of work digitally, and have always had a love for 3D and online worlds. Being able to hop into something so freeform and just express myself however I see fit... It's a dream come true.
VAA: About RL and SL art: while it seems blindingly obvious to some of us that art within SL has just as much potential authenticity as art anywhere else, we have heard doubters opine that SL art isn't "real". What's your take on this issue?
KL: Just because you can't reach out and touch a picture in SL, or run your hands along the lines of a 3D sculpture, it doesn't make it any less"real". If that was the case, then the term "digital artwork" (14,300,000 hits on Google) wouldn't be relevant. Obviously there are differing skill levels, but ultimately, art is in the eye of the beholder. People have made it possible to take those pieces out of the virtual world and into the realworld as well. Fabjectory and Jubilee Druart with Secondlife-art.com are two that come to mind immediately.
VAA: What experience have you had with the SL art community? What's your advice to a relatively new SL resident who wants to get into the art scene, either as a creator, an appreciator, or a patron?
KL: I can't attend every art function in SL, unfortunately. If I tried, I doubt I would have time for anything else! I do pick and choose my battles, though. Sasun Steinbeck's gallery list kiosk is the first place I go when I have spare time. It's such an amazing resource. If you are just coming into SL, and want to know just what is out there in the virtual art world, that should be your first stop. I proudly have one right next to the front door of my own gallery, and strongly encourage all visitors to pick up a list. If you are having trouble finding a kiosk, just pull up a search window and look for "art". I don't think you will be disappointed. There are also several SL groups dedicated to specific galleries and virtual art in general. Join a couple and say hello!
VAA: Obligatory SL question: what one or two places in SL would you recommend that our readers will love and that they might not have been to yet?
KL: Obligatory Answer: Come to Pleasantville! *laughs* Two of my favorite sims at the moment are The Wastelands and Koreshan. They are both excellent examples of the creative minds that make SL so unique.
VAA: Cool! Any other questions you'd like to answer that I forgot to ask?
KL: "What exactly ARE Bling Bewbs?" to which I would answer:
"The perfect argument for why I shouldn't always build what enters my brain. Say "No" to Bling!"
VAA: lol! Ty again...
Respectfully submitted, with thanks again to the amazing Kriss,
Dale Innis
April 12, 2007
Gazira's one female avatar exhibition is opening on monday!
Gazira Babeli: Collateral Damage - a comprehensive survey of works from 2006-2007
location: Odyssey (38,30,23)
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Odyssey/38/30/23/?img=http%3A//lh5.google.com/image/SugarSeville/Rhvl14ZaIcI/AAAAAAAAAAs/go-iD0XEGDM/ExhibitA2_001.bmp%3Fimgmax%3D912&title=ExhibitA%20Gallery
FROM THE PRESS RELEASE:
On April 16th 2007, the ExhibitA gallery on the Odyssey simulator within the online virtual world called Second Life™, will present the first comprehensive look at the pioneering work of Gazira Babeli. Gazira Babeli is an artist creating works within Second Life and a member of Second Front - the first performance art group in Second Life. Gazira labels herself a “code performer” and indeed the code is at the heart of her work, tying it to the system at a deep level and reaching out to the viewer in ways that inherent to the SL platform. Her pieces are alive with scripts created using the Linden scripting language – a core component of Second Life. A Campbells soup can that is a trap, and a self proclaimed menace disguised as pop art, encases the viewer and takes him on a ride proclaiming “you love pop art, pop art hates you” until the unsuspecting avatar manages to run fast enough to escape. The sky filled with question marks, a vengeful tornado, these are a few of Gaz's signature works that can be seen on her site: gazirababeli.com. In the spirit of opensource - Gazira has licensed much of her code via creative commons, and you can download it for your own use on her site: gazirababeli.com.
The general opening is at 6pm SL time. Inquiries may be directed to Beavis Palowakski: rushchris@mac.com, or to Sugar Seville: sugarseville@gmail.com.
