2012-07-29

Sneak preview: Synthesia of Colour and Sound


Do you know when the first music- lightshow ever  has been presented? 1915 in the Carnegie Hall, New York. It was the symphonic work "Prometheus: The Poem of Fire" by the Russian composer Alexander Scriabin for piano, orchestra, choir, and clavier à lumières.  This colour organ has been invented by him and he wrote a score for the colours as well. The composition bases losely on the Prometheus myth.


The correspondence between sound and colour was as well subject of Wassily Kandinsky's studies. His book 'Concerning the Spiritual in Art' combined colours and sounds. So has red the sound of a violin and dark red of a tuba. Black and white have no sound. And yellow has the sound of a trumpet or fanfare. He also combined the colours with shape and emotions. Yellow is a triangle and represents anger. Btw, it is interesting that quite a few persons with absolute pitch are able to see sounds as colours.

Prometheus theft of fire
Goal of all kinds of art was for Kandinsky to touch the human soul. His book is supposed to be inspiration for artists like Mondrian to completely turn away from natural / real subjects. Both artists, Kandinsky and Scriabin have studied the thesosophic movement. I suppose that this was an important source of their ideas. Because this kind of holistic thinking is ancient practice in Eastern philosophies.


Inspired by Scriabin's Prometheus and Kandinsky, Giovanna Cerise has created Synthesia. Giovanna:  "The boxes represent the keyboard of a piano. The piano keys are colored and seem to move. Everything is connected to the concept of synesthesia. Kandinsky and Synesthesia links Scriabrin. Each key has a color and a certain state of mind, as Scriabin does in his Prometheus. You can enter every key which has a predominant colour ."


I was overwhelmed by the breathking beauty of the work. You will enjoy it. Can you hear the colours?

Please use the recommended WL settings as to be seen on the photos or set on midnight.
Opening Wednesday, August 1. @ 2 PM SLT

Taxi: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Beleza/45/224/22

2012-07-28

Inspirations for Design

Second Life is a place to make dreams happen. Not only in terms of avatar appearance....


As luckily almost everyone is already bored by beach sceneries with palms and Tiki huts it looks as if SL starts to be a real Mecca for those who are addicted to interior design. In case you have not yet heard about the book "INSPIRATION - SL Interior Forecast", you definitely should have a look in the blog or take an inworld copy for free here. Just click the Inspiration subscriber board. When Pitsch Parx started the project I must confess that I was a bit sceptical. The concept seemed to me to close to rl books. Pitsch gathered quite a few of highly talented people in this field and the result is totally convincing. Hopefully this book will stay as seasonal publication. It really inspires!


Wendy Xeno, the creator of Humanoid, Misali and Neva River, build a set up together with  Neva Crystall for the launch party. From her group note I got that the sim is still visible for a week. A great place to enjoy and take pics.

Taxi: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Talamasca/129/192/21

2012-07-27

Sneak Preview: The Fight of Life


"Life is a carousel that we can not get off. We have not even decided which seat we would sit on; maybe it was a camel or a rocket from China or Texas, we had no influence. When we are put in the world, from the beginning we have no choice on the set of options. Heredity and environment determine how we are sitting on the carousel. If someone tells you that the next trip will be better then believe them not, but try to get a better place while the carousel is spinning. If you jump off, there are no new tour."


Betty Tureaud's owns word explain her ideas about the installation. She was so kind to give me a preview and I should add something to have you be forwarned: IT IS MEAN! I had some obstacles to find though the installation. I did not knew where to go and what to do to come further. That felt so damned RL!

WOW! A BoHo HoBo mesh dress in Betty-design for free!
Let me give you a hint: Sometimes others has to be pushed aside to move on. It will be fun today at the opening to see if others are fitter survivors than me....but luckily there is the chance for another round, or shall I say rebirth?

Get your ticket here for the next round

"Life Carousel"
Opening today at 2 PM SLT as always with a concert by Ultraviolet Alter.
Be there on time. It will be full as always!

Taxi: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/LEA28/83/123/3002

Open until Sept. 15.

  

2012-07-26

Much to explore @ LEA18


Another sim at LEA which should not be missed ist LEA 18. You find a jungle and a tunnel system which could be passed by touching the pads with the hands. It huge, confusing, fascinating and beautiful.


