The Cube Project

Ah, the lowly cube. A simple prim, we rez them and delete them without much thought. But gems in the rough they are, and lovely they can be when treated with care. Right now, twenty of the Linden Endowment for the Arts sims are covered with cubes in a sprawling artwork called The Cube Project, curated by Bryn Oh. It's a short term exhibition, only up until September 1st, so don't delay!

I can't recall a time when a singular work cut across so many regions. There's no beginning or end here—no linearity—and each sim has its own environment settings, so be sure to actually move into them rather than cam around. (And several regions need media turned on as well.)

In addition to Bryn Oh, the featured artists include Cajska Carlsson, Charlotte Bartlett, Dancoyote Antonelli, Haveit Neox, Kicca Igaly, L1Aura Loire, Lapiscean Liberty, London Junkers, Misprint Thursday, Maya Paris, Nessuno Myoo, Oberon Onmura, PatriciaAnne Daviau, Pol Jarvinen, Rag Randt, Rowan Derryth, Sea Mizin, Secret Rage, Remington Aries, Solo Mornington, Tony Resident, Tyrehl Byk, Werner Kurosawa and Xineohp Guisse.

The Great Wall of China

Amiryu Hosoi has announced that she may be forced to close down her four sims—Japan Kansai, Japan Kanto, Japan Chubu and China Sichuan—because of declines in revenue. It's never good to hear such news, especially as her firm, Hosoi Ichiba, uses its funds to keep up these sims. One which many residents have visited over the years—despite the Japanese orientation of the surrounding sims—features the Great Wall of China.

Of course, one can't build the entire Great Wall of China in a single sim, but it's a beautifully rendered place. I'm not sure one could call the sim "state of the art" these days, with the advent of mesh and more advanced builds sprouting up, but it's important to appreciate these older (and often venerated) gems. Visit the adjoining sims to see sites such as Matsumoto Castle, and be sure to visit Amiryu's shop to lend some support.

Jo Ellsmere, Pyewacket Kazyanenko and Giovanna Cerise at Split Screen

Before the month of August winds down, take time to venture over to Split Screen, curated by Dividni Shostakovich, for two exhibitions—Pardon Our Zeitgeist by Jo Ellsmere and Pyewacket Kazyanenko, and Synesthesia by Giovanna Cerise.

Pardon Our Zeitgeist, shown in the top two images, is a remarkable automated performance that repeats every 15 minutes. Using two characters, the work explores online communication and relationships, but what's really amazing to me is the level of detail in the movement that Jo and Pye were able to capture.

Synesthesia is, as one might expect, a powerfully colorful artwork. Giovanna mentions both the work of Kandinsky and Scriabin as central to the piece. Knowing the impact synesthesia had on Scriabin (and other composers, notably Messiaen), I anticipated something where sound and color were on equal footing, and found myself a bit frustrated trying to clearly hear all the local sounds in this installation. Towering above is a Promethean figure—be sure to get up all the way to the very top. If you'd like to read more about both these pieces, head over to Dividni's blog, where you'll find links to excellent reviews by Quan Lavender and arklo.

Dreaming machine #1

I've been terribly neglectful blogging about the many marvelous creations on some of the LEA sims, and now quite a few will close on the 15th to make way for new installations. One of my favorites among them is Yooma Mayo's Dreaming machine #1 on LEA 15. Yooma, who remarks that she was born on May 29th, 2007, and arrived in a sandbox on May 30th, 2007, has created a beautiful space here that towers up above the watery foundation.

As she puts it, these might be machine-like creatures or might be creature-like machines, and they inhabit a dreamy environment of contradictions. Don't miss it, and also head over to the LEA blog for a list of some of the other sim-wide art installations that will end tomorrow, several of which I've written about the past few months.

Crystall Dunes

Neva Crystall sure knows how to create a gorgeous sim, and she's opened her home for all to see, but you need to hurry—Crystall Dunes is open to the public only until August 8th. Wendy Xeno, the creator of HuMaNoiD who worked with Neva on the lovely sim Neva River, contributed the beautiful dune landscaping.

If you love water sims or beaches, this place is going to take your breath away, and it's a superb location for photography. I'll get around to posting some images on my flickr stream soon (and you can click on these to zoom in). Thanks to Neva for opening her doors and allowing us to see this enchanting little world.

Black Kite

Yesterday I stopped by Black Kite for the first time in ages, and fell in love with the place all over again. Designed and owned by black cloud (theblackcloud Oh), it's perfect for photography or wandering (black cloud's home on the northeast corner is no doubt off limits), and I love the new windlight settings here—be sure to at least be in high if not ultra graphics with your draw distance up.

It's a water sim—you can walk about anywhere or just stroll on the boardwalks. The skyline is articulated by a lone black kite flying overhead, a water tower leaning precariously on the southeast corner. Absolutely charming little structures are dotted around the sim—my favorite is the one with the mitarashi dango and tea set out to enjoy. I'll be posting some images on my flickr stream.

