All posts tagged digital art

HuMaNoid is Reborn (temporarily) & Upcoming Goodbyes in Second Life

The magical build called HuMaNoid, which left the grid almost a year ago↑, is enjoying a temporary second life (see what I did there?) on LEA6↑.

Wendy Xeno↑ has lovingly rebuilt her masterpiece and given us all a chance to revisit a favourite example of landscape as art. I didn’t want to spoil the surprise for those who aren’t familiar with it, but to you who have loved HuMaNoid, be assured that the doors are still there and they still open onto very special surprises.

Humanoid on LEA6 (moderate)

This is a busy time in Second Life and in the midst of the excitement of SL12B↑, the public talks with key Lindens↑ (and other SL favourites), the music performances on 4 stages↑ and in a giant festival↑, there are some quieter events planned over the next few days.

June 30 marks the end of the current round of LEA Artist in Residence grants. The exhibits have been exceptional and we only have a few more days to discover or revisit these creations.

Humanoid on LEA6 (moderate)

Many of the artists are holding special events to mark the closing of their exhibits. The ones I know about are being added to the LEA Calendar↑, so check it frequently over the next few days. You’ll want to celebrate your favourite!!

Again, I know this is a very busy time and I don’t want you to miss any of the great things happening. You can rest for a day or so in July. :)

Humanoid on LEA6 (moderate)

To provide you with some passive entertainment while you rest, I’ll point you in the direction of two beautiful videos.

The first↑, by Secret Rage, captures ALL of the exhibits which were part of Round 8. We hope to produce one for each Round going forward to have some permanent record of the fabulous creations by very talented artists. The second video↑ was made by Haveit Neox to celebrate his amazing City Inside Out↑, and it’s as stunning as his installation.

Enjoy the rest of the month! It’s a great time to be inworld. :)

Humanoid on LEA6 (moderate)

8 Comments

by honourmcmillan on June 25, 2015 • Permalink

Posted in art, Photography, Second Life

Tagged cyberart, digital art, second life, Virtual Art, Virtual Landscape, virtual photography

Posted by honourmcmillan on June 25, 2015

https://honourmcmillan.wordpress.com/2015/06/25/humanoid-is-reborn-temporarily-upcoming-goodbyes-in-second-life/

Must See – City Inside Out Pt 2; Stories in Second Life

City Inside Out (moderate)

Some days I want to reach through the screen and forcibly teleport you to the location I’m discussing. Some days those locations are so incredible, important, and/or magical that I firmly believe they should be experienced by everyone.

City Inside Out↑ by Haveit Neox↑ fits all of those criteria.

Before I tell you about Part 2 of this installation, Stories, allow me a brief recap for those who have forgotten, or missed, my post↑ when it first opened.

City Inside Out (moderate)

In Hav’s words: To someone without a home living on the streets, the bustling city becomes one united exterior. “City Inside Out”, explores a world that lacks interiors. Some pedestrians throw coins into the beggars’ hats, others bark insults to their faces. Joggers, dog walkers, groups of boisterous friends, clean people in new clothes, romantic couples, cell phone conversations, shiny traffic, wash their daily tides of health and prosperity past the homeless.

This artist has built a city, on multiple levels, which leaves you the visitor on the outside of the “normal” lives being lived. You are in the position of the homeless – looking in, looking on, invisible to the others and on the receiving end of their (often) casual cruelty. It’s also beautiful!

City Inside Out (moderate)

Part 2 of the installation officially opens↑ tomorrow (Saturday, May 30) afternoon with a reception. Within the subterranean level you will find short stories written by Second Life residents about their perceptions of Real Life homelessness.

“The texts are written on panels distributed along the freshly expanded network of underground passageways. Walking within the subterranean labyrinth is like walking throughout a book. Read these touching accounts from the participating writers.”

If you wish to contribute your memories or observations, send them to Haveit Neox in a notecard and IM. He will continue to add to the Story exhibit until June 25.

City Inside Out (moderate)

City Inside Out↑ will be available for you to visit until June 30. If you’ve already visited – you should return for Part 2.