The builders Tony Resident and WhatDu Freck are completely new to me. Sad that many builders give no or few information in their profile and do not even ar having the own som in the picks. Hard to understand.






The great photos are taken by Firlefanz Roxley.

Taxi: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/LEA18/75/205/47

 

2012-07-24

Rowan Derryth about the LEA Committee

A bit later as promised I could catch up Art + Design- Historian, Art-Writer and -Blogger Rowan Derryth for an interview about the latest news from the LEA. Here it is:

Rowan as Curator of "A Rusted Development" at LEA1

Quan Lavender: Rowan, thank you for giving me an interview about the current situation at LEA.

Rowan Derryth: : My pleasure! I'm happy to talk about this from my own view... I'm not a full voting member and I don't mean to be the voice of the LEA. These are my own observations and experiences… so fire away! :-)

QL: As we have seen by the invitations to the next application round, you are back! So tell me, what's new at LEA? New members? New work? New rules?

RD: Yes yes yes! It's pretty exciting, to me anyway... The LEA has basically been rebooted, in my view. The projects that were working well remain and are ongoing, like the Land Grants, etc. But I think the present group really recognised that while some things were great, others needed work... I think the first, most important thing that came out of recent events was that they sat down and actually wrote a governing document - by-laws - for the group. I can see how, when the group was new, this wasn't necessarily thought to be a necessity - they weren't given much guidance or any requirements really by LL, and I also don't think they knew at the time what they would become, in terms of growing into a form of arts council. But obviously with the expansion of the past year, and other events, this really became a necessity. And so that has been priority one over the last couple months. I was happy to volunteer to help with the draft, as it is something I have professional experience doing for arts organisations. But it was largely the work of the committee, led by PatriciaAnne Daviau - who is now a full member. That has now been ratified - and btw it includes a detailed accounting of elections, terms of office, etc. And it will become a public document on the website for anyone to read.

QL: How will you actually work in the future?

RD: Part of the new system is that Advisors will serve a term of 4 months before being asked if they want to serve on the committee as a full voting member. So, for example, Chantal Harvey has come back, but will need to serve for 4 months before coming back in full. I think this is a fair system. And I know people have wondered how they can get involved - I think this group is very open to expressions of interest. I've said elsewhere that I felt that the LEA needed more help from people with curatorial experience, so I was very pleased to see they recruited Zachh Cale. He is also a new advisor. As for myself, with these changes and with the current group, I was happy to be an advisor again, so agreed when they asked me to return.

QL: And what has changed in the line up of committee members?

RD: The committee currently stands at 7 full members ... Patti has moved from advisor to full member, and I came back as advisor (which is all I ever wanted to be, lol) with Zachh and Chantal. I'm a big advocate of being as transparent as possible, and I am definitely not alone on the committee for that. I think the only thing they are confidential about is entirely reasonable... Land Grant decisions etc. (oh, but the decision process is included in the new application materials, for everyone's info).

QL: And Sasun Steinbeck? Solo Mornington?

RD: Sasun resigned, I think that has been printed elsewhere. She was travelling for the summer, and I think the break will be good for her. I know people have certain perceptions about her, but she worked very very hard for the LEA and instigated many good systems. If, when she returns, she decides she'd like to be involved again, my understanding is that she would have to go through the advisor process first. Basically, with the ratification of the new by-laws, it's a bit of a restart, like I said.

QL: I got from the artists that she was very helpful.

RD: Yes, very. I think her departure has left a bit of a hole, simply because everyone has a role to play, and hers was curatorial. But we have plans in place - both immediate and for the next round - to hopefully get that back on track. This is basically a team of volunteers, and I think them putting their energy into reviewing their policies was absolutely the right thing. But of course that means there was less time to pick up some of that slack.

At Art Screamer (ltr): Chestnut Rau, Rowan Derryth, Zachh Cale, Claudia222 Jewell and Amase Levasseur

QL: Regarding the next round: You told me some things are ew, what is it? And why don't you only give whole sims rather than half or quarter? Bigger size does not always guarantee better quality.