Following are some press excerpts regarding Gazira Babeli:
"Born in Second Life on 31st March 2006, *Gazira Babeli* (http://www.gazirababeli.com/) is an artist who turns the performativity of the code into performance itself. Weedy and flexuous in her long black dress which covers fashionably her polygonal haunches, Gazira radiates a strange charm that makes her somebody in between a Voodoo witch and an X-men heroine. Her charm that becomes even more evident during her masterful performances, in which she activates scripts as if they were spells, makes earthquakes happens, provokes natural fatalities and invasions of pop icons (in the place of the biblical locusts). Gazira Babeli is NOT the project of an artist who works in Second Life. She IS an artist, who makes, records and signs performances based on code. She is real, like you and me, even if her action platform is a world of bits."
- Domenico Quaranta 2006-12-02
"Linden Labs is a Fluxus-Project", jokes Gazira Babeli, the pizza-throwing Second-Life-Artist and makes a reference to the Slogan of Linden Labs. "Your World. Your Imagination". This is a indication for the fact, that in the metaverse art and life are connected as far like the fluxus-artist would have wanted to, she remarks ironically.
Gazira Babeli is one of the few artists, who has created works, which are subversively inflitrating the friendly environment of cyber-suburbia SL.
- Kunstzeitung March 2007
We keep forgetting that what we call Real Life has been a virtual frame for a long time. Second Life offers the chance to build and deconstruct this space in the form of a theatre performance. What's the difference? I'm trying to find out. For the moment I like to say: my body can walk barefoot, but my avatar needs Prada shoes.
March 23, 2007Interview with Gazira Babeli by Tilman Baumgärtelhttp://www.turbulence.org/blog/archives/003987.html_
Gazira: To realize an “artistic” or “aesthetic” experience, it requires a frame-space that is contemporarily physical and conceptual; it could be a frame, a museum, a computer network, a bedroom... or just a plain box 'dressed' like a RL art-galley. This referential "cube gallery" reminds me of the ironical artwork made by Marcel Duchamp called "Box in a valise" (Boîte-en-valise, 1942) Although the "box gallery" could be a valid expression, I prefer thinking the whole SL environment as (a kind of) frame-space. It means that scripted and built objects, avatar-people and their behaviors become essentially parts of the artwork...a "world in a valise", in this case. :)
Interview with Jeremy Turner (Wirxli Flimflam) for Slatenight magazinehttp://www.slatenight.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=143
April 10, 2007
Aqua by Selaras Partridge
written by Cyanide Seelowe
Ever since the opening of Kinetic, i've found that my taste for kinetic art has been becoming more diverse and refined- this taste is slowly becoming a preference... i can't seem to stay away from kinetic art, and the best example that i've seen of kinetic art for today is the Aquatic Installation by Selaras Partridge.
When organizing the Kinetic event, i looked up the definition of kinetic- it has everything to do with movement, but i have found that the common solution for kinetic sculpture was to make things actually, physically move. I tried to explore the concept of chronokineticism in my own work ("Music and Form"), but it didn't seem to come off as originally planned, and still needs a lot of work. Selaras Partridge on the other hand, nails the concept of chronokineticism on the head with her installation. Composed mainly of images of goldfish slowly moving in their stark blue and white habitat, Selaras does not so much focus on the image of the fish, but of the movement- and not the "A to B" movement that we commonly think of. When thinking of movement or travel, most will initially think of the starting point- where one is- and the end point- where one needs or wants to be. We rarely think of the trip in between because of the amount of uncertainty... we would sooner just let the journey happen than to contemplate it.
