I think I just realized why so many artists don’t title their work. It’s damn hard!!
I am working on my newest project, a full sim installation and I had a title, Ce n’est pas une peinture. The environment I am creating was originally inspired by my paintings. I wanted to deconstruct them in Second Life. (Hence the title inspired by Magritte.) I wanted to show the 3 dimensionality of them. I have heard that is what people want. Some ‘critics’ in Second Life (ok if there really are any critics) have a beef with 2D art. They don’t believe people should upload photos of their Physical art to show in Second Life. They believe that people should use Second Life as its own platform.
While I don’t agree with this reason of thinking, I did decide to play with the concept. I have created sculptures in Second Life before. I had fun with it and was most definitely inspired by my RL work. Specifically my paintings and mixed media pieces. I have one sculpture I called Making Connections which is inspired by the relationships I have had within Second Life. I dusted that off and re-appropriated it many many times in some ‘sketches’ I was playing with.
So I started working on my sim. I actually had some fun getting my hands ‘dirty’ so to speak. It has been a while since I have worked with object based art. I needed this. I decided to use my sim as a sketchbook. Playing with different ideas, rezzing objects, connecting elements and then deleting them. That was the best part. One night I had a couple friends over and we made 14,898 prims physical and watched them topple on top of us. That was art in itself. I only wish I could have filmed it.
Right now I am almost in a trance like work state. I have had 5 days off work and have hardly done anything but work work work. I know they say that is the best thing for artists, just work but, my back hurts and I woke up this morning with a sore throat and what I think is pink eye. Plus I haven’t eaten much more than ice cream for the last 5 days. I need a shower too. (Ok it isn’t that bad… I HAD to go out a couple times for supplies …LOL) Can I justify this as the artistic process? Is this my madness coming out? I sure hope so!! LOL
Here are some images of my yet untitled work in progress… (btw… it is supposed to be about learning to relax… yep, mostly for myself I think)
Agnes Sharple
Botgirl Questi
Bumblebee (Wendz Tempest)
Canary Beck
Carissa Arthurine Somerset
Eva Marie
Fuschia Nightfire
George Coghill
Ironyca Lee
Jeremy Owen Turner
Joseph DeLappe
Kathleen Cool
Katie Vizenor
Krista Hoefle
Kristine Schomaker
Lizzie Gudkov
Aero Bigboots
RMarie Beedit
Marmaduke Arado
Isabella Medici
Nadya Tolokonnikova
Nathan Shafer
Pixel Reanimator
Ravanel Griffon
Scarlett Luv
Strawberry Singh
Tabitha Raincloud
Toni Tyldesley
Trilby Minotaur
Vanessa Blaylock
Xue Faith
Yordie Sands
Well… I guess I am one of those ‘critics’ if you want to call us that – people who are interested in and write about virtual art – and I do happen to have an issue with rezzed RL works, as I have written about. It isn’t that it is WRONG – I enjoy seeing people’s art work that I wouldn’t normally have access too. But 1) I don’t think it does much justice to the original, a bit like teaching art history with powerpoint (which I know you are familiar with; and 2) I don’t find it as exciting as the work of people who are exploiting the virtual medium.
I really loved your ‘Conversation with my Avatar’ project because it did that… it really explored your own sense of identity and empowerment through Gracie. Honestly? As much as they translate well in the virtual, I’d much rather see your paintings ‘in the flesh’ as I imagine them to be incredibly vibrant… or, I am excited to see them come to life in a dimensional way in the virtual world. Not just as textures on prims, but as dripping, moving, shifting things. That would be amazing!!
I’m so happy you have this LEA sim, because I am excited to see how it will push you. I am a fan of 2D work in SL, particularly in the form of virtual photography – so it isn’t that aspect that I take issue with (generally speaking). But what direction will you go now that you’ve got all this possibility. What will you try?
Some of these sketches look very cool, btw… and standing underneath the mass the other day was quite the experience!
Thanks for your comment Rowan. I do agree, as I used to tell my students, that you have to see artwork in person to truly experience it, but as a 2D artist in SL I also see the other side. I have been able to “Go big” with my art like I can’t in RL (mostly because of no room and no car big enough..LOL) I can show my work to people who may never see it any other way. And like Filthy, I have sold the physical works to people who have seen them in SL. Just like the Dresden museum did, even though it isn’t the same, at least you can get some experience of seeing the work. And there are people who are even more immersed than I am in Second Life who go to galleries and museums and see it as ‘real.’ I am grateful that I can show my work in SL and have people in Japan and Canada and Scotland see it. Why not use the virtual world for ALL it has to offer in this case.
I am totally into using SL to expand my ideas in other forms too. As you mentioned the “conversations” and performance art work as well as the new installation I am creating. I also plan on expanding that into RL somehow too.
We’ll see…LOL
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