RD: I'm not sure I entirely know the reasoning for that, but I have heard that in the first round, they did actually divide up some of the sims, and some artists were offended that they got only a partial instead of a full. So that MAY be one reason, but again I can't speak to it. I would also be guessing, but I think that last round at least there weren't as many applications as everyone thinks, and in MY opinion, having read them, I'm not sure I could have even picked 20 really strong applications... I could have perhaps picked 16, then filled in the remaining 4 with people who I wasn't as confident about.. So at that point, do you just give everyone some land, or do you support those that really seem to put the work in and have a vision? One of the changes that has happened this round kind of relates to this question. I asked the committee if I could rewrite the application materials - with their input and approval of course. Before, it was VERY basic.. name, project name, general description, etc. The application is now MUCH more detailed, we are asking for timelines, a more detailed plan, etc. Some applicants may hate this, but this is really for two reasons, to my mind... To help them really consider what is involved in having a full sim for 6 months, and to help us really see what the plan is. I won't name names, but we have had applications before that said little more than 'my work speaks for itself'... Some people perceive the LEA as a body that governs sim they 'pay for' with their Linden dollars (tier, etc.) - ok, I'm not sure I agree, but if that is the case... if you were to write a grant to ANY arts council as an artist, big or small, that application would land in the bin. THAT said... I tried to make it very clear in the application materials that we really really want to see proposals from new artists, and that we hoped language barriers shouldn't be an issue. This shouldn't be intimidating, but rather a way for people to really think it through, you know?

QL: I understand that the application form needs information and a concept. But you know too that many artists fast run out of words. That's why they build and express that what we might do with words.

RD: This is true Quan, but part of being an artist, sadly, is writing grants. In fact, in my RL I teach art students. And I teach them to write. And when I do, I tell them it is because if they want to be successful, they WILL have to write grants and proposals to work. So in my own personal view, its the nature of the beast. But I also know that the LEA will NOT be like grammar police when they read these... and will also understand that the finished product may look nothing like the application.

QL: On the other hand the committee has a responsibility and has to ask for that.

RD: Yes! Honestly, no one is looking for an NEA or AHRC type application. It can be very simple.

Rowan: "What it feels like to curate."

QL: There is a problem with the definition of artist in SL. I met several great builders who avoid to be seen as artists as they regard the artists as blown up and show off people instead of creating quality. And I guess they are not totally wrong. There are more people who could create great things.

RD: Oh, I agree with there being a problem with the definition of artists - but honestly, I get MORE annoyed by people trying to tell me what art is, and what art isn't. And that happens on ALL sides. I get just as annoyed with people saying that virtual art should not have realism as I do with others saying that things that are abstract, performative, or even disruptive are NOT art.

QL: hahaha, so true!

RD: Like I've said before, it's a stupid conversation to me... I'm more interested in WHY is art.... why is this art? Why does it work? Why does it NOT work? In terms of the LEA - my OWN opinion is that they should not be in the business of judging what is and isn't art. And I do think they manage this by the virtue of having a committee of people who have different opinions. I know that there are some who I completely see eye to eye with, and others I don't. And we don't sit around debating this topic. We talk about projects, ideas, etc. And so it works well.

QL: Sure, but my intention was to say that I think there are talented people with great ideas but they do not dare to apply at LEA.

RD: Oh Quan, I agree, and wish they WOULD. Some LEA members - myself amongst them - really want to see people beyond the visual arts apply. And as a Design historian, I see some of the grid's content creators as the most amazing artists out there. I'd love to see someone like Max Graf or Alchemy Cyanis apply. Or hell, what might LeeZu do if she decided to take a break from commercial production and just create something...

QL: Oh yes and there should be named much more! Hearing that I would like to ask the LEA committee writing an open letter to all “builders” in Second Life, encouraging them to apply.
But let's talk about something else too. As blogger I talk with most of the artists and I heard lots of complaints about the hosting. The artists had problems to get help with issues that has to be managed by the land owner.