Selaras' exhibit explores that "in-between" movement. Quoted from the artist's statement:
"This body of work is rooted in a study of movement and the uncertainty that occurs in the space between the points of arrival and destination. I wanted to create an environment that embodies the in-between, not simply a destination but also an experience to be traversed. "
Please take the time to explore through this stunning exhibit- you might just see the word "kinetic" in a new light afterwards :]
Aqua Installation, UTD ArtTech Island
Ever since the opening of Kinetic, i've found that my taste for kinetic art has been becoming more diverse and refined- this taste is slowly becoming a preference... i can't seem to stay away from kinetic art, and the best example that i've seen of kinetic art for today is the Aquatic Installation by Selaras Partridge.
When organizing the Kinetic event, i looked up the definition of kinetic- it has everything to do with movement, but i have found that the common solution for kinetic sculpture was to make things actually, physically move. I tried to explore the concept of chronokineticism in my own work ("Music and Form"), but it didn't seem to come off as originally planned, and still needs a lot of work. Selaras Partridge on the other hand, nails the concept of chronokineticism on the head with her installation. Composed mainly of images of goldfish slowly moving in their stark blue and white habitat, Selaras does not so much focus on the image of the fish, but of the movement- and not the "A to B" movement that we commonly think of. When thinking of movement or travel, most will initially think of the starting point- where one is- and the end point- where one needs or wants to be. We rarely think of the trip in between because of the amount of uncertainty... we would sooner just let the journey happen than to contemplate it.
Selaras' exhibit explores that "in-between" movement. Quoted from the artist's statement:
"This body of work is rooted in a study of movement and the uncertainty that occurs in the space between the points of arrival and destination. I wanted to create an environment that embodies the in-between, not simply a destination but also an experience to be traversed. "
Please take the time to explore through this stunning exhibit- you might just see the word "kinetic" in a new light afterwards :]
Aqua Installation, UTD ArtTech Island
April 8, 2007
Gerd7Gerhard3Loeffler Allstar's first exhibit in SL
- by Plurabelle Posthorn
The Vanbeeck Gallery in the Cetus Gallery District is pleased to announce its newest show - Dichotomy. This new show will feature the brilliant and mesmerizing color works of Josina Burgess and introducing the soft subtle tones of
Gerd7Gerhard3Loeffler Allstar.The show will be open for 2 weeks.
Petr Vanbeeck opended the exhibition.
I was invited by Gerd7Gerhard3Loeffler Allstar because we
befriended some time ago. He was quite newborn then. He promised to invite me when he was to have his first exhibition in SL, which he did, today. Gerd7Gerhard3Loeffler Allstar's paratar is a student at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, in Austria. You'll find his blogs/websites HERE, HERE and HERE.
Gerd was so kind to tell me a litle about the works he is showing at The Vanbeeck Gallery right now.
Plurabelle: it's one technique you are using here?
Gerd: yes, the technique is acrylic colors with cast resin in parts
PP: have you used some computer technique to prepere the motives?
Gerd: yes. i took photos and reworked them in photoshop, then i painted it and changed it again a little. i changed the gradation curves until it looked like i wanted it to look like
Gerd: i mostly work from photos. i also do creamics and sculptures from time to time. at the moment i make installations, and i'm planning to move into a studio around here in may or so
PP: installations in SL..
Gerd: not yet, but i'm thinking of it already. it would be much more handy to use..., and its easier to store the stuff i can produce here, :)
PP: is all that you're doing part of your education?
Gerd: it's more what u choose to do. as an art student you can do anything you want. thats great in a way..., but you're always forced to know what you want
PP: do you have a particulare theme in the paintings you show here?
Gerd: yes. i'd say the paintings here are a lot about the question what is reality. they are inspired by infrared pictures as well as by hallucinations, or some shift in perception
PP: discussing reality is a large issue... any specific theories you're fond of?
Gerd: oh i'm interested in a few theories, like mediatheory. systemtheory of niklas luhmann
PP: i must have look around, but could you show me one of your works which shows this the best?
Gerd: let me see... maybe this one (image above) shows quite good the inspiration of the infrared thing, it shows a view of a surveillance camera in a mall. of course its not the real view, but its the perspective from above and i was thinking of some kind of gaze that is going right through you
Gerd: maybe this one (picture above) shows the inspirational part of the hallucinations best
PP: but by hallusinations, do you mean some hallusinations you've had yourself?
