Update 7/6/17: I was contacted by a Linden and told they’re looking into this.
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This post makes me sad. I don’t want to type it. I’ve been trying to avoid it by settling the matter privately or seeking help from Linden Lab on the downlow. But after several tries to get the office’s attention about what’s going on, I think the only real solution is to make this issue public. They simply aren’t responding because what I have to report doesn’t fit exactly into their usual categories.
Everyone knows I’m about art. It’s what I do for a living irl and I’m very happy with it. After a great bout of years in the art field, I got involved with Linden Endowment for the Arts thinking that would be great experience for joining a real, larger panel for an established museum. Unfortunately, that’s not what I found here.
You have to get the new dance pole from Dutchie if you love dancing in SL! I threw so many parties with the Sine Wave dances that this brings back a lot of memories. I remembered that Melanie and I were always dancing when we were noobs; I just know she would be thrilled to with this updated dance pole. I was never a stripper dancer in SL, but I craved animations cos our avatars were so awkward and stiff.
I saw a video that Dutchie posted on her Flickr, and felt inspired to do my own. I haven’t made a video in a long time, so my editing is sloppy but it was a super fun project! I hope you guys like it!
Filmed at my home, if you want to see a “house tour” let me know in the comments!
Listen–we need to talk. You aren’t going to be happy about what I’ve got to say. You probably have your defense ready and that’s great, I’m happy to have this discourse with you, but I would like for you to consider what I’m about to say first.
Yes, I love participating in LEA programs. I can’t praise the idea of allocating sims to artistic endeavors enough. But there’s something going on that I’ve noticed and needs to be addressed. Are you ready? Let’s do this.
There’s way too much self-importance and too little forward thinking in the SL art world. It isn’t groundbreaking enough, and focuses too little on the very culture that makes up this game. It doesn’t warrant the attention it gives itself, and is over-saturated with elements that ignore what the outside art world even celebrates about us.
Second Life is a place of unlimited potential. For a community of creators to miss the train on this again and again is a damn shame. This is a virtual world, where anything is possible, and yet most of the art produced and put on gallery walls are little more than selfies and headshots.
Yes–selfies are a valid point of work. Some artists’ entire careers cover evolving selfies. But this is something our art world is positively bloated with. When you have an art gallery full of headshots from various artists and this is the best you can present to anyone, you know your industry is in trouble.
Exhibit A: Second Life has missed its own honorary party in the mainstream art and fashion world. When’s the last time anybody pursued some still life shots like this? Or this? That’s a serious callback to SL and our snap-to grids. When’s the last time you saw a virtual body of work like that? This is the kind of aesthetic we’ve seen with vaporwave, with past fashion collections, and nary a fuss was made on the grid about this at all. How? And why? When did we become so blind to what the rest of the world was doing that’s clearly inspired by us?
Exhibit B: Most of what is considered fine art and put on a wall is not fine art. Blogging pictures are great and can still be art, but that’s like visiting a gallery, expecting to see fine art, and seeing a bunch of Annie Leibovitz shots and no paintings. That’s what we have. A lot of Annie Leibovitz and Vogue editorials. Where’s the work commenting on the culture of the game, the administration, making fun of ourselves and talking about how we relate to one another? We can’t call ourselves a proper society until we have art like that.
Exhibit C: The best machinima artists are designers who have never had major participation with a LEA sim, much less the SL art world in general. We need to be trading more notes with each other, and this is one aspect I’m focusing on for the next six weeks to even learn more of myself. Machinima has got to improve, but there are definitely people willing to try that out.
Exhibit D: What’s with the drama? What’s with this? Are you serious? You guys act like thousands of people are going to your shows, because that’s the kind of egos I’m seeing pop up a lot. Tone it down, have a seat, and chill out. Let’s get somewhere better with our overall scene first, and then we can talk about how much bravado we should be sporting.
No, I’m not saying every artist is guilty of these things. But I am saying it’s the majority and it should start to change. Stop and ask yourself–what is this art I’m creating, and why? And then ask how we can push a bit harder to create something more thought-provoking.
It’s October the 1st, and that means Havenhollow is open! This year, the event is being sponsored by the Linden Endowment for the Arts, a program that allows residents to apply for land grants and put on exhibits for other users to enjoy. If you want to apply for a sim, visit this website to learn more.