RD: We are really going to try and be more supportive to artists-in-residence now that we've had two rounds to learn from... The plan is to have 5 liaisons from the committee, each with 4 artists. So they can have a more direct 'go to' experience. I think one of the issues that artists perhaps don't realise is the difference between having a show at a 'gallery' sim like Art Screamer or Split Screen, where there is a curator who provides a very supportive service and having a sim at the LEA. Getting the LEA sim is fantastic, but it is also a bit more of an autonomous thing, which has benefits and drawbacks. There will still be expectations of the artists so that we can provide support - for example, getting us your press materials in a timely fashion so we can help you promote it. But I think people have expected that we would write the press and materials for all 20 exhibits. Not everyone thinks that, just some. But anyway, hopefully we will be able to better orient people and help them understand the way it all works from the start. We've also set a much clearer timeline... Six months (it was 5 before because there were only 10 months remaining on the original LL grant once the programme got running)... a 4 month build period, so that all sims will be open with exhibits for a full 2 months. We debated that one a little bit... some artists might show 3 exhibits in that period, which is great! Others - well - they might never finish, lol. We wanted people to realise that we do expect an exhibit by the 4 month deadline (if it is an exhibit project, of course). So if that isn't something they can deliver, then perhaps it might not be a good fit.

A Rusted Development, curated by Rowan Derryth

QL: But maybe it would be good to alternate building phases and exhibition phases. At the moment all regions are in the same period and either you see nothing or too much...

RD: Yes, this is true. But I think strategically it might be hard to get that going because all 20 sims are on the same cycle. If we were to instead switch to a quarterly application in order to facilitate that, we'd have empty sims to get it going. Maybe there is another way to work it... but in terms of the 'seeing too much'... that's why we want to make sure there are two full months to see. And of course many artists will finish before that, which is fine. Some sims will likely be curated outposts, so exhibits will change. It's more about setting up expectations on both sides so we can make it work a little better - and most importantly, so artists feel supported.

QL: Who owns the sims now?

RD: The LEA *grins*

QL: Wait and see which ego's are coming up now ^^

RD: Ha! Well, it's a bit of a moot point actually... The history of this is, the original 9 sims, the 'core' as we call it (that have the sandbox, guest curated exhibits, the theatre, etc.) were owned by Linden Labs. When the land grant came along - as I understand it, and I wasn't there at the time so I may get some of this wrong - LL wanted to hand over ownership to representatives, so two committee members split that. Now I have to interject, this is kind of a technical problem on LL's part, I remember having a similar problem with the FLWVM ( Frank Lloyd Wright Virtual Museum) - SOMEONE has to take on the liability on the part of the group. And then, it did seem like LL preferred to communicate with the sim owners when communication was needed, rather than the group as a whole. But I think that kink has been ironed out. So, when the committee changes came about and land needed to be handed over, this was all fixed... no LEA sims are under the ownership of LL anymore, including the core, the ownership is split between 3 members and there is language in the LEA by-laws that stipulates that land shall be owned by no less than 2 members on behalf of the group, and that all land decisions are by group vote. Also, all voting members have Estate Management rights on all sims. Which is awesome because before if you had an issue and needed helped, there were only a handful of people you could go to - and they were different for various sims. And just to be clear, EVERYONE on the LEA was happily on board with this. There were no ego battles, everyone thought it was a great plan. It was really easy.

A Rusted Development, curated by Rowan Derryth

QL: That sounds good. So what about transparency on the work of LEA?

RD: As I already said - the only things that aren't to be transparent are reasonable - decisions about applications, etc. I think in some ways it has always been that way, but PR and communication weren't necessarily a priority, due to time more than anything. I think the group grew really fast, and people were focused on some really great projects, but then suddenly those on the 'outside' were like... 'Umm... what are you guys doing, and who are you?' There are some odd perceptions out there about the group as a whole, and individuals. Some I can see how they developed, others baffle me. You can't please everyone. And some people are determined to be displeased no matter what. And for some artists, resisting authority is the only true way to make art. So... I guess the LEA is the big bad establishment. In my view, if it helps them make GOOD art, rock on, lol. But I for one want to hear the valid criticism. Actually, it's the reason I got involved in the first place. I was one of the ones who didn't know what they were doing, and as a journalist in this world, I wanted the scoop! I know you get that ;)

QL: Thank you Rowan for the interesting interview!

RD: Welcome!


All photos taken by P.J. Trenton.






2012-07-20

Oberon's Factory



As started yesterday, I try cover now the LEA sims I have not written about yet. For the topic of today I am very happy that again FirleFanz Roxley agreed to take the photos. She is so much better than me.