If you have yet to go experience this extraordinary work then I beg, implore, entreat, instruct, order, direct, command, demand, exhort, require, request, and bid you to do so! Don’t make me reach through your computer screen!

Once you have, thank whichever lucky stars brought Haveit Neox to Second Life.

City Inside Out (moderate)

10 Comments

by honourmcmillan on May 29, 2015 • Permalink

Posted in art, Photography, Second Life

Tagged cyber art, cyberart, digital art, second life, Virtual Art, virtual photography

Posted by honourmcmillan on May 29, 2015

https://honourmcmillan.wordpress.com/2015/05/29/must-see-city-inside-out-pt-2-stories-in-second-life/

Obedience in The Jewish Museum Berlin & Second Life

Obedience – The Binding of Isaac (moderate)

A new exhibit has just opened at the Jewish Museum Berlin↑. Titled Obedience, it portrays, deconstructs, and contemporizes a story handed down in the Jewish, Christian, and Islamic theologies of Abraham – a man commanded by God to kill his son Isaac (or Ismael).

The Museum’s notes describe this as an examination of the question “Which is stronger – God’s command or the love of a father? And where can the modern subject be found between the priorities of obedience and trust?“

Obedience – The Binding of Isaac (moderate)

A PDF download which accompanies the installation interestingly (to me) begins with Leonard Cohen’s Story of Isaac↑. It refers as well to comments he made in 1969, when the song was released and the Vietnam War was in full glory. At the time he said he wrote it for those “who feel it is within their right to sacrifice the young for some purpose they conceive to be holy or just”.

The exhibit is by Saskia Boddeke and Peter Greenaway. Saskia you will know in Second Life as Rose Borchovski↑. Peter you should know as an award winning film director↑ (among other notable achievements).

This is the Museum’s very short trailer.

The most relevant aspect of this installation, for those of us in the virtual world, is the Second Life contribution displayed on monitors throughout the Museum. Created by Bryn Oh↑ and Jo Ellsmere↑, the virtual component is now open on LEA1↑ and will remain, throughout the span of the physical world exhibit, until September 13.

As part of the crossover from virtual to real, attendees at the Museum in Berlin will be able to explore the inworld build using avatars created for that purpose. If you see Isaak001 or Ismael001 as you make your way through this creation, remember they are being controlled by interested onlookers in Germany.

Obedience – The Binding of Isaac (moderate)

In an experience similar to that of the physical installation, we are drawn through a series of “rooms” – the virtual allows for a more loose interpretation of that concept of course.

Bryn has modernized the telling of the story and explores the way in which we might interpret it if presented in a setting more familiar to us. For example, what if God spoke to Abraham through the television? She has also set the scene in an apartment complex called Moriah Towers, rather than the traditional mountain on which Abraham was to sacrifice his son.

Obedience – The Binding of Isaac (moderate)

Jo has brought us the 24 Elders mentioned in the Book of Revelations – her creations are fascinating. Although they are bots, they are not static nor are they without personality.

You’ll find yourself standing with other visitors watching them as they do their thing. This includes occasionally standing up and crossing the floor to bow to their God. I’ve said before that scripters perform magic and this is a wonderful example.

Obedience – The Binding of Isaac (moderate)

The tale of Abraham and Isaac is not a “nice” story, and Bryn doesn’t shrink from the very disturbing aspects. She emphasizes the impending horror by showing the bond between father and son – from the time they come into each other’s lives and as the one raises the other.

The moment where the father is prepared to obey his God is stark, dramatic, and all too contemporary. I’ll spoil it for you though and say that God stops him before he does the deed. If you go through the door next to that scene, and use the light to teleport, you’ll wind up where Abraham tries to explain himself.

Obedience – The Binding of Isaac (moderate)

This is an installation worth visiting for many reasons: it is a high profile use of our virtual world in conjunction with a major physical art installation; it is a beautifully rendered work of immersive art; it includes the use of scripts which bring uniqueness to seemingly cardboard characters; and it provides a truly disturbing basis for some really interesting discussions.

I’ll finish by sharing Bryn’s trailer for the virtual component of the hybrid installation. Go see Obedience↑ and think of those museum-goers in Berlin who will start to understand what we know about art in Second Life.