This will happen March 25 at 5:30PM PT. To get on the list, jut send an IM to Larry Pixel- the first 35 to so will get seats. They will go quickly, so sign up and show your support for the ZeroG troupe as they show us their appreciation.

Housed on Otis Island (128, 128, 0), each project challenged its creators to develop an idea, establish a production line, and translate the idea into (virtual) reality in a short period of time and with a limited budget. The students had 3 hours of in-class time and 10 hours of in-world time to complete the environments they designed. None had any prior experience in Second Life.

Each of the three classes was alotted 3100 prims for their project. The themes chosen were “Pirates and Atlantis,” “Heaven and Hell,” and “Lost World and Mythology.” Each detailed environment is a visual feast, including elements like swimming fish, molten lava flows, and soothing fountains.

According to Wright, the students found that working in the 3D environment was challenging and stimulating, if occasionally frustrating. Students cited the team-building aspect of working together on a project like this as one of the high points of the experience. Problems they encountered were related mostly to hardware and bandwidth issues.

If you missed the Buzz and would like to see the projects, visit Otis Island (128, 128, 0) to take a look around. Hurry, though: the space will be entirely cleared in about a week, and the objects returned to their owners, to make room for the next group of new worlds.

For more information, see the report of Michael Wright’s Virtual World Project in Second Life.

Plain Text Transcript | Rich Text Transcript | Photos

The museum is named after Kirsti Aho, an emeritus board member of the New Media Consortium who has dedicated her life to supporting new media and creative expression. The museum’s curator and guiding force is Tayzia Abattoir, a long-standing and much admired patron of the arts in Second Life.

Anyone is welcome to visit the Aho Museum on NCM Campus at NMC Campus (115, 88, 25). You will need to jon the “NMC Guests” group to visit this sim.

Our Collections

The Permanent Collection, housed within and around the Aho Museum, strives to provide an encyclopedic showcase of virtual art forms and includes sculptures of all kinds, interactives, prim-based recreations of real life art, computer-mediated drawings and paintings, scripted and computer-generated art, virtual photography, and machinima. Inclusion in the permanent collection is by invitation only, and generally only a single piece from an artist will be solicited, although exceptions are made for artists working in multiple forms.

Lobby of the Aho

While much of the art on display at the Aho is bequeathed to the museum by its curator or the artists, a modest endowment also supports the purchase of truly extraordinary pieces. Inclusion in the permanent collection is generally limited to one-of-a-kind works, but exceptions are made from time to time.

The Rotating Collection, housed on the island of Ars Simulacra, is dedicated to showcasing all the forms of art possible in Second Life, including art brought into Second Life such as paintings or real-world photographs. Several times per year comprehensive exhibits of the works of noteworthy artists creating in Second Life are held, as well as art events and artist forums. Ars Simulacra is also the home of the ZeroG Skydancers who perform in a special space created for them by Dancoyote Antonelli that floats 600 meters above the island.

Our Support of the Arts

The Aho Museum is owned by the New Media Consortium (NMC), a real world not-for-profit consortium of leading universities and museums. From its earliest beginnings in Second Life, the NMC and the Aho have been committed to supporting the arts and artists in Second Life, and do so through purchases of art, through art-focused events and programs, through alliances with leading artists and arts organizations in Second Life, and through direct support. The museum provides fellowships to promising artists who need studio space or other forms of assistance.

Our Building

The museum’s current structure, designed and created by architect CJ Holden in the summer of 2007, is the second home of the Aho Museum, and was built on the same spot within the NMC Campus as the museum’s first home.

Kirsti Aho Art Museum on NMC Campus, designed by CJ Carnot

The museum’s first building, an iconic structure that is now archived, was inspired by Mayan pyramids and the Art Dec movement. Designed and built by Forseti Svarog as part of the original NMC Campus, that iconic structure was home to the museum for nearly two years.

Like the original Aho, the museum’s new building features a one-of-a-kind design intended to provide a fitting setting for the artworks which fill and surround it. The galleries in the museum are supremely flexible, and provide a variety of ways in which to display, light, and experience the art of Second Life. The building itself is an interactive piece of art, and over time, the exterior walls slowly change in response to their environment.

