MushROOM and Lunamaruna

Artist Scottius Polke creates some unique, cartoony art. More recently, he has given his style of art a third dimension by creating two unique places in Second Life based on his artistic style.

To read the story, Click Here to go to Community.

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Arts Poetica

Space stations are not the first thing one thinks of when it comes to poetry. But reporter Grey Lupindo found the Orb Space Station hosting the works of fifty poets for the Author Convention and Exhibition. Those interested in hearing some poetry readings will find them here this weekend.

To read the story, Click Here to Community.

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Fifth Annual Artwalk at Raglan Shire

Raglan Shire is noted for being a “tiny” community. But this month, it’s hosting an art show for residents of all sizes. So art lovers big and small are invited over to see “art on the hedge.”


To read the article, Click Here to go to Community.

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Criss MCA Anniversary Celebration

Today, we examine the Criss Museum of Contemporary Art. The MCA will be celebrating one year of being in Second Life. Reporter Gemma Cleanslate describes what the museum will be planning throughout the month of May.

For the story, go to Community.

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StarZ Art Sidewalk Sale

Today, our reporter Gemma Cleanslate takes a look at a sidewalk art sale at StarZ Art. Here, one can find a variety of paintings and other examples of decor to please the eye.

For the full story, go to Community.

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Tyrehl Byk’s Particle Art at Diablous

In February, SL Newspaper did an article on Tyrehl Byk’s Event Horizon Particle Show, sometimes called the “Particle Phantasmagoria.” It’s gotten a number of rave reviews for his unique display of particle art, including an appearance on the “Tonight Live” talk show.

Tyrehl has not been resting on his laurels, but has still been at work. Besides his regularly scheduled show, he recently built an exhibit one can visit any time at the Benvolio sim, at Diablous Art Space.

The show is on a platform over 3000m in the air. After the scenery rezzes, one will see a domed building with a sign next to it. The sign asks for people to reset their viewer controls in order to see the particle show at it’s best. It shows what to set graphic settings in “Preferences,” including setting the draw distance low, near 100m, and maxing out the particle count. Then on the Advanced settings on the toolbar, one makes a couple other changes. Following resetting, one clicks on the door, then enters.

Right away, one gets a hint of what is to come, with the plasma-like light surrounding the passageway that leads into the dome. Once inside, one sees a number of platforms circling the edge of the building. Each has a number of buttons. By pressing them, a group of particles can be made to appear or disappear. Pressing a number of them, the results can be a quite detailed and visually striking display of brilliant colors. One button allows for the option of a half-dome to appear on the platform, but this is not necessary. One can cam into the cloud of particles, or walk in and see from inside via mouselook.

The platforms are not the only displays of particle art. There was another show of particles that occasionally appeared above, closer to the top of the dome’s interior. It would occasionally appear, sparkle in a show of color, and then slowly fade.

Once again, Tyrehl continues to shine with his particle light art.

The Diablous Particle Art Show is at the Benvolio sim at (130, 122, 3090).

Bixyl Shuftan

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Woman´´-- An Exhibit of Art By and About Women

  "Woman", a new art exhibit, opened this weekend at El Castillo de Cortes, located at the Instituto de Español (61, 213, 25). Colorful flowers and symbols decorate the exhibit rooms and point the direction of the tour. The exhibit honors International Womeńs Day, which is celebrated on March 8. In one gallery, flags from the nations that celebrate this day line the walls. Very festive!

     International Womeńs Day commemorates the work and contributions of women to society. Much of the exhibit features photographs and historical works of art about and by women from all over the world.

 One somber exhibit focuses on the danger and violence that many women encounter. This exhibit features art depicting the deaths of women in Juárez, Mexico, a border town across the river from El Paso, Texas. Since 1993 there have been thousands of women killed in Juárez, with most of the murders remaining unsolved. A notecard provides excellent information about this tragedy as well as information about the violence related to the drug trade.