Gerd: oh yes i had a few
PP: not doing drugs i hope... (Plurabelle's getting a litle moralistic...)
Gerd: i also had/have probs with depression from time to time
PP: lsd
Gerd: i tried mushrooms once not lsd
PP: oh, have you tried the anti depressiva
Here went into a conversation of a more private character.
-
PP: but back to your art, how do you think all this influences on your art? i mean they look kind of optimistic when it comes to the colors at least
Gerd: oh yes i've heard that before. i wanted to have the paintings look like they are falling apart, falling apart in colors, they dissolve. reality dissolves in colors. and for me that can be optimistic too
PP: well, like the impressionists?
Gerd: somehow like the impressionists but maybe with a more mental component. my work is not that much about perception of the eye but of the brain, so that is a little bit about constructivism. i'm interested in what is real and what is constructed in our brains. and that is of course something that sl is about too
PP: they are rather harmonious, i guess that comes from good compositions
Gerd: oh maybe i'm just sensitive for color and form. and i'm a person that needs harmony in a way... so i might unconsciuosly tend to harmonize things
PP: well, that's good in the midst of dissolving everything
PP: but you've not gone totally abstract
Gerd: oh i really stick to telling some kind of stories. as far as i can remember i was never painting completely abstract. the motives vary a lot. but it is always what i can take easily. its a lot about what happens around me or what i just see
PP: but it's not from your private sphere
Gerd: not very much.
PP: more public places
Gerd: i have some photos that are quite private, but the paintings here are a little bit older, and i didn't use private themes way back then. the works shown here are from around 2003 and 2004
PP: you're not showing any of those here?
Gerd: not yet.
Gerd: but i'm planning to have my own studo in the new brick building over the river. in the first floor i want to have my studio
To the Ruttan Lane Galleries at Cetus: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Cetus/218/93/32
The Collective - Leeds College of Art and Design's Island
- by Plurabelle Posthorn
Cool! A new art and design SIM is up!
It's Angrybeth Shortbreads work. As she says in this blogpost at her blog Angry's Tripping the Metaverse: "After 'totting up on fingers' 15 months of asking my college, they finally agreed to support an Island for the students on the Foundation / Ba(Hons) Design for Digital Media course , which came online about 2 weeks ago."
(By the way; Angrybeth is one of the speakers at the next SL dorkbot meeting OBS! rescheduled to 15th of April. You can see her work at The Pencil Factory at The Port. SLurl here: http://slurl.com/secondlife/The%20Port/241/62/26)
I went over to see the new island.
Here's the notecard you recieve when arriving:
Thank you for visiting The Collective's - Design for Digital Media Lab.Home of the Foundation Degree in Design for Digital Mediaat Leeds College of Art and Design, UK.
The Studio lab and Development Island in Second Life, are a resource for the students to explore the metaverse, as a tool of production and to investigate it as an emerging communication and entertainment technology.
The main philosphy of the Lab, is to be part of the community. It is a public space, so be prepared to see work in progress and experimentation.Work from their Real Life projects will also be showcased in the Gallery lab.
So please drop by regularly to see new work.
SLurl for Collective Gallery in the Main Grid: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Gourdneck/171/183/121
SLurl for the Collective's Development Island: http://slurl.com/secondlife/The%20Collective/59/203/24
Moving image work is viewable at http://ddmcollective.blip.tv/
The Collective SL experience is blogged at http://ddmcollective.blogspot.com/
Annabeth Robinson - ( aka Angrybeth Shortbread )Senior Lecturer
FD Design for Digital Media
Leeds College of Art and Design http://www.leeds-art.ac.uk
While I was watching this fine animation by Ben Claidon, streamed on this pile of 12 tv sets, a young handsom avatar came up to me...