Artists in the Permanent Collection

• Nomasha Syaka - Icarus on Ice
• Sunn Thunders - Kokopellis Sculpture
• Ravenelle Zugzwang - Three Metal Horses
• Ravenelle Zugzwang - Lily
• Rezago Kokorin - Ice Age
• DeltaDharmaDawn Aubret - 3da- Farewell Angelina
• LeVey Palou - LHD_GEISHA
• Cubist Scarborough - Hologram of Clive Egginton
• Morris Vig - Multicolor Twist
• Cheen Pitney - Bullrider
• Charlot Dickins - A Boxer Feeling Blue
• Lash Xevious - Severed Connection
• Art Laxness - Squirl black
• Seifert Surface - Moving Hyperboloid
• Mika Korhonen - Hearts
• Solkide Auer - Radiazioni
• Random Calliope - Guardian - Ode in Crimson and Golden
• Damanios Thetan - Primetic II
• Stormy Roentgen - Solitude
• Xenophile Neurocam - XN Self.DeconSphere
• Sasun Steinbeck - Morphing Sculpture
• Nand Nerd - ss-dode
• Shellina Winkler - PURPLE KNOT
• mikeG1 Schuman - Kinetic Sculpture #4
• Elros Tuominen - night flower
• Meleni Fairymeadow - Buddha at Ease
• Damanios Thetan - Primetic
• Sunn Thunders - Schweifen Sculpture
• Vlad Bjornson - Plant Deco
• AM Radio - Marat_AM Radio
• Squirrel Zuhal - “Lilies”
• RacerX Gullwing - Snails On Holiday V2
• Stella Costello - Reflection
• Light Waves - Ballerina
• Meleni Fairymeadow - Grace in Prayer
• Elros Tuominen - fractal flower
• Daruma Picnic - 19 Prim Click Color Art
• Red Randt - Maura, who licked her knee and shamed Zeus
• Forseti Svarog - Primming Diebenkorn
• Stella Costello - The Scream
• Ub Yifu - Don Quichotte
• Nomasha Syaka - Michelangelo’s David
• Stella Costello - The Ship: Moded
• Ub Yifu - Sancho Panza
• Red Levitt - Victoria 13
• Red Randt - Sip Lemonade
• Rob Escape - Mermaid Statue on Rocks
• Rob Escape - Bosk Standing Tall
• Pumpkin Tripsa - Diana the Huntress
• Nomasha Syaka - Sculptie Horse
• Light Waves - Sculpted Skull
• Qarl Linden - fruit plate
• Seifert Surface - Torus Knot
• Random Calliope - One Prim Double Knot
• Morris Vig - Intertwined
• Vlad Bjornson - Sculpted Thoughts
• Fratine Petrova - Polarity
• Vlad Bjornson - Black Hole w/ Tube
• Stella Costello - Primolution
• Shellina Winkler - Crescent Moon
• Jenne Dibou - Automaton Workers
• Jenne Dibou - “The time is all he left.”
• Ravenelle Zugzwang - Women in Hats
• Meleni Fairymeadow - Red Shawl
• Meleni Fairymeadow - At the Window
• Seifert Surface - Moving Hyperboloid

Exhibition of Real Life Paintings by Second Life Artists

• Wolk Writer
• Michaelanglo Montague

On entering PARSEC (a giant seeming infiinite white dome), each of seven avatars dons a collection of gestures, each set is different. Apparently our use of voice chat generates musical tones and animates certain objects.

Certain balls begin to float in the air in response to our individual forces, and there is a mysterious combination of events that trigger a rather intense result:

Somehow, our group managed to trigger the sequence in a few minutes, but we could not figure exactly what actions made this happen.

And this is the “game”. We tried all kinds of approaches, scientific, process of elimination, total guessing, and in what passed as a fast hour, we felt we got close, but never nailed the sequence (even with googling parsec for clues).

We were told groups have spent hours in this space.

Its engaging because it is a mystery; the outcomes are not tied simply to action, and it depends on a group process. The use of voice chat as a stimulus to generating audio is a nice nod to the work of Robbie Dingo’s whisper box, but this is all together different.

There is a teleport to PARSEC but according to the signs, there has been a huge demand so they are hosting it now by arranged tours. Look for more images from the flickr photo group.

It is an amazing concept… and I still feel that gnawing frustration of not being able to figure out the solution!

This is a 3d immersion installation based on two paintings by Strawberry Holiday called “Certainty” and “Reality.” When combined, they’re called “On Their Journeys.”

Strawberry Holiday, speaking about “On Their Journeys” says:

The beginning represents reality in a lot of ways for me. It’s a symbolic woman just beginning to find her way. When you reach the end of a build, you find a confidant woman in her element: where I want to be.

