PROGRESS UPDATE

IN PROGRESS

     The full sim art presentation that I mentioned below in a couple previous posts, is making good progress. My calendar is filled up to the brim each day with work to complete for the installation. For the past couple months, I’ve written down ideas and descriptions for my project, built along those lines, but as each day comes closer to the opening date on March 16 (Saturday), the obsession to create grows. I’ve been a tourist of the sim up until now, but presently, I’m beginning to feel more like an inhabitant.  

     When the owners of the sim give me the word, I’ll make a formal announcement with the location, time, and description of the tale I have fashioned to fit the site.

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Du progrès

     La présentation d’art que j'ai mentionnée ci-dessous dans un message précédent, est en bonne voie. Mon agenda est entièrement rempli chaque jour avec du travail pour l'installation. Pour les deux derniers mois, j'ai écrit des idées et des descriptions pour mon projet, construit des builds d’après ces lignes, mais chaque jour qui rapproche la date d'ouverture le 16 Mars (samedi), l'obsession de créer accélère. Je me suis senti être un touriste de la sim jusqu'à maintenant, mais aujourd'hui, je commence à me sentir comme un habitant.

     Lorsque les propriétaires de la sim me donneront la parole, je vais faire une annonce officielle avec le lieu, la date et la description de l'histoire que j'ai façonné pour l’oeuvre.

XXX

FISH MARKET

     The base along the cliff-side walls of Medusa Locks has had a long history of changes. Lacking romanticism, the original structure along the cliff’s bottom was a public restroom. A little space furnished with some of the best grungy toilets and sinks I could find. Not long afterwards, the little room was expanded into a larger restroom with a sizable floor. Ironically, the less than tidy space took a remarkable transformation as this little jut of land became increasingly developed. What was once the fringe of the neighborhood suddenly became central. The bathroom expanded yet again to become a Visitor Center.

That change occurred due to a question my friend Lilia Artis had asked me one day: Why did I have the Visitor Center toward the edge of the sim, when the Paper Tower was not only directly in the middle of the sim, but afforded the best views over the entire city. I took her advice and moved the Center high up in the Paper Tower where it remains to this day. Shortly after the Visitor Center vacated the Medusa Locks neighborhood, it wasn't long before the other builds on the jut of land known as Darkrodin Pier also disappeared. For a brief time, a couple of colorful booths offering free fish took up the space. Bees and ants attracted to the odors of fish were somewhat reminiscent of buzzing sounds from the old days of the original restroom. By the way, only a bit of the first tiled wall, and a cat in the window remain today from that first structure.

I recently watched a movie called Darshan. It is a spiritual movie, and shot with fine cinematography. I found it a remarkable film in many respects, from its technique to the story, and thoroughly enjoyed the settings in India. Benares (Varanasi) is one of those special sites among human landscapes that really sticks out. In Benares, one purifies oneself in the river Ganges where city and nature merge, where life and death share the bustling shore. In Second Life where gatherings of people are uncommon (3 or 4 avatars in one area is considered a hopping place), I felt that if I wanted to create a very modest interpretation of a purifying ground, the emphasis would need to be on fragments of life, and representations of death. It is a project that will grow through time, as I become more familiar with its spiritual potential. Beneath what was once the bathroom, once the Visitor Center, once the Fish Market, rises the flat quai of libations. Fires burn on the quai pavement in reference to the cremations along the Ganges. But what I choose to position at the water’s edge is a question. For now, there are stretchers of art slanting down the stairs to the river, as if they were bodies awaiting the fire, or souls adrift on the next current.

XXX

A RUSTED DEVELOPMENT TOUR

     Yesterday, Rowan Derryth gave a tour of ‘A Rusted Development’ which is on the LEA1 sim. She is the curator who selected the artists to fill the spaces in the full sim city I’d built for this exhibit. It was slated to stand for about 2 months, but through welcomed extensions, it has been up for 9 months. I believe it’s time has come however, and at the end of this month it is due to come down.

Rowan leads around 25 visitors along the exhibit

     Rowan’s ability to engage an audience is punctuated with her well organized mind. It’s fun and instructive. She gave the tour, which even in extreme lag produced by the large attendance of avatars, lasted exactly one hour. Just right for Second Life. But I will let her tell you the details when she posts the transcription. I plan to post a link.

XXX

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THE CHORUS

     The exhibit I’m preparing for March (see Dec 8 2012 entry further down this blog for info) continues to make progress. Last night, I temporarily rezzed the chorus on site to see how the textures and spacing fit. The bluish default windlight setting is quite fabulous, but I also wanted to see how it looked on Midnight setting. Evidently, the creators of the  building that will house my chorus has an orange light feature inside. It gave these wonderful ochre tones. Until March, my work schedule will be full creating the parts for this exhibit. 

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CHANGES AT THE MUSEUM

The North Wing Gallery is behind the photographer in this shot. But the expanded courtyard and the new tree are clearly visible.

     The Studio of Builds Museum gets quite a makeover. For the past week, I’ve been doing remodeling of both the North Wing Gallery and Cranberry Dock Courtyard. Around the seam of 2012 to2013, the courtyard was expanded threefold in area. An important consideration while remodeling is to use fewer textures so that the court and the space inside the North Wing are not confusing to the eye. There was a lot of simplifying to consider. As I made progress, it became evident that I would have to address the small tower that was part of the original build from June of 2010. I hate removing historical features, but for a clean sweep of the eye, I made the sacrifice. There are still several areas of the old 2010 build remaining in other parts of the museum complex, but increasingly, a modern air dominates. The old stone bridge over the river was also removed along with many trees. But a gain to the landscape showed itself in the two gorgeous new additions I bought from the Zen Island sim. One is a cluster of bamboo, and the second is one of the most beautiful trees I’ve seen in Second Life. Its texturing and light bark complement the area perfectly. Large pods hang down from the red flower laden branches. Please come for a visit. When in Second Life, go to my PICKS from my profile, and click on MY MUSEUM.

Currently showing at the galleries of the museum:

North Wing Gallery: Paintings by Fiona Leitner. 

Feathered Muse Pavilion: Small temporary exhibit of the works by Hypatia Pickens. 

Bowsprit Well: Images by Nessuno Myoo.

One Year Ago

Clip from the film.

One year ago today, was the final day of my exhibit Second Libations on the sim LEA6. After its month run, ending on Dec 31, 2011, I wasn’t alone when disassembling the builds. Friends and visitors gathered on a stage platform to observe the crumbling of Second Libations, which I portrayed in story form. My friend Lilia Artis helped me out tremendously by monitoring the local chat and pasting the story there as I applied the pages of text onto a board inWorld for the audience to read.

Here are two films showing a couple glimpses into that performance, parts one and two, by  NicoleX Moonwall. It documents some of the destruction.

Part One: Click here to watch it. 

Part Two: Click here to watch it. 

Have a happy New Year everyone!

XXX

PrimChords

As a yearend project, I decided to work more on my prim writing system, which I call PrimChords. A month or two ago, I reworked and simplified the grammar, then lost my notes. The final days of 2012 inspired me to work with it again. In order to figure out a system, it has to be used, so currently I’m slowly translating a book recently purchased about writing an artist’s journal. I had kept artist journals for years before, written in both English and a language I invented. The last few years, I let that fall aside, but feel now is the time to return to that practice. The author of the artist journal book has fresh ideas that are very inspiring. I’ve only reached the beginning of chapter two, because I’m following the exercises. This really isn’t a new year’s resolution, but something that could hold value for expressive needs.