     The exhibit also showcases the talents of many SL women residents. A few of my favorites were "Masks", a pastel by Juliete3d Quintzet, "Storm Spirit" by Fuschia Nightfire, "Wikked", an acrylic and mixed media work by Trill Zapatero, and "Starcosis Hunts" by Eleses Faulkes. A large variety of styles and price ranges are available.

     The exhibit runs through March 19.

Grey Lupindo

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Tyrehl Byk’s Event Horizon Particle Show

Recently, a friend invited me to see a well-done particle show. It was done by a Tyrehl Byk At Event Horizon in the Disturbed Fear sim. In his profile, he called it the “Particle Phantasmagoria.” By either that name or the Event Horizon Particle Show, it’’s worth a look.

After teleporting over, I found myself on a small platform about 4000 in the air. It was night, and the platform was a circle of chairs around what looked like a large bonsai tree. A computerized voice would occasionally speak up, asking the audience for patience until Tyrehl showed up, the seats slowly filling. Panning around, I didn’t see anything else but stars, and one small green dot some distance away below the platform. Of the audience, some of the people were well-known in SL media such as Cypress Rosewood and Delinda Dyrssen. Having seen more, they might be a little harder to impress.

Finally, Tyrehl arrived. The computerized voice then apologized to the audience for his tardiness, and began to insult him. After some moments of this, there was a “click” noise followed by a shotgun blast. “Enough of that,” Tyrehl remarked. He then explained that during the course of the show, he would temporarily be taking control of the residents’ view, recommending we go into mouselook before he did. He then told us we should soon see a green light. And it soon appeared in front of us in the middle of the platform. Then our viewpoint’s changed to empty dark sky. But not for long.

It began with a couple blue dots floating into the screen. Then came silver flares and fiery orange-red explosions of color, “Ooooh!” “Pretty!” “Awesome music!” “Beautiful!” A multitude of colored lights appeared, filling the sky. They were soon followed by colorful swirls. Then came a number of smiley faces, soon followed by some agressive-looking ones, the screen suddenly full of spinning pictures of disasters and troubled images, the music blaring, “It’s the end of the world, as we know it.”

The show continued on, with more special effects, such as the rumbling clouds that looked like a heard was trampling our way, “Stampede.” The audience continued to cheer, and express their approval. Finally, the show ended. Tyrehl thanked everyone for coming.

Tyrehl and I shared a few words after the event. “This is kind of new to me,” he told me, “I only started this performance last week. It's taking on a life of its own. ... Last Friday was the first time I posted a schedule and started inviting people to come.” Crowds came in “slowly at first. I had a lot of empty shows during the first week. Last night things really started to happen. It's difficult to really get a handle on SL promotion, what works and what doesn't.”

Of setting up the show, “The big challenge is creating the effects and coordinating them with music. I had to mix the sound track and then create effects to interpret the music. That took well over a month. There are over 80 different particle effects that had to be designed and tweaked.”

Of how he got the idea for the show, “I've always been a very visual person and when I saw my first particle effects in Second Life, it was love at first sight. I've also been very passionate about music, and combining them seemed like something that would be fun to try. As with so many things in my art, I don't always know where something is headed, but I usually know when it has arrived!”

Tyrehl has also worked on a place called “Not-A-Knot,” which he explained took eight months to build, “It would be interesting to see more people have the opportunity to view ~(Not-A-Knot) it is not very well known and it can be a source of very interesting dialog.”

Of future plans, “At the moment, my sights are set on further development of the particle shows. I've only really scratched the surface of what is possible, and it really seems to bring a lot of people joy.”

So for a great particle show, head to Tyrehl Byk’s after checking his schedule.

Bixyl Shuftan

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Feathers

Retrospective. Spectacular movement in art. 

When I wandered through Feather Boa”s art at AdOpera in the Cripta Gallery it was with memories. I first saw her work at the Garden of Earthly Delights last year and was astounded.  I think of her walking around the city of Boston taking pictures of anything and everything: tiny gears, signs, dials, clocks, envelopes, all kinds of things she passes in her travels. Then she takes them, arranges and rearranges, blends and creates imaginative delightful art works in rl and sl. Such talent! 

