Split personalities. It's the pull and flux between our "player or human" and our avatar! I, the Player, laugh hysterically sometimes when I think about it! And what some psychologist will someday say! Atlantis says: My "player" has a Facebook page for me and a Twitter account and when she talks about Atlantis she talks about me in the third person giving me an Identity all my own!"
Since Second Life is a microscopic look into the huge world our "players" live in, I believe we can equate a year of being rezzed to about 20 human years. Things happen fast in Second Life so fast that you blink and you have missed it. Our Avies have great, big emotions, because our "players" live out their fantasies to some extent in Second Life, but even in this life we have to keep a cap on them just like in Real Life because Daddy Linden says we have too! Love, disappointment, failings, hate, successes, all become more intense and sometimes blown out of portion to the situation!
That leads us to the final question...Is what said in public chat as the same as in private? Doubtful! I have never tried to talk double what I say in open chat I say in private chat, hehehe! Oh, yeah that's true too! (My Player is laughing hysterically again!)
Who am I? Who are you? I don't know who you are, but I am a blue-skinned Sky Elf, born in the imagination of my real life "player" I have existed for many millennia, protecting humans against the Dark, "Things That Cannot Be Spoken Of", but have found a place in the popular myth and legends, that the humans are so fond of. Why did my "player" decide on a character that is not human?
My real life "player" is human and has always hoped to meet a being of another race, however, those races currently only reside in her imagination, now through me, she can live out of fantasy of being a seven foot, blue-skinned Sky Elf who has magical powers and has a life story that is fascinating!
The funniest thing of all is that my "player" thought everyone else would want to be an Other too, but found that most just want to live in an utopia that is their ideals of their heart!
The best thing about Second Life is that there are no rules, but the ones we impose on ourselves there are no levels to achieve except what drives you as a Real World person and again the question is asked: "Who is the virtual you?"
This fabulous, sim-wide exhibition is from October 1-31 and this Curator finds that it is a gem of an exhibition and loves the perspectives these artiste's have put into sculpture and on display for us all to enjoy and think about! I rate this as an absolute MUST see!
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Caerleon Museum on Identity - Part 1
This is a limited time showing on the subject of identity in virtual worlds as based on Georg Janick's dissertation on virtual art, which states: " There are six aesthetic-technological dimensions that collectively distinguish the art of virtual worlds from earlier forms of art. They are immersion, interaction, ambiguity of identity, environmental fluidity, artificial agency, and networked collaboration."
The 18 artiste's who collaborated on this project chose to reflect on the ambiguity, which is the fifth exhibit on Identity that has been built on this site.
The landing spot has a hallway with pictures of different Second Life avatars and opens into a open space with a stairwell leading to the ground level which displays occupations that can be found in Second Life such as: Teaching, musicians, singers, artiste's, shoppers, Master or Mistress/slave to name a few!
Flying up to view the avatars on the upper level that represent the different types of avatars that you can find in Second Life such as: devils, pharaohs, mermaids, angels and demons, humans, Star War characters, Romans, furries, earth goddesses, mini-avies, to name a few... no Sky Elves, though, but I won't take offense!
Ages range from young to the old in human years to the immortals all begging the question, "Who are you?" "Who am I?" The artiste's who worked on this project divided up the main theatre into several distinct sections with exits to different parts of the sim. There is a hot air balloon ride that you can take before taking time for intimate exploration. Additionally, you can orbit around the sim and take a magic pillow ride!
I started my exploration that the "I am only a mesh" and it's the celebration on what makes us 3-D and rezzed in Second life! Who are you? Male or female? Human? Other? What is your occupation?
Are you Somebody or Nobody? Now there is a good question! Let's reflect for a moment. In humans our DNA dictates what we are going to look like, but as an Avatar what predicts what our mesh looks like? Are we a mirror or a reflection?
We are now digital, rezzed, but who are we? Gracie Kendall's "My Life as an Avatar" exhibit brings forth the question by a quote from Kurt Vonnegut, "We are what we pretend to be so be careful of we pretend to be."
