Friday, March 29, 2013

LOST ALPHABET: The Illustrated Story

More details about my installation at La Citta Perduta is mentioned in previous posts. Here, you can see the picture book with all 13 chapters. Clicking on each page below will enlarge it a little more for easier reading. (French and Italian translations are available at the installation). But to really experience the story with all its animation, space, and color effects, you need to fly into the 3D installation at La Citta Perduta!

Reviews and Film are listed at the bottom of this entry.














































I am very grateful to the people below who have posted information about my exhibit, and to the people who let me know about the posts! Please check out these reviews, photos, and film.



REVIEWS and PHOTO ESSAYS:



FILM:

By Sivi Kelberry. This suite of images created by Sivi follows the story faithfully. With her remarkably artistic eye, each of the filmmaker's picture imparts a rich sense emotion. Click to watch the film here.

By Larkworthy Antfarm. A wonderfully colorful rendition of the build. Larkworthy works in layering for an exciting viewpoint of the installation: Click to watch the film here.

By Florentine Writer. A group of 5 films, accompanied by music, with some dramatic angles. Each film focuses predominantly on one area at a time. Click to watch the films here.




XXX


Sunday, March 24, 2013

Magical Night




     Sivi Kelberry and Akilae Gant built the remarkable Lost Town (Città Perduta), and tonight (Saturday, Mar 23) an extraordinary event was staged above the roof of the Palazzo. The fabulous musical entertainment of REIS and Ald Alter was choreographed around the 13 chapters of LOST ALPHABET. Sivi had placed a giant sphere around the welcoming area with panoramic views to the city below. The show began as the sphere blossomed into exquisite textures. The multiple layers and effects animated the scene with masterful timing. The colorful surrounds within this contained environment flowed with the music and followed the story chapter by chapter as guests danced on the celestial glass floor. It was breathtaking to hear the beautiful voice of Reis and the music of Ald; a finely matched duo. I know I wasn’t the only person who got up in real life to move with the music, often of Brazilian rhythm and other times of lingering moods. People really seemed to be appreciating this spectacle as the special treat it was. Lots of friends were greeting each other in the festive ambiance and enjoying their enthusiastic and fun hosts, Akilae and Sivi. I believe it lasted nearly two hours, and I still wanted more. In the last scene, Sivi was able to somehow brilliantly plan a suggestion of the tower from chapter 13 with its flying pages swirling around its girth, while the music courted the theme. With eyes glued to the screen, the finale produced the kind of moment that marks memory. None of my pictures captured the magic of the ensemble, but I am posting a couple anyway (from the last scene) for a glimpse into a most special night. 





     If you were not able to attend this event, I hope you can still come by to see the installation “Lost Alphabet”. The information is in the previous post below. Please come to visit.





XXX

Monday, March 18, 2013

THE LOST ALPHABET. Opening this Saturday


“THE LOST ALPHABET” 


 
The bell tower struck nine pm. The woman rubbed her eyes in disbelief, for suddenly, the writing on the page she was reading simply disappeared. The page was blank. She turned the next page and the next, then flipped wildly through the book, yet the same was true for every part of it. The whole town was experiencing the same phenomenon, and this stroke of magic would change everyone’s life forever.



Please come discover the most curious circumstances that la Citta Perduta (Lost Town) encounters in this full sim story. The beautiful Mediterranean village built by Akilae Gant and Sivi Kelberry is host to Haveit Neox’ story, a 2,500 prim-build that scatters his visual message across the map. You cannot predict what you will find around any corner. Accompanied by 13 brief ‘chapters’, the story suggests a modern day fable in an old world setting.

THE OPENING RECEPTION:
Saturday, March 23 at 3 PM, SLT
Don't miss the beautiful music and singing of REIS and ALD ALTER at the opening.
Click here for transport to the opening reception.




XXX

Saturday, March 9, 2013

ALMOST THERE

Work on "The Lost Alphabet" is nearing completion. I am very grateful for the one week extension. The opening will therefore be one week later than mentioned below. It is presently set for March 23 2013 which is a Saturday. I will be posting the name of the sim near opening date. Below is the description of the build.