Her art has been exhibited in many real life galleries . She works in graphic arts in the USA and Japan . About sl art she says “  I believe that we are seeing a new form of creative expression being born in SL and other virtual worlds. There are so many talented people here and that the best is yet to come." Some of the art is moving and changing as you gaze at it. Stand and wait and you will discover more than you expected. It is a large exhibit in a large gallery. You will be able to enjoy it at the Cripta Art Gallery until the 10th of February. Feathers also owns two galleries in SL. Her life is just beginning and I think she will be around a long time with new visions to delight the eye. I am lucky because I have one of the pieces in my sl home that was a gift from her sl father and mother and think of her often. .
http://slurl.com/secondlife/AdOpera1/149/86/26

By Gemma Cleanslate

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BOLD & BEAUTIFUL Exhibit at Tart Gallery

A special showing of the Bold & Beautiful Exhibit occurred at the Tart Gallery on 2 January 2010.   The gallery is owned by ByrneDarkly Cazalet and has two floors of art. 

The Bold & Beautiful exhibit featured artwork by real life poster artist Claudia Hek of The Netherlands. Unfortunately, Claudia could not be present.   Due to technical difficulties, Claudia is unable to maintain a presence in SL.

Of interest is the fact that each of the posters features dark haired females as the subject, evoking thoughts of a Betty Boop characterization.   A common theme is the use of a red flower in the hair.  Each woman is modeling various looks, such as a pirate with ship tatooed on the arm, cigarette in her mouth; a woman encircled by red roses and wearing a sombrero; an Indian girl, and a  woman in lingerie sporting a nun's head wear--interesting. One of the more striking posters was a woman superimposed on a black panther surrounded by flames and baring fang teeth.

Claudia Hek was born on the rustic island of Terschelling in the Netherlands.  Later she left for Amsterdam to attend the Rietveld Art Academy there.   At Reitveld, she was learning portraits and realistic art.  She had wanted to learn techniques and apply it to the art she was focused on, primarily graphic art.   She soon realized her vision would not be encouraged and left the Reitveld.  During her time in Amsterdam, she found employment and began playing in bands.  Through her work with bands and involvement in the Amsterdam music scene, she was able to pratice her art  by doing posters, logos and t-shirt designs. From this work, word spread of her talent.   After some time, she came to the realization that she wanted to focus more on the art side of things so she quit her job and starting networking.  Because her work was already known through the music scene, she took on many jobs doing posters, etc.  Word of her work spread via the internet around the world and over the last 5 or 6 years, Claudia has been able to earn a living from it on a freelance basis.  She is now a well known artist in the underground scene and her style is most valued by garage/rock bands for her posters, logos and self printed t-shirts.

Claudia still plays in a band, with her animator/cartoonist/painter husband.  There are times that, due to the demands of the band touring and recording, she is unable to work at her art, but she continues to collect new ideas during those times.   Claudia claims she has always been into art and creating things, and as a child she focused on drawing horses. as that was her passion ,having grown up with horses.  Nowadays, Claudia is attempting to mix the realistic style of painting with the subjects she paints; she is not as excited about the graphics now.   She is very excited at working on her own unique style.  Between Claudia and her husband, they have the music/art scene pretty well covered!
Visit Claudia's website at http://www.claudiahek.com for more information or to make a purchase.

