Colorful 2016, and Welcome to 2017

Looking onto Venice Under Glass

    To celebrate the year 2016, ACC Alpha has had quite a number of recent changes, and BIG ones which you can read about in recent posts. Refinements continue to be underway, most evident at the sea level of the Studio of Builds arena (right beneath Paper Tower Court). This ancient aquarium from 2010 has been remodeled to fit a small town, warmly referred to by the residents as "Venice Under Glass". It is part of the expansive Studio of Builds museum, and if you fall into the water and sink to the bottom of the sea, you will find yourself in yet another museum gallery called The Dead Mariner's Treasury.

Garden below painting of dancer by Tishati.

Artwork by Ziki Questi at the Orange Gallery.

     Various artists' works can be seen in the arena area, including Tishati's painting of a dancer at the garden. There is an exhibit of Ziki Questi's work in the Orange Gallery in Venice Under Glass, as well as a special exhibit dedicated to "Cruelty of Peace" by Lilia Artis. These pictures of her exhibit on the LEA6 sim will come down today at midnight, so I wanted to preserve it in some way on ACC Alpha. If you read this post before the end of the day, there is still time to see Cruelty of Peace. Both Lilia and I are burning the midnight oil to film her creation before it disappears shortly. I will post a link when it is complete. We intend to spend some time in making the movie, reflecting Lilia's philosophy of making everything from scratch. All the terraforming on her LEA6 sim, mesh and textures are by Lilia, and the film will be the music that she and I create also.

Views of "Cruelty of Peace" by Lilia Artis. Still on view at the LEA6 sim
until the end of  the night December 31.

The Peace Gallery seen in the middle of the photo with melting Baroque
facade is where images from Cruelty of Peace are displayed.

     As 2016 is honored at ACC Alpha, so 2017 is welcomed. On Saturday, January 14th at 1 PM SLT, Paradox Messmer will have an opening of his works at the Dead Mariner's Treasury. There will be an announcement prior to the opening with more information.



     Have a wonderful New Year everyone.

XXX

   

The Brother's Tale: exhibit of Silas Merlin's art.

Silas Merlin presents his first full sim exhibit: "The Brother's Tale". It is only up for a short time, so run to see it by Dec. 27. He had not originally intended to announce it to the public, but I asked if I could make a film and tell a few people. Actually, I was nearly whining. I couldn't imagine keeping this from visitors.

Silas has been altering the land textures and windlight from time to time, so this post captures a slot in time with his exquisite pastel land. The film shows an earlier land texture.

If you are able to visit before the sim comes down, make sure to go inside the ruins and walk over its top. It is not a large structure, but the irregularity of the plan expands the feeling of size, and is laid out for a sense of adventure. The organic layout reminds me in some ways to tide pools. What you find inside is of particular interest. Tic the Advanced Lighting Model in preferences for the full effect of Silas' statues, including the goblet on the table inside the ruins. There is also a page of Silas' story written on a book in that same room.

To watch the film I made about this destination, please click here.

"The Brother's Tale" is on the Pica Pica sim in Second Life until Dec. 27.

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Lilia Artis' exhibit: "The Cruelty of Peace"

     Until the end of December, Lilia Artis is displaying her build “The Cruelty of Peace” on the LEA 6 sim.

     What may appear as a beautifully tranquil setting upon arrival, The Cruelty of Peace has another tale in store for the visitor. It is not a fairytale, but a harsh reality that millions suffer. In this personal view, Lilia focuses on one family unit. In their tragic fall among the vast landscape, one can imagine the sense of solitude one may feel in the last moments just before war burns life away. This is the palette the artist seems to have chosen, a million souls represented by one family. But Lilia goes yet another step further. 

     In her own words:

     "War just never seems to end. It turned into a background noise while we are having breakfast or dinner and live our everyday lives," says the artist. "The news shows there seems to be no limit to the cruelty of what human beings do to other human beings, to men, women, children. And then there is the ongoing destruction of our environment. Hearing about ever growing pollution, a question rises in my head: what is the reality of peace? Is it only possible when the human race becomes extinct?" 

The Cruelty of Peace will remain on display through the month of December. 

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The Basaltic Herd: A transformed bay at Accentaury.

The field of houses leading up to the Paper Tower Court in the distance.

FILM
I recently made a film about the city center discussed in this post. To watch, please click here.


GLUE

     The land rumbled. Buildings and trees shook. All around, living beings held their breaths, was it an earthquake?

     A fault line has skimmed the ancient Paper Tower area of ACC Alpha since a mishap in Second Life years ago, which returned many residents’ mega prims. The base and ceiling of the arena was one of the victims. Fearing future disasters, the scientists have been squeezing high quality glue into the cracks of the faults. Skeptics challenge its efficacy. Two days ago, an architectural glue was applied: a web of houses now expands over the bay like a binding blanket. The idea of the overlapping, similarly sized houses, comes from a natural formation in Iceland, where one finds basaltic hexagons covering a large area of land. They look like human constructions, but are in fact wholly sculpted by Nature. In the case at Accentaury, the square and rectangular floor plans take precedence over the hexagons for a particular reason; their geometry is easier to read as they overlap one another. And overlapping is key, for this giant bib spanning the bay is indeed a bridge. If the visitor is careful, they may avoid falling through open spaces to the bottom of the bay. For those who do sink to the seafloor, there is plenty to see under the waves.

Looking onto the Basaltic Herd with Medusa Locks in the center and right background.

AND IF YOU FALL BETWEEN THE FLOATING HOUSES... 

IF YOU SINK 

TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA, 

WHAT MIGHT YOU FIND?

Looking up, underneath the Basaltic Herd from the seabed.
Most of the so called paper buildings at Accentaury have translucent interiors,
please step inside for some unusual visual views of the city.

Entrance to the remodeled space under the Paper Tower Court. This part of
the museum is under the sea. Its name is "The Dead Mariner's Treasury".

The Dead Mariner's Treasury plans to rotate exhibits every three months. Installed now,
through March 2017 is the portrait work of Paradox Messmer.

WHAT IS BEHIND THE NEW RETAINING WALLS?

"Venice Under Glass"

Lilia visiting the new installation of what used to be the ancient aquarium.
The enormous colonnade called the 'Golden Corridor' dates to 2010.
It is one of the oldest structures on the sim.

Tour the art in Venice Under Glass with the hydrobicycles. Just click to RIDE.
Artworks are generally installed on the outsides of buildings. 

Riding through the canals, this cycling avatar notices the visitor standing
above through the glass ceiling. The standing man is on the Paper Tower Court.

     With the application of the ‘housing glue’, the Paper Tower Court is now more solidly supported. The circular colonnade which forms the lower level has become enclosed to such an extent, as one might call it a cave. The new walls do not shut out the light, to the contrary, the glass bottom floor of the Court allows the sun to illuminate a new scene where the giant aquarium used to be (the ancient sharks now live under the sea). Venice Under Glass is a gallery of canals, as this building which houses it has always been part of the museum. There is a hydro bike which visitors may ride for a slow tour along the canals of the gallery space. If you step off the bike in mid water, you will find yourself sink into yet another gallery beneath the sea. Of course, the city of Accentaury tends to favor layers, so the whole is rather like a labyrinth.

THE HERD

     Crossing over the basaltic inspired housing, flocks of animals cross the bay in large number. 

This first herd of centaurs, a couple deer, and many hares cross the bay carrying
their ship high above the water to prevent it from getting wet. 

They are quick, but sure footed.

XXX