Transworld Identity. Now that is quite the mouthful! What does it mean? I think it means to provoke thought, do we bring into Second Life our own selves or a portrayal of who we wish we could be given a perfect situation or do we pretend to be better in Second Life then who we are in Real Life?
"Now you see me!" Do I? Maybe I do, but maybe I don't. There is more to this exhibit then meets the eye. Like an onion, it has layers, an obvious one, but then one that with patience another is revealed! Perhaps it's like our Identity in Second Life! Or are we as lonely in Second Life as we are in First Life?
FreeWee Ling takes a gander into this question, one, I asked before I saw her exhibit! Perhaps we are as happy or lonely in our real or second lives as we allow or give ourselves permission to be. Hamlet said, "To be or not to be!" and Yoda said, "Don't try, Do!" I think we forget it in both lives to a great extent!
FreeWee Ling says: "I found the idea of wearing a mask in SL to be a hilarious satire. A curious redundancy, since our avatars themselves might be thought of as a kind of mask. Our freedom to express ourselves in this world comes in part from our ability to be anonymous, yet public by wearing an artificial persona. Curiously, very few artists in the show seemed to have grasped the brilliance of the idea."
The Identification Office brings to mind who polices us? We all know it's Linden Labs, but how to identify those who are wrong or right we all know it's the whim of the Terms of Service, but how much do we police ourselves? After all the original idea is that Second Life has no rules, but our own! Do we leave a virtual fingerprint?
The liquidity of our Avatar selves depends totally on who our "player" is, is it an extension of our imagination? Or are we as vague and ambiguous in our Second Life as we are in our First? Or are we the same in here as we are out "there?"
This gem of a show will be on exhibit until October 31st, never to be seen again! This is a must see! Join me for the final conversation on Identity in Part 2 of this interesting topic of Virtual Identity!
The 18 artiste's who collaborated on this project chose to reflect on the ambiguity, which is the fifth exhibit on Identity that has been built on this site.
The landing spot has a hallway with pictures of different Second Life avatars and opens into a open space with a stairwell leading to the ground level which displays occupations that can be found in Second Life such as: Teaching, musicians, singers, artiste's, shoppers, Master or Mistress/slave to name a few!
Flying up to view the avatars on the upper level that represent the different types of avatars that you can find in Second Life such as: devils, pharaohs, mermaids, angels and demons, humans, Star War characters, Romans, furries, earth goddesses, mini-avies, to name a few... no Sky Elves, though, but I won't take offense!
Ages range from young to the old in human years to the immortals all begging the question, "Who are you?" "Who am I?" The artiste's who worked on this project divided up the main theatre into several distinct sections with exits to different parts of the sim. There is a hot air balloon ride that you can take before taking time for intimate exploration. Additionally, you can orbit around the sim and take a magic pillow ride!
I started my exploration that the "I am only a mesh" and it's the celebration on what makes us 3-D and rezzed in Second life! Who are you? Male or female? Human? Other? What is your occupation?
Are you Somebody or Nobody? Now there is a good question! Let's reflect for a moment. In humans our DNA dictates what we are going to look like, but as an Avatar what predicts what our mesh looks like? Are we a mirror or a reflection?
We are now digital, rezzed, but who are we? Gracie Kendall's "My Life as an Avatar" exhibit brings forth the question by a quote from Kurt Vonnegut, "We are what we pretend to be so be careful of we pretend to be."
Transworld Identity. Now that is quite the mouthful! What does it mean? I think it means to provoke thought, do we bring into Second Life our own selves or a portrayal of who we wish we could be given a perfect situation or do we pretend to be better in Second Life then who we are in Real Life?
"Now you see me!" Do I? Maybe I do, but maybe I don't. There is more to this exhibit then meets the eye. Like an onion, it has layers, an obvious one, but then one that with patience another is revealed! Perhaps it's like our Identity in Second Life! Or are we as lonely in Second Life as we are in First Life?
FreeWee Ling takes a gander into this question, one, I asked before I saw her exhibit! Perhaps we are as happy or lonely in our real or second lives as we allow or give ourselves permission to be. Hamlet said, "To be or not to be!" and Yoda said, "Don't try, Do!" I think we forget it in both lives to a great extent!