By Shellie Sands

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Some Favorite Communities in Second Life

Second Life is full of interesting places and fascinating people, but when the two come together in a community: that's when the real fun of SL comes to life. I was invited to write about an incredible community in SL called Chilbo. Chilbo Public Library is one of SL's most famous libraries. And the community itself is very intriguing. Chilbo comprises multiple sims which are inhabited by artists, musicians, poets, writers, and many other creatives. One current project is Poetry Benches. Chilbo is inviting poets gridwide to participate. You sit for a spell on a Poetry Bench and a poem appears! Cool! In the picture, I am having an SL brunch with Chilbo resident artist Kristine Kristan and our friend Kelp Parkin. Behind us is the Cat Cage, Kristen's very arty SL house. Check out the community website and blogs at Chilbo.org; which are quite impressive resources about SL culture (great links on the side navibars!).

Kelp Parkin and I met through another great SL community, New Citizens Inc (NCI). I've been teaching free classes at NCI for 2 years, and we just started a new course on Photography & SL Journalism. Kelp is an NCI Helper, one of our many volunteers and students. NCI hosts social events and build contests, as well as free classes on just about everything to know about SL.

I've invested quite a bit of time in 2 other SL communities... one I'd describe as inherently activist, and the other are RL professionals working for social benefits organizations.

Four Bridges Project sim is a collaboration of Amnesty International-E, PeaceTrain, and many other activist groups (a few logos are pictured). Four Bridges groups have organized numerous gridwide events, week-long Woodstock-like affairs, like Peace Fest, Earth Week SL, SL Human Rights Festival, Second Pride Festival, and Imagine Festival. These folks are very spontaneous and thoroughly knowledgeable about RL activist issues and how to utilize SL for action and creating awareness! You can meet a lot of high powered activists through their community and get involved in world rocking projects. The Four Bridges team works effectively across group lines gridwide to bring together terrific art, music, talent, ideas, and energy.

Nonprofit Commons has achieved cross-group collaboration in the real world of charities and social benefit organizations and brought them all into Second Life. They have gathered together over 100 RL groups and concentrated them on several sims such as Aloft NonProfit Commons (pictured). Groups like Kiva.org for RL microlending and The Jason Project for RL missing children, and OpenCafe.org.za which teaches South African youth about open source technologies. I've done the music promotion for a few of their sim launches and it's clear that everyone wants to work with them (easiest gigs I’ve ever done!). They are great do-gooders one and all. Check out their meetings on 8:30am on Fridays in SL at Plush Nonprofit Commons. You'll meet dozens of RL nonprofit organizers, sharing their best ideas. Now that's SL community!

By Any1 Gynoid

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Autism Awareness at Tiaopia Island

From January 3rd to the 9th, the Tiaopia sim will host the Autism Awareness Project. The week-long event has poetry readings, art auctions, storytelling, and over 40 live music artists to help raise funds, and attention to those with the illness. Each day will have a different theme, from romance to Madi-Gras. The dedicated team has the goal of raising a record amount of cash, and have plenty of fun for themselves and everyone else.

Continued in Community

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Kat2 Kit’s Commercial Cyanotype Art

Residents in Second Life whom have been to Pooky Amsterdam’s “The 1st Question” game show, or seen the episodes online (http://www.the1stquestion.com/) have seen a tiny panda named Kat2Kit, doing the opening acts. Kat (as his friends call him) is also among the "tinies" in Pooky’s Second Life Machinima “I’m Too Busy to Date Your Avatar.”

As it turns out, not only is Kat a talented virtual actor and game show star, he is also a skilled and inventive artist in real life.

Outside Second Life, Kat2Kit is Matt Shapoff of New York City. He creates one of a kind artwork using a 19th century non-silver photographic technique called “cyanotype.” His unique work has been described as “combining 19th Century printmaking techniques with 21st Century digital photography and design.”

Kat has been doing artwork, “Officially after dropping out of collage for aerospace. " When asked how Matt got started, he stated "I got into NYU photography as an undergrad after discovering a love for photography and art. Using a a portfolio I made in high school under the basement stairs in my house. (I) took one class in "non-silver" where I learned several processes, but cyanotype soon became my favorite. In the early 1990's I began doing this more extensively. Because the process is a "contact" process, it requires a negative the size of the final print. Most often this is done with BIG cameras, but I prefer to use a laserwriter and overhead slides. The department chair will now admit I was the first to do digital art in the department.”

