The Singularity of Kumiko (detail). Photo by Rowan Derryth.

If there is anything to bring me out of my Second Life hiatus, it is a new exhibit by Bryn Oh.

I’ve got Ziki Questi to thank… she probably doesn’t know that I still follow her blog in my absence, and pop in to see the things she recommends as I can. It was through her blog that I saw a preview of Bryn’s new exhibit The Singularity of Kumiko last week, and like her, I don’t want to give too much away in terms of just what happens. As many will know, all of Bryn’s exhibits at Immersiva are game-like narrative adventures, and posting spoilers is something I refuse to do.

‘The Singularity of Kumiko’. Photo by PJ Trenton.

Suffice it to say, if you loved piecing together the the Rabbicorn/Daughter of Gears exhibits (which came together in her gorgeous machinima Standby), and others like the recent Imogen and the Pigeons, this one will not disappoint. In fact, the Canadian artist/puppetmaster behind Bryn Oh has just received a second award from the Ontario Arts Council to support this new work (the first supported the creation of Standby). Bryn credits the OAC for being forward-thinking in their approach to new media, and while this is certainly true, I also think it she would not find success if the work wasn’t so relevant to contemporary art practice, particularly in that she manages to make the virtual work available to a wider audience through film (machinima).

That said, in my opinion the best experience of the work still exists in the virtual visit, which is still problematic in terms of perceived access. I confess, the recent popularity of new narrative-based games like Gone Home and The Novelist has both excited and frustrated me. While I celebrate this attention to the art/game concept for a more mainstream audience, I also grit my teeth a bit thinking that Bryn (and others like Rose Borchovski and Rebecca Bashly) have been doing this so well in Second Life for years, and few people know. But perhaps that is a rant best left for a different post. Back to the exhibit…

Bryn oh at ‘The Singularity of Kumiko’. Photo by PJ Trenton.

Never one to rest on her laurels, Bryn yet again pushes what is technically capable in Second Life, employing innovative use of browser-based lighting controls to create a dramatic and intense visitor experience that is not without some peril (as far as our pixels selves can be in danger, of course). The psychological effect is very real, and certainly fun.

If am to be critical, the very thing that makes this new installation so innovative is also perhaps its one drawback. As Bryn explains on her blog:

This artwork will use some features in a unique way allowing for a quite different experience which, sadly, is fairly demanding on your computer.  I have tested extensively and have found that most are able to run, while experiencing minimal lag, the artwork on mid range computers.  To help keep lag minimized I will cap the avatar limit on Immersiva to 10-15.  As with Imogen and the Pigeons, I am attempting to look at the virtual medium and determine what is unique about it over other mediums such as painting, sculpture and cinema. Then I work towards using those strengths to create an immersive experience that is specific to a multi user environment.

When you land at Immersiva, there are signs that tell you exactly how to set your lighting up according to which browser you are using (I strongly recommend Firestorm). It is a bit fiddly, but the instructions are easy enough. But as Bryn said, you will need to be able to use shadows, etc., which some computers might not manage. The choice to allow only a very small number of avatars at a time might also be frustrating to some… but if people can spend hours trying to get into events like FaMESHed to shop, then certainly being patient to see something so beautiful as this is manageable. And it really does help with the lag, which is important considering the multi-media nature of the work.

‘The Singularity of Kumiko’. Photo by PJ Trenton.

Also, please: REMOVE YOUR FACELIGHTS. Bryn politely asks you to do this at the start of the exhibit, but even walking around last night in a media preview I encountered two people still wearing them to see or take pictures ‘because it was dark.’ It is SUPPOSED TO BE DARK. It’s moody as hell! That is the point, and wearing a facelight deprives you and others of the authentic experience that Bryn intended. Bryn in fact dubbed me the ‘Facelight Police’ when I griped to her about it, and I said ‘You should see me bitch out people using flash/touching the art in actual museums.’ So yes, please, take them off for this. Actually, just take them off period and never put them on again, ok? People everywhere will thank you. /rant

Whew. So, this fantastic new exhibit opens this Friday, 14th February. And it is definitely a fun exhibit to explore with an accomplice, especially as you might need the occasional rescue. But if the low avatar limit makes it hard to visit, simply wait a bit, I’m sure the exhibit will be open for quite a while.