LOST ALPHABET  (L’Alphabeto Perduto)

     The bell tower struck nine pm. The woman rubbed her eyes in disbelief, for suddenly, the writing on the page she was reading simply disappeared. The page was blank. She turned the next page and the next, then flipped wildly through the book, yet the same was true for every part of it. Her husband, downstairs on the computer watched as his word document went blank. There was no place to navigate his files nor to click off the blank window. In fact, all throughout this Mediterranean town, every citizen was experiencing the same phenomenon. No one slept, and within an hour, the news surfaced that the town was the victim of an alphabetic plague. The virus appeared to favor paper pages and computer screens, throwing letters off into the air, or terribly distorting them. With the loss of so much vital and practical information, not only could the town no longer function properly, but the extraordinary strangeness of the situation scared the public into believing it was a curse. After burning books and computers in pyres to prevent the virus from spreading, the people fled.

     But the town is not vacant.  There remains behind a less favored public: the homeless living in the sewers beneath the streets, the poor who had no means to leave, the outcasts who would not be welcome in a new town, and the adventurous types among whom count many artists.

     These citizens spread throughout the town, into its grocery stores, clothing stores, pastry shops, pet shops, artisan shops, and into its vacant apartments.  They plant vegetable gardens in the streets and free the animals. They hang paintings on exterior walls. They move all manner of furnishings outside to the streets where they belong. Under the sky.

     Cut off from the outside world, the new society must find a substitute for the vulnerable alphabet. Finding no legible books or manuals, song becomes the mode of storing information.

     They establish the School of Song. The first community project is to construct towering guitar fret boards rising many stories high from key buildings in the town. The buildings themselves, which are hollow structures after all, become in essence the body of the guitar: the acoustic soundboard. Maidens spin the heavy chords onto the ‘guitars’, and when plucked, the music reverberates clearly throughout each neighborhood. The streets and establishments bloom in carnival, with acrobatics, dramas and farces telling the story of their town.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

L’ALPHABET PERDU   (L’Alfabeto Perduto)

Le clocher a sonné neuf heures. La femme s’est frotté les yeux, incrédule, car soudain  l'écriture sur la page qu’elle lisait tout simplement a disparu. La page était vide. Elle a tourné la page suivante et encore une autre, elle a renversé sauvagement à travers le livre, mais c’était toujours la meme histoire. Son mari, en bas sur l'ordinateur a regardé son document word qui est devenu tout blanc. Il n'y avait pas de place pour naviguer ses dossiers, ni de cliquer hors de la fenêtre vide. En fait, tout au long de cette ville méditerranéenne, chaque citoyen connaissait le même phénomène. Personne ne dormait, et dans une heure, les nouvelles ont apparues que la ville avait été victime d'une peste alphabétique. Le virus semble favoriser le papier des pages et les écrans d'ordinateur, en lançant les lettres et mots dans l’air, ou les déformant terriblement. Avec la perte de tant d'information vitale et pratique, non seulement la ville ne pourrait plus fonctionner correctement, mais la nature bizzare de la situation extraordinaire a semmé la peur au public en lui faisant croire que c'était une malédiction. Après avoir brûlé des livres et des ordinateurs dans des bûchers pour empêcher le virus de se propager, les gens ont fui.

     Mais la ville n'est pas vide de vie. Il reste derrière un public moins favorisé: les sans-abris vivant dans les égouts sous les rues, les pauvres qui n'avaient pas de moyens de partir, les insolites qui ne seraient pas les bienvenus dans une nouvelle ville, et les types aventureux parmi lesquels comptent de nombreux artistes.

     Ces citoyens se répandent dans toute la ville, dans ses épiceries, magasins de vêtements, pâtisseries, animaleries, magasins d'artisanat, et dans ses appartements vacants. Ils poussent des potagers végétaux dans les rues et libèrent les animaux. Ils pendent des peintures sur les murs extérieurs. Ils se déplacent toutes sortes de mobiliers à l’extérieur dans les rues sous le ciel.

     Coupée du monde extérieur, la nouvelle société doit trouver un substitut pour l'alphabet vulnérable. Ne trouvant ni livres ni manuels lisibles, la chanson devient le mode de stockage d'informations.

     Ils établissent l'École de la Chanson. Le premier projet de la communauté est celui de construire des coups de guitare d’une immense taille qui poussent plusieurs étages au-dessous des bâtiments principaux de la ville. Les bâtiments eux-mêmes, qui sont des structures creuses, après tout, deviennent en substance le corps de la guitare: l’instrument acoustique. Les demoiselles tournent les cordes lourdes sur les «guitares», et quand pincées, la musique résonne clairement tout au long de chaque quartier. Les rues et les établissements fleurissent au carnaval, avec des acrobaties, des drames et des farces qui racontent l'histoire de leur ville.

Haveit Neox
Le 26 février 2013



XXX