Kat also commented that the initial response wasn't enthusiastic, "I heard alot of 'why blue?' " But over time their attitude changed, “Now the department is called Photo and *Imaging*!"

The idea of selling artwork never really came until about fifteen years later. “A dozen or so,” pictures were sold on his first try, Kat described, “It was a jewelry sale for my wife, and we put a few out to see.” What surprised Kat the most was, “I offhandedly set a price, and they paid it! Well, it was what I guess I would part with them at. Pretty high I thought, $75 for an unframed one of a kind 6" wide by 30" long print of local botanicals.” Kat used the plants themselves in the pictures, saying they worked, “but they somewhat expensive in commercial terms. My cards are created in much larger, more repeatable, volume via offset or inkjet. I have cyanotype cards, but they are a bit pricer.”

Kat first began advertising his commercial art online in 2005, “First with etsy ( http://www.etsy.com/shop/handmadeonpeconicbay ) and then with supermarket ( http://hmpb.us). He got the idea of selling them in Second Life, “pretty quickly, as I started making film again, but this time using SL as the camera.” Kat had been a part of Pooky Amsterdam’s “The 1st Question” from the beginning, “I was doing my bike tricks at ‘Brooklyn is Watching’ and she asked me if I would be the opening act for her show.” He also did the filming, “If SL years are like dog or cat’s years, it feels like 10 years.

Kat went on to say he and Pooky would be on real-life television on December the 31st 3 PM in New York City, “I made the tape. (For) over year I have trying to get the files. I have worked in broadcast media both at Showtime networks, and BBDO. Finally we got enough short together for 1 hour special. Pooky submitted it, and we feel honored to have been chosen for December 31st. We will stream it in-world, and have a part in-sync with real-life. We are considering a weekly show for the Dating Casino ... a real-life slot on MNN TV ... public access.” Pooky later told me the episode was broadcasted as planned, and was very pleased with Kat’s work.

Kat’s personal blog is at - http://handmadeonpeconicbay.com. He pointed out a short webfilm on cyanotypes at (http://blip.tv/file/341745?filename=Mattlabs-DigitalCyanotype664.flv). Kat is sometimes seen in Second Life operating a printing press with the tiny panda. He pointed out another short webfilm “Using the Pearl” at - (http://mattlabs.blip.tv/file/1884211/)

Matt Shaphoff's work can be viewed and purchased online at http://hmpb.us . His digital art can be purchased in Second life at his store in the LlSound New York sim (http://slurl.com/secondlife/LISound%20New%20York/134/163/24). Commissioned work can be created or brought into Second Life on request.


Bixyl Shuftan

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Walking in Art

Wonderful artists abound in SL.  I was invited to attend an interactive art exhibit by the group Heart2Art. The group presenting  describes itself as “A  transposition of  real  in SL. Movie, events  and art transposed into 3D new ,second, life.” Eros Boa and Giovanna Delphin , Sicily Zapatero with the help of many other avatars who “acted “ in the tableaus created a Walk In Art. The project is amazing. Wonderful world famous paintings are displayed through out the Sodom Sim .Eros Boa created avatars, postures , backgrounds , to represent the painting in 3D in sl. As we walked along  MrSigmund Fride, a renowned art critic, guided  us through  the art, artist and the representation we were seeing. At almost every site there was the “original” art piece with a link leading to a youtube video about the artist so it was a real learning experience. There will be a show on 28 December. If you would like to attend contact Eros Boas or Sicily Zapatero for an invitation.

Gemma Cleanslate

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Renaissance Island

By Shellie Sands

Browsing through music events, I saw  a concert of period yuletide renaissance music.  I thought this would be enjoyable and different.  A lover of the renaissance period, I tp'd to partake in the concert.  Upon arrival, I was given a note which provided a very interesting history of the origins of Christmas from ancient times.  Excerpts of that note are as follows:

"In medieval England Christmas lasted for twelve days, from December 25 to January 6, the date of the celebration of the Epiphany. Originally Christmas was celebrated on January 6 when presents were given in honour of St.Nicholas. Some Eastern Europeans still celebrate Christmas on this date."