So far, some friends and I have run around Havenhollow and explored most of the places… but there’s a problem. We can’t find the ending! We’ve searched all over for hints and clues, but after looking through the haunted areas and trick-or-treated at all of the houses, we’re a bit stumped.
Have you visited Havenhollow yet? Do you know where the “ending” area is? Perhaps there isn’t one this year? Or maybe it’s a timed event and will be set up later? Leave a comment about what you think!
Speaking of the LEA arts program, if you want a smaller space to exhibit your work, there’s currently land available at the Art Farm Co-op sim in their Pop-up Gallery section. Read the rules here before you set up, so your stuff won’t get returned! All galleries are cleared after two weeks, but it allows for artists to show off their work and possibly be motivated to create more. Currently there are lots of spots available, so go grab one!
There’s also a cafe/city section (photo above) where users can make machinima, put on plays, and take photos to their hearts content. You can rez props in the cafe or the city itself to create as you need to. The cafe is also a great place to meet other artists and collaborate.
I’m very happy to see Havenhollow making use of the LEA program, and I hope they continue to earn land grants from them in the future. There’s a lot of joy and care in their work and to me, that’s what we need more of in the grid.
Do you create art in Second Life? Have you applied for/earned a LEA sim before? Do you know of other haunted places we should check out? Leave a comment! Thanks!
FATEplay released the Rena (Sailor Fuku) outfit in 8 colors, but I had to pick just one, so I went with the Green and Pink combination. This outfit includes the shoes and a magic wand!! To be honest, I just bought the outfit cos I wanted the wand, but you get everything for $500L, which is a pretty good deal.
I looove the animation included in the wand, and the particle hearts. The Sailor outfit is cute, but I wished it came with a few more options, such as a HUD to change the color of the bows, and change bow types. I may be really spoiled by all the options from the My School Look by Monso, whose school outfit is still my favorite in SL.
Instead of taking pictures today, I decided to make a video to show you guys the animation. The video quality is slightly lower than my pics, cos my video capture software isn’t that high-res, and I use Windows Movie Maker to edit (LOL).
I had so much fun playing with these dreamy Dream Bubbles from Puppy! This pack includes a set of mesh bubbles in various sizes and is scripted to animate on touch. Who doesn’t like watching bubbles float around?
This video was supposed to show off the bubbles, but it ended up being another random video of me standing around in Second Life. Hope you guys like it! It’s not my best editing, but I really liked the colors.
What I’m Wearing:
Pink Fuel – Sora (Peach)
Truth – Caprice (Swedish)
artilleri – orchid hair flower (White)
Teefy – Skyla Ruffle Sleeve Tank (Pink S)
Teefy – Lovisa Ruffle Mini Skirt (Pink S)
G-Field – Wedge Pumps “Adele”
Evie’s Closet – Ariel Wings (part of outfit)
SLink – Mesh Hands (av)
Earlier this year, I blogged about the Animazoo Quadro Dance HUD, and had so much fun playing with all the dance moves! The Quadro Dance HUD has been upgrade with new skins, new features, and minor bug fixes. My friend Melanie did a really great and informative blog post, and an amazing machinima for the HUD. You can read all about it over at her blog, XOXO Mela.
Dance, dance, dance! The new Quadro Dance HUDs from Animazoo is packed with original dance animations and so many features to make dancing in Second Life fun and easy!
I have been playing around with both of the HUDs — the Quadro Ladies Dancefloor Edition, and the Quadro Stage Performer Edition. Each HUD is packed with 35 of Animazoo’s bestselling dance animations in various dance styles perfect for hanging out at the club or performing on stage!
For the videos below, I recorded more than 40 minutes of footage cos the HUD is packed with so many dances, but I edited them into two short videos. The video probably shows only 10% of the dances that are available in these HUDs, so definitely visit Animazoo and try it out for yourself!
The Lite version of the Dance HUD (has basic features only) is also available at the store for free, and you can put your own dance animations into it.
Do you love to dance? What’s your favorite shop for dance animations? Leave me a comment cos I’m looking for new ones to create new dance sequences for my HUD!