FreeWee Ling says: "I found the idea of wearing a mask in SL to be a hilarious satire. A curious redundancy, since our avatars themselves might be thought of as a kind of mask. Our freedom to express ourselves in this world comes in part from our ability to be anonymous, yet public by wearing an artificial persona. Curiously, very few artists in the show seemed to have grasped the brilliance of the idea."
The Identification Office brings to mind who polices us? We all know it's Linden Labs, but how to identify those who are wrong or right we all know it's the whim of the Terms of Service, but how much do we police ourselves? After all the original idea is that Second Life has no rules, but our own! Do we leave a virtual fingerprint?
The liquidity of our Avatar selves depends totally on who our "player" is, is it an extension of our imagination? Or are we as vague and ambiguous in our Second Life as we are in our First? Or are we the same in here as we are out "there?"
This gem of a show will be on exhibit until October 31st, never to be seen again! This is a must see! Join me for the final conversation on Identity in Part 2 of this interesting topic of Virtual Identity!
Dresden Gallery
Dresden Gallery is modeled after the Real Life Gemaldegalerie Alte Meister of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Dresden, Germany, translated into English means: "Dresden State Art Collection of Dresden, Germany, owned by the State of Saxony" opened in 1855 and is one of the world's famous museums!
In Second Life the Dresden Gallery resides in Dresden and has 750 pictures of the Real Life Masters making this the biggest collection of Real Life masterpieces on display in Second Life. Displaying artwork of John Paul Rubens, Raphael, Giorgione, and Vermeer to name a few!
The museum features an Acoustiguide Tour for free, don on your headphones and touch the audio symbol and listen to the information about the artwork you are viewing. This is a new feature added since I last visited the museum! If you don't wish to use the audio guide, then click on the pictures and you will get a notecard telling you who painted it, when they painted it and the Gallery ownership number.
This is a must see for all Second Lifer's who enjoy art! The Dresden Gallery has lasted for all the years I have been in Second Life and I hope it continues with its success!
In Second Life the Dresden Gallery resides in Dresden and has 750 pictures of the Real Life Masters making this the biggest collection of Real Life masterpieces on display in Second Life. Displaying artwork of John Paul Rubens, Raphael, Giorgione, and Vermeer to name a few!
The museum features an Acoustiguide Tour for free, don on your headphones and touch the audio symbol and listen to the information about the artwork you are viewing. This is a new feature added since I last visited the museum! If you don't wish to use the audio guide, then click on the pictures and you will get a notecard telling you who painted it, when they painted it and the Gallery ownership number.
This is a must see for all Second Lifer's who enjoy art! The Dresden Gallery has lasted for all the years I have been in Second Life and I hope it continues with its success!
Morphing Sculpture
The Morphing Sculpture by Sasun Steinbeck is one of the most amazing pieces of Second Life artwork. It has fired my imagination since the first time I saw it morphing in a gallery over two years ago.
Ms. Steinbeck is a well-known scripter in Second Life and has been involved in SL since the September 2005. She entered Second Life wanting to create something that was truly unique to Second Life. This project took 2 years to complete, however the results are amazing, stunning, and beautiful.
My first view of this was the Summer of 2007. My neighbor on the first private estate my wife bought had one in her front yard. The sculpture was twirling on the lawn and it teased me into touching it! I was playing with it and our neighbor came out of the house. My wife and I apologized for playing with it, but our new neighbor said, no worries, it's why we bought it--it's a great icebreaker with our neighbors!
What is a Morphing Sculpture? Sasun Steinbeck says: "I wanted something very beautiful to look at, as well as fun for owners to play with. SecondLife gives us all amazing control over the shapes of the prims that we work with - but I wanted to make something that would create beautiful, complex, and unexpected shapes completely on it's own, as if it were a living thing, morphing into completely different shapes with every touch."
This is a 3-D medium that changes shapes, colors, and induces peace and tranquility when used with soft music. It can be adjusted to be as big or small as you wish it to be depending on how you want to use it.
When trying to photograph this wonderful piece of art, I had to find a setting and color that would allow for the delicacy as well as the robustness of this sculpture to come through. Imagine that each of these designs spins, changes colors, and then morphs into the next shape. These five shapes are only a few of the many varied shapes and colors this sculpture can be.