"It was a time of merriment, feasting and general festivity, but still primarily a 'holy' day.  The 16th century didn’t participate in Christmas celebration as we know it now. Until the 4th century, Christmas could be celebrated throughout Europe anywhere between early January through to late September. It was Pope Julius I who happened upon the bright idea of adopting 25th December as the actual date of the Nativity. The choice appears both logical and shrewd - blurring religion with existing feast days and celebrations. Any merrymaking could now be attributed to the birth of Christ rather than any ancient pagan ritual. "

"One form or merry making may involve the Feast of Fools, presided over by the Lord of Misrule. The feast was an unruly event, involving much drinking, revelry and role reversal. The Lord of Misrule, normally a commoner with a reputation of knowing how to enjoy himself, was selected to direct the entertainment. The Lord of Misrule sometimes led revelers on wild nighttime processions through town, which of course angered the resident church leaders. However, churchmen had their own form of this custom--the appointment as a young boy as bishop for the holiday season. Lords usually chose this time to bestow gifts upon their servants; a common present was a new suit of clothes. The festival is thought to have originated from the benevolent Roman masters who allowed their servants to be the boss for a while. "

While I didn't get much satisfaction from the concert due to streaming issues, I decided to walk around. I arrived at the clock tower, and touched a sign that read "Pray touch for notes regarding said place."   Note in hand, I strolled on and came upon a horse and carriage offering  a free carriage ride to the docks.  I hopped on and went for a short  gait to the docks where the carriage deposited me and vanished, presumably returning to its station.  Having passed several quaint looking shops down the path by which the carriage took me, I strolled back up the path, stopping first at Madison Creations, a shop selling medieval clothing.  Loving all things medieval, and having a natural footwear fetish, I was compelled to purchase a pair of shoes.  The shoes come in a variety of colors and are crafted to match the gowns, all made by Isolde, one of my favorite designers.  Across the way was a shop called, appropriately enough, Medieval Attire.  In addition to the clothing, Tudor style homes and farmhouse are available for purchase there.  Up the path a bit is the Roble House, boasting art and antiquities. 

Other points of interest on the island include St. David's Society Hall, where you can learn of traditions involving Yule logs,  free Renaissance period clothing, the Parish of St. Minutia's, a lovely church that was one of the monestaries that escaped The King's ransacking, Lagswell Hall, The Wharf on the Thames,  Market Square, Globe (a replica of the London Globe originally built in 1599), the Jousting Arena,  and Bulwark, the arena where men at arms train. Individual landmarks are included in the note given at the Clock Tower. 

"Renaissance Island was created in Feb 2007 by a group of dedicated historians that envisioned what life during tudor times would be.  They collaborated to form a group that would take on roles of parish members that in this era would have lived such as what you will see. They created objects  to allow visitors to  interact and feel how life would have been in tudor times.   Don't be surprised if you see King Henry VIII,  or Queen Bess, herself,  as our sim covers the entire 16th period .  Of course you shouldn't see them at the same time, but depending on our events,  one or the other shall bestow their graces and blessings to their parish. "

Visit Renaissance Island and take the LMs to the various places.  Although I was disappointed that I could not hear the concert, what I got instead was a tour through a quaint village and many  interesting historical facts. 

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Visions in Color

For weeks I have been meaning to take a tour of The Criss, The Museum of Contemporary Art in Alajuela. I have been hearing such wonderful things about it. 

As I arrived I was struck with the structure of the museum. It is very contemporary itself and a fitting vessel for the art. There are walking tours every Monday, Wednesday and Sunday at 2:30.  Kathy Nikolaides, our guide met us at the entrance and with her was one of the new artists, Kirle Adamski. We entered into one section of the building which displays the wonderful abstract watercolors of Antenna Rae. 

