Opening tomorrow (Sunday, March 31) from 11 to 17 slt is an installation on LEA27 by Mac Kanashimi entitled 3D Mandelbrot Fractal Art. The rather functional title says it all: the sim is filled with enormous Mandelbrot fractals that stretch from one side of the sim to the other, extending vertically up to 64 meters (or, in the case of a floating spheres variation, 96 meters). (The top image here is a view of the entire sim looking down.) Every twelve minutes (or five times per hour) a new shape emerges—Mac said, "There are 13 fractals with a total of 87 variations or so. Or was it 14?"—and he may add additional fractals over the course of the exhibition's run. The installation is quite unlike anything I've seen in Second Life.
When you arrive you'll be on a clear triangular platform looking down over the installation, but it's possible to fly down to experience the fractals immersively, and I found this to be quite delightful. On the platform, click on the narrow beam behind you to obtain a notecard filled with technical details of what you're seeing and how Mac generated the fractals. This beam also functions as a countdown timer so you'll know when to expect a new iteration—when the black bar reaches the bottom a new fractal will be generated.
Thanks for pointing this one out. Your photos of it are amazing, it's a must see!
ReplyDeleteHi Suzanne—glad you enjoyed the post, and it is a must see. With changes happening every 12 minutes it would take hours of time (or revisits) to see all the possible configurations.
ReplyDeleteLEA rocks the metaverse. Wondering if Mac Kanashimi has been invited to install his fractal art elsewhere...
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, am watching "Fractals: The Colors Of Infinity" (1995 documentary; ~54min, narrated by Arthur C. Clarke, music by David Gilmour). http://youtu.be/Lk6QU94xAb8
It was a great installation, and a great example of the possibilities of virtual art. I don't know what his current plans are, but I hope we see something from Mac again soon.
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