NOS Shinobu: need help with something?
Me: i just came. i'm going to explode this new place. (writing error. i meant explore...)
Me: so, are you one of the students at Leeds college of art?
NOS Shinobu: i am
Now, this handsom young avatar suggested he show me around a litle...
NOS Shinobu: this is the main building made by our tutor, that at the moment stands empty
Me: exhibition space?
NOS Shinobu: most likly. she hasn't discussed it with us fully. the last building she made she set up as a gallery for our work, but at the moment people are making their own buildings for that so nothing here yet
So we went to see the student's houses
NOS Shinobu: this is my house
Me: wow! this is beautiful
NOS Shinobu: thanks. everthing here is my design and creation. still a little work to do though
Me: so how do you like second life so far?
NOS Shinobu: im hooked. its a bit of addiction now i have got into it. i didn't like it at first
Me: takes some to to get used to it yes
NOS Shinobu: some little art bits i made here
NOS Shinobu: and my giant fish
NOS Shinobu: i made him for my friend cos her rl fish died
Me: this one's never gonna die
NOS Shinobu: true
NOS Shinobu: for the next bit we need to go on my roof. i made this teleporter to take me to another place 300 feet up. this is my club were me and my friends go when the island is full of people
NOS Shinobu: i scripted the disco ball to make people dance and i'm making the music machine now. on this wall i put the pictures me and my friends take
Me: how long have you worked to build your place?
NOS Shinobu: a week or two
Me: OMG. but you have a good teacher
NOS Shinobu: i do. one who has a passion for things like this
NOS Shinobu: ready for the next building?
Me: ok
Me: can you do whatever you want in the course?
NOS Shinobu: well no. sl isn't actualy a part of it but we do game design and 3d modeling so it fits in well
Me: ok, can you transport those things into SL?
NOS Shinobu: only as pictures, but building this here is very easy, simpler
NOS showed me all the houses, but I'll only give you a glimps of fio kaminksi's house here, and then you'll have to go explode the rest of the Island yourself.
NOS Shinobu: she made this laptop and it actualy attached to a webpage (Yes, it takes you to this beautiful blog HERE, website HERE.)
NOS Shinobu: she has made hers a home and a gallery in one
Me: only for her to use?
NOS Shinobu: our use. our group of friends we're sharing everything
April 5, 2007
Kinetic Art Exhibit - opening night
- by Rezago Kokorin
Last night, April 4th, the Kinetic Art Exhibit at the Virtual Art Alliance HQ had it's official opening. There was a good turnout and a selection of impressive work on display, ranging from that of relative newcomers to SL to those well established in the art world here.
Being a member of the VAA and having sculpture on display in the exhibit I'm not able to offer an unbiased opinion. Still..... The gallery is beautiful also: designed and built by Cyanide Seelowe, founder of the VAA an organizer of the exhibit.
The exhibit will be on display throughout the month of April.
Landmark:
Kinetic Art Exhibit, Virtual Artist Alliance HQ
SL Humanism discussing art
Written by Plurabelle Posthorn
My two main interests in SL: art in general and SL Humanism group. Separate things, but sometimes they intertwine, like last sunday.
Every sunday 2pm SLtime at ROMA Humanist Garden humanistic avatars gather for a discussion. On sunday the topic was Humanism & Art: Does Art Convey Knowledge? Our "godfather" Torin Goldin had posted us a link to some reading stuff as an interesting beginning point for our discussion: http://www.humanismtoday.org/vol10/kurtz.html
An article by Paul Kurtz, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, State University of New York at
Buffalo; Chairman, Council for Democratic and Secular Humanism: "Humanism and the Arts: Does Art Convey Knowledge?"
To warm up the humanist avatars' senses, hearts and brains before our regular sunday discussion, 2pm at ROMA Humanist Garden, Boythorn from the SL Humanism group, has taken this very nice initiative by arranging a field trip to some interesting place. On Sunday, 2nd April, we went to an immensely huge art gallery somewhere in Second Life.