In Oberon's words about KINESIS: "What you are seeing here is a giant pattern-making machine, directed by a controller that can be seen near the center-most column. There are 25 groups of rotating arms. Each group has 4 members. Each arm is told to go to one of those angles - either randomly or in predesigned patterns. All groups perform identical actions. While resting, the arms signal to each other visually and with very soft tones, creating a subtly changing visual and musical environment."


It happend that I often in RL had the chance to see the production in  factories. Usually a guy who is deeply in love with the machines and process gives long and complicated explanations but you just hear the half because of the noise. So I appreciated the mysterious and fascinating movements combined with the powerful sounds and slowly I understood the system. It has something of a mediation.


I feel the same same here. Come and switch on your sound, fly or walk around and enjoy!


Taxi: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/LEA20/22/242/23

2012-07-19

Scenery of Conceptual Art: Rod Mandel

Taken by FirleFanz Roxley
It is only about 6 weeks that the current round of LEA Land Grants is closing and I am aware that I still not covered all interesting installations. Often due to the fact that there never was an official opening or I missed it. One of them ist the work by Rod Mandel. It is the kind of installation where you never can be sure if it is ready or not ;)


At the first glance one realises that Rod must be designer RL. The use of forms and textures is not only of a high level of aesthetics, it is professional and contemporary in the best meaning.

A Vitra-like chair by 2Extreme
At the second glance one sees that the installations is highly inspired by Conceptual Art, especially the American artist Sol Lewitt. But it is not comfortable for the visitors at all. They need to explore and fly to find the treasures. Several installations fascinated me but I did not get what the purpose of glass vitrines in SL is. The installation is partly more like the model of a possible RL museum. When I found there the beginning of the 'Sentences of Conceptual Art', I decided to post them here, as they not only explain the installation.

Taken by FirleFanz Roxley
Sol Lewitt: Sentences of Conceptual Art (1969)
  1. Conceptual artists are mystics rather than rationalists. They leap to conclusions that logic cannot reach.
  2. Rational judgements repeat rational judgements.
  3. Irrational judgements lead to new experience.
  4. Formal art is essentially rational.
  5. Irrational thoughts should be followed absolutely and logically.
  6. If the artist changes his mind midway through the execution of the piece he compromises the result and repeats past results.
  7. The artist's will is secondary to the process he initiates from idea to completion. His wilfulness may only be ego.
  8. When words such as painting and sculpture are used, they connote a whole tradition and imply a consequent acceptance of this tradition, thus placing limitations on the artist who would be reluctant to make art that goes beyond the limitations.
  9. The concept and idea are different. The former implies a general direction while the latter is the component. Ideas implement the concept.
  10. Ideas can be works of art; they are in a chain of development that may eventually find some form. All ideas need not be made physical.
  11. Ideas do not necessarily proceed in logical order. They may set one off in unexpected directions, but an idea must necessarily be completed in the mind before the next one is formed.
  12. For each work of art that becomes physical there are many variations that do not.
  13. A work of art may be understood as a conductor from the artist's mind to the viewer's. But it may never reach the viewer, or it may never leave the artist's mind.
  14. The words of one artist to another may induce an idea chain, if they share the same concept.
  15. Since no form is intrinsically superior to another, the artist may use any form, from an expression of words (written or spoken) to physical reality, equally.
  16. If words are used, and they proceed from ideas about art, then they are art and not literature; numbers are not mathematics.
  17. All ideas are art if they are concerned with art and fall within the conventions of art.
  18. One usually understands the art of the past by applying the convention of the present, thus misunderstanding the art of the past.
  19. The conventions of art are altered by works of art.
  20. Successful art changes our understanding of the conventions by altering our perceptions.
  21. Perception of ideas leads to new ideas.
  22. The artist cannot imagine his art, and cannot perceive it until it is complete.
  23. The artist may misperceive (understand it differently from the artist) a work of art but still be set off in his own chain of thought by that misconstrual.
  24. Perception is subjective.
  25. The artist may not necessarily understand his own art. His perception is neither better nor worse than that of others.
  26. An artist may perceive the art of others better than his own.
  27. The concept of a work of art may involve the matter of the piece or the process in which it is made.
  28. Once the idea of the piece is established in the artist's mind and the final form is decided, the process is carried out blindly. There are many side effects that the artist cannot imagine. These may be used as ideas for new works.
  29. The process is mechanical and should not be tampered with. It should run its course.
  30. There are many elements involved in a work of art. The most important are the most obvious.
  31. If an artist uses the same form in a group of works, and changes the material, one would assume the artist's concept involved the material.
  32. Banal ideas cannot be rescued by beautiful execution.
  33. It is difficult to bungle a good idea.
  34. When an artist learns his craft too well he makes slick art.
  35. These sentences comment on art, but are not art.
Taken by Firlefanz Roxley
These sentenses are more than 40 years later still provoking. Some of the topics has been discussed by Bryn Oh and me in the post "Which Skills are Making an Artist?". Sol Lewitt's sentences fit in the Zeitgeist of the Protests of 1968, a time where the whole Western World has been shattered by necessary fights against an authoritarian, patriarchal society with the result of massive and lasting changes.
Take by FirleFanz Roxley
Our world is now at a point where we have seen that not all goals of that time lead sufficient results. I am just mentioning here the topics of authority regarding the influence on societies and education and the fact that even the medicine finally realises that men and women are not equal. And the same with these theses. Sentenses as "The artist may not necessarily understand his own art." or "When an artist learns his craft too well he makes slick art." lead to the fact that nowadays every crap is called art. This was certainly not the intention of Lewitt.