They are splashes of color to the eye and the mind.  We moved on to the next section and there were the delightful works of Genevieve Silvercloud in which you see features in 3D within the art piece. 

The next exhibit made me feel I was in the old west of the US. Van Caerndow executes his art on glass and is wonderfully vibrant. As soon as we arrived in the next gallery I was taken with a work called “Sunrise” . Kathy told  us we were privileged to be with the artist who turned out to be Kirle! 

“ I use storm colours in abstract themes . i never draw the motiv before i paint, the motiv just grows by itself”. 

Her works were lovely. Rolling Shuffle was the final artist we viewed. The exhibit is called Jazz in Oslo and I actually saw the music before I heard the name. 

Outside the building again we admired the view. There is a poetry reading area with a relaxation rug for comfort. Across from the museum is a large amphitheatre where building classes are held. You can check on events at a Board in the front. 

You will enjoy your visit whether you take a guided tour or wander alone. 

Ours was a quick visit so I know I will be back to see more. Begin here,
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Alajuela/188/78/22

Gemma Cleanslate

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Art For A Cause

There is a wonderful exhibit of special acrylic and mixed media paintings at the Born Museum of Fine Arts in Towar, Born that will be there until the end of November. 

Trill Zapatero presents a number of her paintings completed in India when she lived there. To describe them is difficult because of the intricate imagery that is subtly hidden in each piece of art. A first glance offers a burst of color and swirls with points of light but as you look closer each piece is filled with animals, flowers, jewels all blended together. 

"Now you must stop to really see what you were intended to see.  

The images suggest stories of heroic adventures or waking dreams. The imagery is influenced by the local landscapes and visual cultures of India.“ the artist said.

The paintings are for sale with all the proceeds going to the Central Asian Institute, a nonprofit group that sponsors education especially for girls in the remote regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Their hope and belief is that with education of the future women of the area the standard of living will be raised to the benefit of the societies there. 

You can read about their mission at https://www.ikat.org/. 

Trill Zapatero is using this exhibit to benefit the cause . There are also some lovely Afghan dresses you can pick up as a gift for visiting the exhibit along with note cards with detailed descriptions of the Artist, her vision, her techniques and places to see more of her entrancing art. 

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Born/85/12/39

By Gemma Cleanslate

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Burning Life Opens

On Saturday October 17th at noon SL time, the Burning Life sims were opened to the general public of Second Life. From then until October 25th, there will be over 400 exhibits to view, with over a thousand residents involved in this major metaverse event. This massive nine day art show took almost two months to set up, and takes up three dozen sims. Burning Life 2009 is the seventh annual “virtual burn” in Second Life.

For those new to Burning Life, it is recommended you go to the Welcome Gate in the southeastern corner of the Hualapai sim and the southwestern corner of Deep Hole where a couple greeters will give you a notecard with some recommended places and answer any questions. There is also a Gate 2, and a Gate 3 available should the first be too crowded. Veteran “Burners” can simply drop in somewhere and once everything rezzes (which can take a while in the most detailed areas on older computers) start looking at the sites.

And this year, there is no shortage of things to see, and even interact with. One noteworthy exhibit I came across was the “History of Flight” by Windyy Lane. Stepping inside the “geode,” one is surrounded by a mesmerizing rainbow of colors, with creatures of some kind lazily flying in the air. One could get on them and dance, as well as port up to fly next to the huge silver bird flying over the geode.

Burning Life is inspired by the real life Burning Man art festival in the Black Rock Desert in California. Tens of thousands attend, and once it is over the exhibits are burned and everything cleaned up, “leave no trace.” Some of the Lindens had gone there before the making of Second Life, and have called it a partial inspiration for the making of it. Read more here.

For a list of exhibits, check out the Camp Directory. For special events, check the Events Listings.

“So what should you do and see? Well, ... that's entirely up to you.”