Additionally, the sculpture has a particle element, can glow, and change the asymmetrical angle in which it morphs. The owner can also change the spin speed to fast or slow it down, change the texture, and change the music selection.
This wonderful sculpture is one prim and sells for L$4000. In this Curator's opinion, I should have bought it when it was L$2500!
Ms. Steinbeck is a well-known scripter in Second Life and has been involved in SL since the September 2005. She entered Second Life wanting to create something that was truly unique to Second Life. This project took 2 years to complete, however the results are amazing, stunning, and beautiful.
My first view of this was the Summer of 2007. My neighbor on the first private estate my wife bought had one in her front yard. The sculpture was twirling on the lawn and it teased me into touching it! I was playing with it and our neighbor came out of the house. My wife and I apologized for playing with it, but our new neighbor said, no worries, it's why we bought it--it's a great icebreaker with our neighbors!
What is a Morphing Sculpture? Sasun Steinbeck says: "I wanted something very beautiful to look at, as well as fun for owners to play with. SecondLife gives us all amazing control over the shapes of the prims that we work with - but I wanted to make something that would create beautiful, complex, and unexpected shapes completely on it's own, as if it were a living thing, morphing into completely different shapes with every touch."
This is a 3-D medium that changes shapes, colors, and induces peace and tranquility when used with soft music. It can be adjusted to be as big or small as you wish it to be depending on how you want to use it.
When trying to photograph this wonderful piece of art, I had to find a setting and color that would allow for the delicacy as well as the robustness of this sculpture to come through. Imagine that each of these designs spins, changes colors, and then morphs into the next shape. These five shapes are only a few of the many varied shapes and colors this sculpture can be.
Additionally, the sculpture has a particle element, can glow, and change the asymmetrical angle in which it morphs. The owner can also change the spin speed to fast or slow it down, change the texture, and change the music selection.
This wonderful sculpture is one prim and sells for L$4000. In this Curator's opinion, I should have bought it when it was L$2500!
Blog in Transition
Maintaining a fully functioning sim is hard work, but when it brings in no money it gets expensive. In September 2008, I had to shut down my sim and withdraw from Second Life.
I am venturing back in-world now. I still have a passion for Second Life art and so I am transitioning my blog from featuring on my own museum and art gallery to featuring other peoples art galleries and the artwork displayed therein.
The plan for this blog is to review artwork on display introducing newbies to old artiste's as well as new artiste's.
With this journey in mind, I have changed my blog and updated the style, taking out pictures and links to give it a new look. I will be blogging at least one article a day, which means that some lucky person in Second Life will be featured here!
I will also featuring other blogs related to the art world in Second Life. All comments will be moderated by me and promptly posted!
This will be a fun journey, I hope you will travel it with me.
Atlantis Jewell
Former Curator of Elven Enchantment Museum and Art Gallery
I am venturing back in-world now. I still have a passion for Second Life art and so I am transitioning my blog from featuring on my own museum and art gallery to featuring other peoples art galleries and the artwork displayed therein.
The plan for this blog is to review artwork on display introducing newbies to old artiste's as well as new artiste's.
With this journey in mind, I have changed my blog and updated the style, taking out pictures and links to give it a new look. I will be blogging at least one article a day, which means that some lucky person in Second Life will be featured here!
I will also featuring other blogs related to the art world in Second Life. All comments will be moderated by me and promptly posted!
This will be a fun journey, I hope you will travel it with me.
Atlantis Jewell
Former Curator of Elven Enchantment Museum and Art Gallery
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Landscaping at Elven Enchantment
Some of you have written to me asking where you can buy some of the items found at the museum. I would say that the items you find including the textures, unicorns, dragons, water, rocks, trees, shrubs, bridges, and animals are all creations of Julia Hathor's imagination! She is the most talented of SL developers for anything you can imagine, winter, summer, beach, underwater, above water, jungles.
She is a wonderful lady. Her sims are named, Creative Fantasy. I have provided a link to a SL website that will provide you with a description of her sims, what are on them and an SLurl!