Still time to visit this installation. It is worth it.
Taxi: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/LEA16/105/140/30

LEA Land Grant Applications Are Open Now!

Just 30 min ago I got the message that the applications are open for the next round of LEA sims.

The land grants are scheduled to start on September 1st, 2012, and finish on February 28, 2013. Applications are available now, with a DEADLINE OF AUGUST 15, 2012. Artists will be given 4 months to execute their build, so that all sims have open work during the last 2 months of their grant. Get more details and the application form here.
That this invtiation has been sent by Rowan Derryth made me curious. As many of you know quit Rowan her participation in the LEA committee and gave a detailed overview of the incidents that made her leaving in the blog.
 
I sent her an IM and she told me that she is back to support the work at LEA. And she said that they created a whole new system for the next round. Of course I wanted to know more details and who else is new member of the committee after several members left.
 
She agreed to give me an EXCLUSIVE interview this weekend. So stay tuned and I swear that I will squeeze her out ;)

2012-07-18

Judge Art at UWA and win 10.000 Linden

Mikati Slade
The UWA Centenary 3D Art Challenge received 90 entries. It is amazing to see what a large variety of works has been submitted. I tried to show this with my photos in this post. Go and see, what the create heads in Second Life are able to build.
Lollito Larkham
Opps! I touched the work by Linda McAllister
But you cannot only see you can also win: L$20,000 has been set aside for all art lovers who take part in a special participation event. We are asking everyone to view the artworks and give us your TOP 10 artworks overall, in order of your preference (email jayjayaustralia@hotmail.com OR list them on a notecard to Jayjay Zifanwe - please put your name on the title of the notecard with the words UWA Centenary 3D Audience Event).

The 3 participants whose order comes closest to the final order decided by the judging panel, will win for themselves L$10,000, L$6,000 and L$4,000 each. The first prize winner will also be invited to be on the panel for the next grand art challenge and ALL 3 will receive in the mail a special pack that includes a copy of the book, '100 Treasures of UWA' which was produced for UWA's Centenary.

Cajska Carlsson

Scottius Polke

Followmeimthe Piedpiper

Sonna Bazaar
It is recommended to read the notecards to the works. Some have really interesting features. These 'pads' by Glyph Graves are changing their color with the language of the viewer of avatars passing by.


But the data also is sent to rl (read the details in the note card provided):


If you want to see a preview of all works I recommend the blog of Apmel here.

2012-07-17

Worse than the Holocaust

Artworks by Fahn Falta
Yesterday opened Pirats Panoptikum with works by Gracie Kendall, Milly Sharple, Fahn Falta (which was new to me), Hermine Resident and Nino Vichan. Much interesting works to see, but again it was Nino Vichan's work which gave the surprising kick.