Dirk Talamasca's Home

Sometimes it can be a real treat to get a glimpse into someone else's personal space—and right now you can get a peek into the Second Life home of Dirk Talamasca. "We transformed Dirk's sim for a party," remarked Wendy Xeno (creator of the superb HuMaNoiD sim) to me a couple days ago, and added that it would remain open for a couple weeks. The "we," as it turned out, included Neva Crystall (who took the redesign lead) along with Wendy, and the result is truly lovely.

If you've been to HuMaNoiD or Neva River, you'll recognize a similar feel in Dirk's sim. I really loved the poses that came with the driftwood boat below from Studio Syke (as you can see below, haha!) and went out and purchased one for myself. (And thanks, Dirk, for opening your door for a few days!)

Celebrity Blow Your Tits Off

OK, I'll admit it: I want some of whatever Maya Paris is smoking. And with a name like Celebrity Blow Your Tits Off, how could you go wrong? This totally whacky, delightfully absurd and hilarious installation at LEA10 is probably best experienced with friends—it was quite a scene on opening day with a couple dozen people roaming about. So find a few companions and say to them (be forceful, don't hesitate), "You know, we have to go see Maya Paris's new installation at LEA10, Celebrity Blow Your Tits Off, right now," and then drag them along.

The artwork actually pokes some fun at our cultural obsession with personal appearance—with our quest for perfect bodies, our consumer habits and our desire for sexual appeal—but goes about it in such a fun way that you can't help but laugh. There are five levels, and you'll need to get around by looking for holes or teleports—they're easy to find—and you should click on absolutely everything, because many objects will animate you or hand you very silly things to wear. (And many of the animated stands give you things when you're finished, too.)

It's a bit hopeless trying to take photos of Celebrity Blow Your Tits Off because it's so interactive, so I'm afraid these images don't begin to capture the essence of the place. (And yes, you can see me in the middle of the pinball machine above—just click to zoom in.) Be sure your volume is turned up, as the sound effects are great. And when you're all done, the exit takes you yet another interactive installation by Maya, Crash Bang Trollop, which is not to be missed.

The Inevitability of Fate

Many Second Life artists have created amazing spaces—places of wonderment that aren't possible in the real world and that could only be conceived in a virtual environment. But few have created artwork as personal and poignant as that of Rose Borchovski, whose recent installation at Two Fish, The Inevitability of Fate, invites us to confront the perils of children and families affected by war.

On the surface, The Inevitability of Fate tells the story of Angry Beth and Lot—a grandmother and her eight year old granddaughter—whose vulnerable lives are shattered by forces beyond their control. Although the artwork invokes a specific time—the sim is wrapped with the names of Dutch children who died in World War II (and about whom you can learn by entering their names at the Joods Monument, a digital monument to the Jewish community in the Netherlands)—there are, as Rose says, many Beths and Lots in other wars, including those ongoing now.

If that all sounds so awfully heavy that you might be disinclined the visit the sim, please don't be. It's a brilliant work that's also filled with touches of humor and playfulness—although these in many ways add to the poignancy of the experience. We do realize that in many cases the lighthearted play is a reflection of an unfulfilled childhood, memories of times gone by that cannot be recaptured, but one cannot help but smile once in a while at the delightful and unexpected results. Click on the yellow tears throughout the sim—they're poseballs—and look out for local teleports as well. You'll pick up some fun little freebie things as you explore, too.

The Inevitability of Fate is a mostly-mesh build, gorgeously rendered, and is imbued with Rose's masterful sense of physical depth that treats the sim almost as a theatrical stage. (Click on these images to zoom in, and I'll post some to my flickr stream.) Kudos are due to Caer Balogh, the brilliant scripter whose work is seen everywhere in the sim. If you'd like to learn more about Rose and her work, I recommend a recent interview by Simba Schumann posted on the Arte Libera blog.

Lollito Larkham’s “Souvenirs de voyages de Marcel Chiffon”

Opening today at LEA6 is a substantial full-sim build by artist Lollito Larkham. Entitled Souvenirs de voyages de Marcel Chiffon (or Memories of Journeys of Marcel Chiffon), the mostly-mesh build really requires a computer that can run in ultra graphics mode with lighting and shadows, but it's well worth it. The artwork depicts “the memories of journey of Marcel Chiffon, found under forms of sketch in the pad left behind him after his disappearance (cf. Echapées Nocturnes de Marcel Chiffon)” as Lollito says—a series of non-narrative scenes spread throughout the sim.

Although at the landing point you'll find a teleport board that directs you some of the main points in the build, the concept is really to let visitors wander without a clear path. As Lollito (photographed against the build, below—click to zoom) says, he wanted “to blur a little the usual marks, by making [it] so that the visitor feels a little disorientated spatially: no drawn road, no guiding principle, an opened sim, where we can approach spaces and structures according to various angles.”