We were trying to find some humanist art... Hard to tell what that could be, or not be. And then we came up with some great ideas...
Doc: Now if you could just touch the paintings and travel into their world... sort of a Third Life in Second Life
TZ: SL hyperlinks ! a teleporter could do that. It would be fun to make a gallery where each picture is a TP to the place it shows
Zen: imposible physics doesn't matter
Boythorn: An interactive art gallery. Would change art in the way that a web page changes a document, huh?
Boythorn: Could even script the paintings. A real interactive experience.
Then we hurried over to Humanist Garden for our discussion. I decided to keep my sculpture on.
Torin Golding: lol love it plurabelle! you came as some art!
Me: hi torin, hi everybody
Torin Golding: and some rather phallic art at that ;)
Me: OMG is it?! Never thought of that...
Torin Golding: it reminds me of these statues on the Greek island of Delos that the ancient greeks made http://www.the-bear-den.com/travel/2004_08_Cruise/GreekIsles/phallus_2.JPG
Me: it's actually a copy of a sculpture of Constantin Brancusi from 1924. Brancusi must have seen that sculpture from Delos!
My two main interests in SL: art in general and SL Humanism group. Separate things, but sometimes they intertwine, like last sunday.
Every sunday 2pm SLtime at ROMA Humanist Garden humanistic avatars gather for a discussion. On sunday the topic was Humanism & Art: Does Art Convey Knowledge? Our "godfather" Torin Goldin had posted us a link to some reading stuff as an interesting beginning point for our discussion: http://www.humanismtoday.org/vol10/kurtz.html
An article by Paul Kurtz, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, State University of New York at
Buffalo; Chairman, Council for Democratic and Secular Humanism: "Humanism and the Arts: Does Art Convey Knowledge?"
To warm up the humanist avatars' senses, hearts and brains before our regular sunday discussion, 2pm at ROMA Humanist Garden, Boythorn from the SL Humanism group, has taken this very nice initiative by arranging a field trip to some interesting place. On Sunday, 2nd April, we went to an immensely huge art gallery somewhere in Second Life.
We were trying to find some humanist art... Hard to tell what that could be, or not be. And then we came up with some great ideas...
Doc: Now if you could just touch the paintings and travel into their world... sort of a Third Life in Second Life
 |
TZ: SL hyperlinks ! a teleporter could do that. It would be fun to make a gallery where each picture is a TP to the place it shows
Zen: imposible physics doesn't matter
Boythorn: An interactive art gallery. Would change art in the way that a web page changes a document, huh?
Boythorn: Could even script the paintings. A real interactive experience.
I guess we were a litle frustrated because this gallery didn't exhibit interactive art. We avatars want to do things! We want action!
Doc: what about statues that walk around
Doc: oh, yeah. That's what we are :-(
Boythorn: Perhaps one painting would link to another.
TZ: we do need more statues that walk, that would be cool
Zen: walking statues.
Lludmila: Hey~
I just had to put on my wearable sculpture "This is not a Branscusi Sculpture".
TZ: ah, PP has the right idea
 |
Then we hurried over to Humanist Garden for our discussion. I decided to keep my sculpture on.
Torin Golding: lol love it plurabelle! you came as some art!
Me: hi torin, hi everybody
Torin Golding: and some rather phallic art at that ;)
Me: OMG is it?! Never thought of that...
Torin Golding: it reminds me of these statues on the Greek island of Delos that the ancient greeks made http://www.the-bear-den.com/travel/2004_08_Cruise/GreekIsles/phallus_2.JPG
Me: it's actually a copy of a sculpture of Constantin Brancusi from 1924. Brancusi must have seen that sculpture from Delos!
Then followed our rather interesting discussion about art. But since I don't like to push my (non-)belief on you, I'll stop here, but you can go HERE to read this article in a longer version with an excerpt from the meeting.