Artworks by Hermine Resident (Chu Ann)
His installation "American Nobility" is about American natives and I must admit that I felt slight boredom when I got the invitation and expected another show of Indian romantic. But I should know Nino Vichan's way of working better now. Nino: "This exhibition presents the contrast between the dignity and spirituality of the indigenous people of the north american continent and the genocide of these and other indigenous people throughout the world."


The beautiful installation is spiced by quotes in the local chat which went under my skin. Here some examples:

"The term Genocide derives from the Latin (genos=race, tribe; cide=killing) and means literally the killing or murder of an entire tribe or people. The Oxford English Dictionary defines genocide as 'the deliberate and systematic extermination of an ethnic or national group'"


"The reduction of the North American Indian population from an estimated 12 million in 1500 to barely 237,000 in 1900 represents a 'vast genocide . . . , the most sustained on record.' (Ward Churchill, a professor of ethnic studies at the University of Colorado). "'In terms of the sheer numbers killed, the Native American Genocide exceeds that of the Holocaust'. (Holocaust expert David Cesarani)."

"Common Sense magazine reported that the Indian Health Service 'was sterilizing 3,000 Indian women per year, 4 to 6 percent of the child bearing population. Dr. R. T. Ravenholt, former director of the federal government's Office of Population, later confirmed that 'surgical sterilization has become increasingly important in recent years as one of the advanced methods of fertility management. Ravenholt's response to these inquires told the population Association of America in St. Louis that the critics were 'a really radical extremist group lashing out at a responsible program so that revolution would occur'."

Smoking the peace pipe. From l. to r.: Cayenne Avon, Nino Vichan, Merlina Rokocoko
When I arrived I said: "Germans are good in Genocide." Nino Vichan answered: "Americans are better!" Looks as if he is right.

Taxi: http://slurl.com/secondlife/LEA28/55/85/31 

  

2012-07-16

Inspiring Orientation for Newbies

It is only natural that I try to cover new places as soon as possible in this blog. So I land from time to time on sims which found already recognition in the Editor Picks. As good as that is, a huge problem for this places is that also a lot of clueless newbies are helpless standing around there.

           Follow the path!

Depending of time and mood I often explain then what to do, how to use the search or to move in Second Life instead of exploring. And they are sometimes quite demanding. They are expecting to meet people helping them and do not understand that the avatars they meet are others residents who just help out of kindness. Rose Borchovski told me that she helped day by day newbies how to dress and more after her installation made it into the picks. That shows me always that the guidance of newbies is still one of the very big problems of SL which prevents it from growing. In our fast time most people do not have patience to explore and need an effective and if possible entertaining introduction of what Second Life is about and how to use it.

          sit zone is very artistic indeed

It was a great idea of Arrehn Oberlander and the MetaHarpers Group to build a place for newbies in cooperation with artists: The Inspiring Orientation. See the first results with contributions by Glyph Graves, Tyrehl Byk, Scottius Polke, Bryn Oh and others. The first tutorials are about moving and using the cam. The visitor ends in a place with theme orientated TP's. Maybe I am still a noob too. I found some tutorials to challenging, but time and noobs will prove...

           haunting, beautiful

Arrehn told me that more features will follow soon. I hope that opening boxes and dressing will be a part of it. Great concept, great ideas and great works! It not only helps newbies, it gives them a clue about the boundless creativity in this virtual world. And it is very good that it is now in the Editor Picks!

          feed me

For the future I hope that such tutorials will be required for all newbies in order to prevent them from a frustrating start in Second Life.

All photos taken by TORLEY.
Taxi: http://slurl.com/secondlife/LEA26/128/128/20

2012-07-14

Sneak Preview: Marcel Chiffon Travels Again

Lollito Larkham as monthly guest artist on LEA6 invites us to more adventures of Marcel Chiffon. The first exhibition I covered here. We see new and even more strange scenes which are again not connected and like dreamscenes.


An important part of the installation ist the strange WL setting. to fully appreciate the installation it is really needed to set graphics on ultra with shadows. More in the UWA blog post. As I have at present computer issues and need to use a notebook with weak graphics. I took only one photo. Compared to the photo above taken by Lollito Larkham you see the difference.


Grand Opening tomorrow, Sunday 15. at 6 AM SLT
Taxi: http://slurl.com/secondlife/LEA6/227/25/21