Please note: She is a very busy woman and if you IM her please make sure it is related to something you purchased or you are looking for a specific item that is transferable, but not copable she will sell things copyable if you want it but not transferable and it is not copyable on the sim ask her to make it so.
The benches at Elven Enchantment are hers, but I asked her to take off the pigeons. She did and I have beautiful granite garden benches less the pigeons!
Creative Fantasy is my number one pick for SL Landscaping, Cheers Julia!
Atlantis Jewell,
Curator of Elven Enchantment Museum and Art Gallery
She is a wonderful lady. Her sims are named, Creative Fantasy. I have provided a link to a SL website that will provide you with a description of her sims, what are on them and an SLurl!
Please note: She is a very busy woman and if you IM her please make sure it is related to something you purchased or you are looking for a specific item that is transferable, but not copable she will sell things copyable if you want it but not transferable and it is not copyable on the sim ask her to make it so.
The benches at Elven Enchantment are hers, but I asked her to take off the pigeons. She did and I have beautiful granite garden benches less the pigeons!
Creative Fantasy is my number one pick for SL Landscaping, Cheers Julia!
Atlantis Jewell,
Curator of Elven Enchantment Museum and Art Gallery
Sunday, November 23, 2008
NEW Home and Look for Museum
Elven Enchantment Museum and Art Gallery has been in the process of moving for sometime, however, the Museum is finally sorted out and the new building and landscaping is residing at her new home.The Museum truly lives up to its name now, Elven Enchantment. The building and grounds are imbued with magic of the owner and its resident magical creatures, dragons, unicorns, leopards, pixies, fireflies, and rainbow.
There is a magical pavilion where foxes, squirrels, and peacocks play! The trees are also mystical some Elven in origin and some simply magical! Once again, the landscaping would be impossible without the magical, deft creations of Julia Hathor.
Prominently featured on the grounds and air around the museum is the magical dragons. There are baby dragons, some flying, others drinking tea, and still others playing in the water fountains, they are all kept an eye on by their Mother.
The landscaping kept to its original theme, which honors the Elven Imperial Symbol of Atlantis's race: Water, Air, Wind, Fire, and the Elementals.
The Museum is now a brick building and it only has two floor, but we now have teleporters! No more stairs!
The Museum reopened on October 30, 2008, the building is dedicated to Patron Papo Lungu, who built the building and donated it to the Museum.
Currently on display on the first level of the Museum is artwork from the creators of "Dark Delights." These are 100 percent adult pictures of humans, subs, centaurs, pixies, elves, and much more. Please use discretion when viewing this layout.
The second floor is dedicated to the real life Masters and the Art Gallery are in the four corners. The Museum will be continuing to promote Second Life artistes (As soon as the Curator's Real Life settles a bit more!)
There will be short temporary walls on the second floor of the Museum when we have art shows. It is my hope to have another art show in the new year, begin 2009 in a wonderful way.
Elven Enchantment sits on the Isle of Atlantis, floating above the sim in a world of its own. If you visit the House of Lords their teleporter's are connected to the Museum and you can teleport to the Museum.
The second floor is dedicated to the real life Masters and the Art Gallery are in the four corners. The Museum will be continuing to promote Second Life artistes (As soon as the Curator's Real Life settles a bit more!)
There will be short temporary walls on the second floor of the Museum when we have art shows. It is my hope to have another art show in the new year, begin 2009 in a wonderful way.
Elven Enchantment sits on the Isle of Atlantis, floating above the sim in a world of its own. If you visit the House of Lords their teleporter's are connected to the Museum and you can teleport to the Museum.
The grounds are a great place for you to bring your friends, if you want to impress your partner, with a romantic evening! The sim is set to eternal night, so the romance of the gardens of the Museum are always there.
Elven Enchantment is truly an enchanted place to come and visit whether you love artwork or the artwork that is Second Life!
Come and enjoy, visit with the Curator, or stoll around with your loved one(s).
Elven Enchantment is truly an enchanted place to come and visit whether you love artwork or the artwork that is Second Life!
Come and enjoy, visit with the Curator, or stoll around with your loved one(s).
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