And incidentally, if you’ve never tried Second Life but would like to see the kind of amazing art being made there, this installation would be quite the introduction. Drop me a note or leave a comment if you’d like an intro.

There is an exciting new artist collective opening today, one which already has the participation of a group of esteemed virtual artists – and you could be a part! Please see the press release below for details, and come over to one of today’s opening events.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Coppelia Grand Opening

Grand opening Saturday June 22nd 9am and 9pm SLT

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Coppelia/127/133/21

What do you get when you take several of Second Life’s top artists give them plenty of work space and prims and set them free??? Coppelia!

Please join us on Saturday June 22nd 9am slt and 9pm slt for the Grand Opening of Coppelia. Coppelia is an artist cooperative sim where all resources and expenses are shared equally by its members. The sim’s primary purpose is to provide working space for its members, although we intend to offer occasional exhibitions and other special events.

We have no arbitrary limits on prim or space usage, instead counting on each member’s personal responsibility and respect for the needs of other artists working here. All decisions regarding the sim setup and anything else that could affect the people working here are made by the group.

Our grand opening show includes work by well-known Second Life artists: Artistide Despres, FreeWee Ling, Glyph Graves, Gracie Kendal, Jo Ellsmere, Oberon Onmura, Pyewacket Kazyanenko and Stelarc.

We currently have openings for a few more members. If you are interested please contact Jo Ellsmere or Oberon Onmura. We all share the costs equally, so there is a monthly payment required.

Please contact Jo Ellsmere if you are interested in becoming a member of Coppelia.

MONDAY 17 June: GRACIE KENDAL (Kristine Schomaker)
We will kick things off chatting with Gracie about how her work has evolved from showing her paintings on prims, to a Master’s thesis, to now displaying works in a Beverly Hills art gallery that are directly inspired by her virtual creations. It will be a great start to talking about augmented reality, which will be a running theme throughout the week.

TUESDAY 18 June: WHISKEY MONDAY
I’m incredibly excited to talk to the talented and quite frankly hysterical Whiskey Monday on Tuesday. Those familiar with her stunning and surreal images might be surprised to learn just how short a time she’s been making virtual photographs. We will learn more about how she began, and how she works, and maybe a little about what makes her tick.

WEDNESDAY 18 June: DRAXTOR DESPRES
Drax has been a tour de force in SL media for several years, but I think his series the Drax Files is not only some of his best work, but is critically important in documenting what is happening in SL today. I’m looking forward to interviewing the interviewer, and hope to pick up a thing or two!

THURSDAY 18 June: IAN PAHUTE (Ian Upton)
Ian is an artist and technologist who also has a long history of creating virtual art, and he’s most recently broken the virtual wall with his exhibition EXTRACT/INSERT which was shown at both the LEA and in ‘real life’ at the Herbert Art Gallery in Coventry. I had the pleasure of visiting this piece from both sides, and we will chat about this work and where it might go from here.

FRIDAY 18 June: CHIC AEON
Chic makes some of the best machinima around, and now she’s embarked on a project at the LEA to create a dedicated space for machinimatography. We will talk about this groundbreaking new media art form, and get advice from her about how budding film makers might get involved.

SATURDAY 18 June: BRYN OH
On Saturday I’ll be talking to Bryn… About everything. What’s more to say here, it’s Bryn!

All talks will be at 3pm SLT at the SL10B Auditorium. Don’t miss the other great talks Prim Perfect sponsors, meeting incredible designers and the people who make the community fun! See the auditorium schedule here.

Thanks to PJ Trenton for the lovely poster.

Curating this exhibit was definitely the best thing I’ve done in Second Life. It was an absolute joy to work with these talented artists, and wonderful fun to created the catalogue with my partner-in-crime PJ Trenton (as ever). But one of the most enjoyable and unexpected aspects of this installation was the continued creativity it inspired, from the many pictures of it on flickr, to fantastic machinima such as the one made by Chic Aeon. Most recently, it was one of the settings Linden Lab CEO Rod Humble wandered through on his interview with Draxter Despres on the Drax Files (it’s at about the 1 minute mark):

Because I hope to have more wonderful experiences like this, I’ve decided that the closing of A Rusted Development will coincide with my departure from the LEA Advisory Committee. I’ve pulled back from the LEA increasingly, mostly due to my limited in-world time these days. At this point, I feel like my energy and experience will be put to better use on other projects, and I want to get back to spending my time thinking about, writing about, and curating (when I can) virtual art. With any luck, that will mean an increase of posts here, my poor little dusty blog.