Or you can whole minutes from a notecard giver in ROMA Humanist Garden, if a member.
Freethinkers of all kinds are welcome to our SL Humanism group!
April 3, 2007
Second Life Sculpture - Beauty and Harmony
- by Magellan Egoyan
I believe I encountered Pandora Wake on my second day in Second Life. Although her work does not seem to fit within my purist's idea of « Second Life Sculpture », that is, sculpture unique to the world of SL, there are a number of facets to it that make it relevant to this discussion. Pandora’s work evokes a questioning, a dialogue, a relationship between art in RL and art in SL. This dialogue is also part of what makes art in SL so interesting. I recently went to an art launching in SL consisting of New York City artists whose work was reproduced in SL (visit the GHava Center for the Arts at Haenim (11,114,550)). I was interested by the fact that the work came in all sizes. I asked one of the organizers of the show what the size relationship to the original work was. Well, the answer I got was that the relative sizes of the work were preserved, but all the work had been scaled up by a factor of three. This is a fascinating fact in itself. A given piece of work is created at a given size for all sorts of reasons, and this forms part of the work itself. In what sense is a work of art, scaled to a different size, the « same » work of art? Likewise, in what sense is a work of art « copied » into SL, the same?
Pandora’s work in SL reflects a dialogue about this question. I don’t know if this is done consciously, but I find it fascinating. Her art in RL is stained glass, that is, small pieces of coloured glass that are organized together in a frame. In SL, her stained glass pieces are low prim, that is, they are images of the stained glass pieces from RL, but they have an inherent luminosity one finds absent in RL stained glass unless one puts a light behind them. The images have the slightly « rounded » look of stained glass images. In RL this « rounded » look feels different than in SL. When RL objects are copied in SL, they often have such a « rounded » look – this follows from the way objects are built in SL. So the relationship between observer and art is different in SL for this work, than it would be in RL.
Likewise, stained glass does not serve the same relationship to the observer in SL as in RL. In SL, we occupy houses and land in ways that are quite different than in RL, despite the sometimes disconcerting similarities between homes in SL and in RL. One of the innovations in Pandora’s work I found most appealing is the development of what she calls her "drumming stools". Now, in RL I assume these are stools that African style drummers sit on when they work. Her stools are four-prim objects, again a plus in my books. But the tops of these stools have been converted into gorgeous stained glass pieces. I suspect this is different than what is done in RL – sitting on a stained glass sculpture makes little sense there. But in SL, these make gorgeous objects that are highly useful.
One of the interesting things about Pandora’s work, and her gallery, is what happens at her gazebo next door. Out of all the wonders of Second Life I have seen, I find Pandora’s gazebo and its surroundings to be one of the most beautiful spots I have seen. It changes all the time, and is filled with unusual and visually beautiful elements that work together in a harmonious whole. Some of the objects are works of art produced by friends of hers. One could say Pandora has an eye (and an ear) for beauty in Second Life. This sensitivity towards beauty is reflected in her transpositions of her RL world into SL.
Her work also has a spiritual dimension which is worth mentioning. Much of her stained glass work is inspired by spiritual images and ideas from the American Southwest, including Hopi and Anasazi images. SL needs more in the way of an opening towards a spiritual sensitivity, and Pandora brings this into her work also. Although if you ask her about energy and spirit, she'll start talking about quantum physics!
Another characteristic of much of Pandora's more recent work is that she is focussed on small and intricate things that also have a certain utilitarian role. One can already see this in the drumming stools, but she has also been developing a series of candle holders. I find this interest in the intricate small in SL refreshing, and relatively rare. Most of the time we are drawn to the fact that we can build "big" things in SL - certainly in my own work I'm drawn to the big. I recently encountered Pandora while she was working on a "music box" with a tiny ballerina inside who dances to the music. I think Pandora is exploring a niche inside SL that we could use more of... more of a focus on bringing art into utilitarian objects, more subtle recognition of the spiritual and more of a focus on the small dimensions of SL.