Bixyl Shuftan

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Evolution in the Playa

The excitement is palpable!
The landrush is on for parcels for the spectacular Burning Life in Second Life.
This event is based on the Burning Man event in real life that takes place every year in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada.
You can check this out on the web.
The Burning life Groups IMs are hot and heavy every day with questions and comments about the land rush and for a chance to get to the playa and chose a plot if you are so lucky.
I was able to make it into the sims during Friday’s rush. Dusty Linden refers to the land rushes as an experiment in cooperation. It takes a while to sort out who got what land and is able to build.
I found glee in those who have obtained plots for their artistic endeavors and some downcast faces still looking for the elusive plot. They still have chance to grab one over the weekend so are not completely forlorn.
One was thrilled since this was her third try during the past week and she made it.. There are already some impressive builds in some of the sims.
If you search Burning Life you will find there are many sims to visit when it opens on October 17.
The theme this year is Evolution and all builders are reminded to stay with the desert evolution in their building;
I enjoyed it so much last year that I have applied for a “job” this year but will be writing more about those experiences.

Gemma Cleanslate

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The Rabbicorn

I was in the audience at an event when a friend told me about something in the IBM 3 sim that she told me was must-see, “I don’t usually recommend places, but this ... “ So I decided to check it out.

I teleported over, and found myself in a room that looked like it was surrounded by television static, with a couple pages explaining how to get about. But with no portal to the exhibit, the only way to go was down a road, my vision around me obscured by the visual equivalent of white noise. Eventually, it cleared on the road itself, and I soon noticed a room through the static that was brighter than the rest and had some color. I could also make out some people inside. So I went inside.

And there was Bryn Oh, the artist behind the exhibit in her gray, ghostlike avatar. She was looking at some notes on the floor with someone. The room itself had a dark steampunkish feel to it with a phonograph in one corner and some sparking equipment around. Two others came into the room to congratulate Bryn on her exhibit. After that, Byrn turned to me, and after greetings she explained the area, “This is a story that is told in stages, through poems. It is about the character behind me.” She turned to a bronze mechanical form behind her on a table lit by a spotlight, part rabbit part unicorn, “The Rabbicorn.”

Bryn went on, “This is the first part (of the story) here. In the hand of the creator is a poem.” She told me I could zoom in on the poems, or “you can click on it to see it on screen. It’s easier that way. When you have looked at the scene, there is a teleport to the next one.” The teleports looked like black magnifying glasses with white sparkles around them. “Oh, one more thing, there is a machinima ... on top of a tower, there will be a TV there. Click on it. That tells more of the story.”

And so clicking on the first teleport took me to the first part of the story, the place showing a tinkerer having just built the Rabbicorn, and having to make a decision about the creation. Further teleports lead one further into the story, each place a work of art, and soft music in the background adding to the beautifully surreal atmosphere. At one point, the teleports lead to a climb up a debris-filled tower. Although one could just fly up with a flight feather, it’s better to try to walk and jump your way up as much as you can. It is around here one finds a link to the machinima Bryn mentioned. Watching it isn't necessary for the story, but does help add to it. It is not much longer when one gets to the end and the fate of the Rabbicorn.

Taking a look at Bryn’s blog, the exhibit opened on Friday July 10. She also stated that it was originally planned that no more than 6 avatars would be allowed in the sim at one time, feeling lag would ruin the experience. It was not an easy decision, as she worried some might get the impression that the small numbers meant their fellow residents had little interest in the finer arts in Second Life, “So if I can't limit the sim to 6 or so, and you find yourself in a laggy mass of people then please come at another time when it is empty. It really is meant to be seen this way. It has a mood brought on by the story, ambient sounds and being alone brings out the quiet mood of the story.”

An exhibit that is well worth the time to go see.

“The Rabbicorn” is at IBM 3 (56, 50, 23). To read more about this exhibit and other projects by Bryn Oh, click here for her blog.

Bixyl Shuftan

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