In any case, I do hope people will come and enjoy the last moments of A Rusted Development before it slips under the waves for the very last time. Drop in here: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/LEA1/196/74/24

Contemplating Immersiva with Rabbit-faced Bryn.

Many readers know that the non-virtual me is a lecturer at an art school. Being a fun and funky environment, we do a monthly PechaKucha event. A PechaKucha is a short presentation format where the presenter has 20 slides, 20 seconds per slide, to get their idea across. Ours offers a range of more serious WIP talks, to quirkier ones more like storytelling.

So when I was asked to do one, rather than talk about my usual research on art & design history, I decided I might ‘come out’, and finally go public about what I do here in Second Life.

I thought I’d share the recorded version of the PechaKucha here – remember the format, which is why it is a bit rushed and littered with ‘ummms’. And a grand apology to all those I could not include.

[Apparently WordPress is now cheeky and you can’t imbed vimeo for free, so please click here to get to the video.]

Side note, if you didn’t manage to catch the last issue of Prim Perfect, it was all about art in SL.

Prim Perfect: Issue 46 – March 2013 – cover

I wrote a bit of a primer on the subject, which you can read here. PJ did a bloody gorgeous cover too (left), they should all look this amazing.

Yooma Mayo’s previous LEA work ‘Dreaming Machine’. Yooma is one of a handful of returning artists this round.

The LEA is pleased to announce the fourth round of Artists-in-Residence, who will receive a full sim for six months on which to create and display their proposed projects:

Aequitas (Artist Collective)
Ambi bimbogami
Betty Turead
Cica Ghost
Ginger Lorakeet
Jack Mondegreen
Johnas Merlin
Mac Kanashimi
Mantis Oh
Marx Catteneo/Krakassus Jigsaw
Morlita Quan and Noke Yuitza
Newbab Zsigmond
Ole Etzel
Seraph Kegel
Sniper Siemens
Solkide Auer
thingiwishihadsaid
uan ceriaptrix
Vaneeesa Blaylock
Yooma Mayo

The LEA received nearly 50 high-quality applications, and it was a difficult decision, but those selected submitted truly outstanding proposals that represent a diverse range of virtual art. While a handful are artists returning for a second round, the majority will be exhibiting at the LEA for the first time. Projects range from full-sim immersions, to innovative builds geared specifically for multimedia works such as sound and machinima projects.

Artists will have up to four months to build their projects (though many have suggested they will be completed sooner), with all exhibits set to be open by mid-June. Many will likely open sooner, though, so keep an eye on this blog for announcements of exhibit openings and related special events.

The previous three rounds of LEA land grant artists-in-residence have resulted in some truly exceptional works, and we anticipate this next group to be just as fantastic. Congratulations to all the artists, we can’t wait to see your vision!

• 12pm SLT: Lorin Tone (in voice) at LEA 19http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/LEA19/41/164/22
• 1pm SLT: Marx Catteneo (in voice) at LEA 18http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/LEA18/84/130/25
• 2PM SLT: Tony Jones and Xinehop Guisse (in text) at LEA 29http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/LEA29/137/124/293

Join us again tomorrow afternoon (Sunday the 17th) for three more fascinating chats:

• 10am SLT Gracie Kendal (in voice) at LEA 15http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/LEA15/64/114/532
• 12pm SLT Noke Yuitza (in voice) at LEA 10http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/LEA10/185/126/1013 
• 2pm SLT Seraph Kegel (in voice) at LEA 22http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/LEA22/227/31/22

If you aren’t familiar, the LEA AIR programme seeks to promote and nurture the arts in Second Life, through providing limited term full-sim land grants to be used for creative projects and art installations over the course of a few months. Recipients can be individuals or groups interested in creating or curating art, or proposing cultural projects which would require/utilise a full-sim build and can be completed within the allotted time frame (5 months). The LEA is able to offer land grants through the generosity of Linden Lab.

While many well-known virtual artists have received grants, the LEA has also had the pleasure of hosting ‘younger’ AIRs and hopes to continue in that tradition. You need not have a great deal of experience, just some good ideas. The application is a bit more detailed to help guide you in thinking through your project, which they do expect at this point to be an idea in progress and not necessarily a portrait of the final result – more like a loose sketch! They also welcome applications from across the spectrum of the arts!