Visit The New Wake Gallery at Theretra (171, 248, 96).
I believe I encountered Pandora Wake on my second day in Second Life. Although her work does not seem to fit within my purist's idea of « Second Life Sculpture », that is, sculpture unique to the world of SL, there are a number of facets to it that make it relevant to this discussion. Pandora’s work evokes a questioning, a dialogue, a relationship between art in RL and art in SL. This dialogue is also part of what makes art in SL so interesting. I recently went to an art launching in SL consisting of New York City artists whose work was reproduced in SL (visit the GHava Center for the Arts at Haenim (11,114,550)). I was interested by the fact that the work came in all sizes. I asked one of the organizers of the show what the size relationship to the original work was. Well, the answer I got was that the relative sizes of the work were preserved, but all the work had been scaled up by a factor of three. This is a fascinating fact in itself. A given piece of work is created at a given size for all sorts of reasons, and this forms part of the work itself. In what sense is a work of art, scaled to a different size, the « same » work of art? Likewise, in what sense is a work of art « copied » into SL, the same?Pandora’s work in SL reflects a dialogue about this question. I don’t know if this is done consciously, but I find it fascinating. Her art in RL is stained glass, that is, small pieces of coloured glass that are organized together in a frame. In SL, her stained glass pieces are low prim, that is, they are images of the stained glass pieces from RL, but they have an inherent luminosity one finds absent in RL stained glass unless one puts a light behind them. The images have the slightly « rounded » look of stained glass images. In RL this « rounded » look feels different than in SL. When RL objects are copied in SL, they often have such a « rounded » look – this follows from the way objects are built in SL. So the relationship between observer and art is different in SL for this work, than it would be in RL.
Likewise, stained glass does not serve the same relationship to the observer in SL as in RL. In SL, we occupy houses and land in ways that are quite different than in RL, despite the sometimes disconcerting similarities between homes in SL and in RL. One of the innovations in Pandora’s work I found most appealing is the development of what she calls her "drumming stools". Now, in RL I assume these are stools that African style drummers sit on when they work. Her stools are four-prim objects, again a plus in my books. But the tops of these stools have been converted into gorgeous stained glass pieces. I suspect this is different than what is done in RL – sitting on a stained glass sculpture makes little sense there. But in SL, these make gorgeous objects that are highly useful.
One of the interesting things about Pandora’s work, and her gallery, is what happens at her gazebo next door. Out of all the wonders of Second Life I have seen, I find Pandora’s gazebo and its surroundings to be one of the most beautiful spots I have seen. It changes all the time, and is filled with unusual and visually beautiful elements that work together in a harmonious whole. Some of the objects are works of art produced by friends of hers. One could say Pandora has an eye (and an ear) for beauty in Second Life. This sensitivity towards beauty is reflected in her transpositions of her RL world into SL.Her work also has a spiritual dimension which is worth mentioning. Much of her stained glass work is inspired by spiritual images and ideas from the American Southwest, including Hopi and Anasazi images. SL needs more in the way of an opening towards a spiritual sensitivity, and Pandora brings this into her work also. Although if you ask her about energy and spirit, she'll start talking about quantum physics!
Another characteristic of much of Pandora's more recent work is that she is focussed on small and intricate things that also have a certain utilitarian role. One can already see this in the drumming stools, but she has also been developing a series of candle holders. I find this interest in the intricate small in SL refreshing, and relatively rare. Most of the time we are drawn to the fact that we can build "big" things in SL - certainly in my own work I'm drawn to the big. I recently encountered Pandora while she was working on a "music box" with a tiny ballerina inside who dances to the music. I think Pandora is exploring a niche inside SL that we could use more of... more of a focus on bringing art into utilitarian objects, more subtle recognition of the spiritual and more of a focus on the small dimensions of SL.
Visit The New Wake Gallery at Theretra (171, 248, 96).
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