If you still need a little more inspiration, take some time to visit the current artists-in-residence, which will be open until the end of the month.

LEA Arts Festival poster by PJ Trenton

Good luck!

A cool grey world.

Last night, while walking around a corner in my lovely SL home, I crashed.

And I don’t mean, like, SL logged me out. I mean, like, my computer turned itself off. And then came back on and said in several languages, basically, ‘I couldn’t deal any longer and panicked.’ Sad face.

Let me say up front that I know the reason my virtual experience is so sad and slow is that I am doing it via a 3+ year old MacBook Pro. But when I started SL, my machine was brand new, the viewer was old, and everything was rather peachy. But in the new-fangled world of browser-like viewers and mesh, my poor wee machine is struggling. And while I’d love to rush out and get a shiny new one, it isn’t the right time, and I’m not going to shell out the ducats just for SL (sorry SL).

So I’ve been living with lag for quite a while now. Much of my virtual experience is grey and slow to rez, and everyone’s movements are choppy and stilted. But if I am patient and stand somewhere long enough, my would becomes lovely and vivid, and I’m pleased to be there. As such, I definitely limit my experience to places that are worth the wait, like art installations (and which are much lower lag than shopping events!)

But see, that was my SL, I didn’t know any different. That is, until this last Christmas when I had the chance to login on my dear friend (the Cheeky Pea herself) Isla Gealach’s gorgeous 27″ desktop. Isla has NO LAG. I actually had no idea that when you tp’ed somewhere, it could be instant… and when you cammed around, it could all go in a blur. I was enthralled, then I was in despair. How would my SL ever be acceptable after this?

After a manic episode of almost ordering a Mac mini on the spot (I’ll be a Mac user til I die, so I’m not having that debate here, to each their own), I came to my senses. I’ve been living with lag for a while now, and I would certainly survive it.

But since the new year, it’s been particularly bad… and I was somewhat relieved this week to learn that I wasn’t alone. On Tuesday, when I went to preview Bryn Oh’s wonderful new exhibit ‘Imogen and the Pigeons’, SL was entirely borked for all of us… it’s been a mess since, and then last night, the computer thing. When I restarted, Firestorm wouldn’t start AT ALL. So I said f*ck it and loaded up the SL viewer.

Guess what? I’m sort of ok.

PJ and I went back and finished Bryn’s exhibit (and you HAVE TO GO IT IS AMAZING), and it was FINE. I was even able to navigate some of her trickier paths (because when you are regularly laggy, sharp turns and curving stairs are a bitch!). So now I’m suspicious that the problem is Firestorm for mac, and this isn’t the first time I’ve heard that.

I’ve had other random issues, such as mesh walls not rezzing until I uncheck basic shaders in my graphics (and then check again and it’s fine). But this wee ramble which is in service of not a lot is basically just to make a plea for content creators: please remember those of us who live with lag?

For example, I am wandering around a major and popular store right now which will not let me fly or tp from A to B in their HUGE store. I get that you want me to walk by all your stuff, but 1) it isn’t rezzing fast enough for me to see, and 2) I just get frustrated when I have to walk back through, downstairs, and around to the next store when I’m even a bit laggy.

Please, remember and be kind to those of us who live with lag.

The Arrival by Rose Borchovski at LEA 23. Photo by PJ Trenton.

THE ARRIVAL:

Explanation 1:
The Susa Bubbles have caught a fish, and while they admire how big it is, the fish dies. They wonder if they are to blame.

Rose Borchovski’s new work ‘The Arrival’, at LEA 23, is a continuation of her Susa saga, in which these mischievous and sometimes malevolent childlike beings find themselves in another spiritual and philosophical quandary, brought on by the simple act of catching a fish.

The Arrival by Rose Borchovski at LEA 23. Photo by PJ Trenton.

Those familiar with Rose and her work know that certain symbols appear repeatedly, and the fish is chief amongst them (her gallery and group are both called Two Fish). If you’ve ever wondered why this is so, one of Rose’s explanations for this exhibit (she offers us a sampling) is enlightening:

Explanation 2:
I grew up in a small village on the edge of the sea. Once every few years a big fish (small whale) would strand itself on our beach. And that was an enormous happening event: the arrival, this giant big fish lying on the beach, its weight made it impossible to breath, longing for the water, overheated by its own fat, trapped in the sand, slippery and smelly. We would climb all over it, standing on top of its belly, poking it with sticks, jumping up and down for pictures, while the whale was slowly dying under our feet. The beach would turn into a fancy fair, good business for local kibbling (warm fish) and hot chocolate sellers.

When the fish was finally dead, there was a grand finale. Men with big boots, shiny yellow raincoats and sharp knives would chop the bubbling and the now very smelly fish up into pieces. Looking at it made our hair smell for weeks.

As a child this left a huge impression on me. Why were we not able to carry the fish back into the sea?

I wondered if we were to blame.

The Arrival by Rose Borchovski at LEA 23. Photo by PJ Trenton.

The Susas wonder the same thing, as they repeatedly chant in haunting tones – and you must make sure to have your volume up as you wander this installation. ‘The Arrival’ exemplifies Rose’s continued move away from her earlier tableau-like installations (although sounds were always an important component of those too) towards an increasingly immersive approach in the form of the dynamic use of space, and interactive components achieved through collaborations with the talented scripter Caer Balogh.

The Arrival by Rose Borchovski at LEA 23. Photo by PJ Trenton.

With a teleport from the landing area, your journey takes you on a somewhat precarious path down the back of this very big fish, which is essentially a massive virtual sculpture. But that is perhaps an over-simplification, as from a formal perspective, this twisted playground exhibits Rose’s increasing mastery in the use of mesh to relate her narrative. The forms and their composition are skilful and beautiful, even if a bit disturbing.

The Arrival by Rose Borchovski at LEA 23. Photo by PJ Trenton.

But what the hell does it mean?

Explanation 3:
Christian explanation: do we need the fish to take over our sins?
Do we take more then we need, are we to blame?

The Susa story is multi-layered, and the Biblical themes and analogies are rather clear, if you look for them. I was struck by this the very first time I wrote about Rose’s work, and it is why I still find visiting her installations so very exciting. While they are certainly understandable for a broad audience, art history nerds like me find a wealth of symbolic material and references to ponder. Some of them incredibly direct, as Rose states in her fourth explanation:

Explanation 4:
Inspired by a painting: “Big Fish Eat Little Fish” by Pieter Brueghel the Elder.
Grandibus Exigui Sunt Pisces Piscibus Esca.

Big Fishes Eat Little Fishes, by Pieter Bruegel the Elder. Pen in grayblue on paper. 215 × 302 mm. Vienna, Graphische Sammlung Albertina (inv.no. 7875).

I wondered how many of these choices were conscious ones, particularly when pondering a jumbled mix of letters floating on the water that, when puzzled out, spell ‘freedom.’ For me, this referenced the Futurist artist Marinetti’s groundbreaking typographic work ‘Parole in Liberta’ (Words in Freedom). Rose responded: ‘I  love layers…  in the end we all borrow from the giants that went ahead from us.’ I agree, but the very best artists, in my opinion don’t just borrow, they reinterpret and reinvent, which is why I find Rose’s work so compelling.

The Arrival by Rose Borchovski at LEA 23. Photo by PJ Trenton.

However, explanation number 5 underscores the fact that neither my nor Rose’s ideas about ‘The Arrival’ should shape how this work is viewed:

Explanation 5:
Your story and enjoyment to discover the Fish.

‘The Arrival’ opens tomorrow (Saturday the 11th of January) at LEA 23. Go fish for your own story.

The Arrival by Rose Borchovski at LEA 23. Photo by PJ Trenton.

—

Note from Rose:

I thank you all for supporting and visiting my art in SL. After some initial hick ups I had a lot of fun making this installation. Of course it is not finished. I will keep tweaking it until it has to die. I’m grateful that the LEA committee granted me this sim to create this installation.
Thank you, Rose

CREDITS:
Installation and concept by Rose Borchovski
Scripts: Caer Balogh
Song at the end: Susanne Sundfør

Rose Borchovski Amongst her Susas. Photo by PJ Trenton.

—

Don’t miss Rose’s other wonderful installations:

The Inevitability of Fate: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Cariacou/194/78/172

Echoes in the Garden: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Rosas/36/73/1801