Strawberry Holliday is a a RL artist and plus-size woman who is an advocate for size acceptance in Second Life. Her many endeavors in Second life include her plus-size store Peachy Accessories. Her art is featured in several places in Second Life, including The Second Louvre Museum as well as her own Winged Strawberry Gallery located on Da Boom (50, 213, 38).

A preschool teacher in Washington State in Real Life Strawberry loves to show children beauty and introduce them to intellectual thought via art. Her goal is that children will hopefully seek out beauty in all forms: peace, truth, love and art. Strawberry’s own distinct art often mixes a colorful child-like style with uncomfortable subjects. Her popular Second Life art installation “A Fishbowl View” is a 3D rendition of several of her RL art pieces, including the title piece.

You can find this exhibit now on NMC Campus 9. Strawberry provides suggestions for optimal viewing:

• Stay on the Path - Everything in this build is interactive. There are sounds, particles, lights, and textures that change and interact with your avatar. But they’re all based on your avatars location. If you’re not on the path, you’ll miss the interactive parts !
• Keep Flying! It’s OKAY to fall off! Every Journey has it’s setbacks! Just pick yourself up and keep going!
• Force sun to midnight under World>Force Sun> Midnight
• Enable Bumpmapping and Shiny in Edit > Preferences > Graphics Detail > Shaders > Enable Bumpmapping and Shiny
• Enable Local Lighting in Edit> Preferences>Graphics Detail>Lighting Detail>Nearby Local Lights

Second Spring is a completely live story performance– the SkyDancers perform in-flight choreography without the benefit of animations or gestures of any kind following cues given in real time on a private IM channel from DanCoyote. He “calls” the show to keep time with the score written and performed by ZeroOne Paz.

Working with DanCoyote, Technical Director ZenMondo Wormser has created a new dynamic stage set– the set pieces evolve, vanish and change position as the story plays out. Set pieces have been created by Second Life artists Jopsy Pendragon and Nand Nerd. The amazing “costumes” or “cascades” are all new designs by Production Designer Queue.

For a little bit more taste of the show, see the new trailer by Gary Hazlitt (aka Gary Hayes, Just Virtual Productions):

But even watching this, keep in mind even video fails to truly capture the in person experience. There are many ways to watch, move your camera from afar and watch the movement of all dancers, set your camera to follow a single dancer, sit back and enjoy a mouselook view. It is truly beyond words, perhaps beyond pictures. We tried for pictures– see our ZeroG Skydancer photos… (see also the set from Pathfinder Linden).

This performance will be available on an ongoing basis at NMC Campus every week for the first 90 days of 2008. For more info, and to get tickets, contact Producer/Director DC Spensley (415-668-6238, dc@spensley.com).

As DC says, “Expect the unexpected!”

Avatar DanCoyote Antonelli is accustomed to breaking new ground. Even in virtual worlds he is considered avant guarde. The real man controlling that avatar, DC Spensley, has been wowing virtual audiences since 2006 with art installations that would not be possible in real life, but perhaps the most coveted ticket in all of Second Life is one to a performance by his ZeroG SkyDancers. On January 6, 2008, the premiere of the highly anticipated, third, completely redesigned production of ZeroG SkyDancers will debut.

Second Life’s history making, critically acclaimed world performance group, the ZeroG SkyDancers is a new form of ensemble performance that uses the airspace of this virtual world, resulting in a cross between water ballet and aerial acrobatics, in ways that would not be possible in the physical world. Wearing spectacular, flowing costumes called cascades - that are many times larger than their avatars - the SkyDancers move through space, and become part of the stage themselves. Altering and evolving, their flight triggers audio samples, which provide a unique layer to the original musical score commissioned for the production.

The production, sponsored by the New Media Consortium (NMC), will introduce an all-new reactive-interactive stage set that is repeatedly and dramatically transformed over the hour long performance. The ZeroG SkyDancers III will formally debut at 9PM Pacific Standard Time, Sunday, January 6, 2008 in the virtual world of Second Life. Seating is limited, but the show will run every week during the first 90 days of 2008, to accommodate the most guests possible. Tickets will cost $10 US ($3000 Lindens) a piece. For ticket information, please contact Spensley directly at dc@spensley.com.

To access the ZeroG SkyDancers III performance, those with tickets will need to complete the NMC’s 5 minute registration process with Second Life . A basic account is absolutely free, includes unlimited access to Second Life’s tools, events and communities. Spensley recommends that audience members spend a minimum of 15 minutes learning the basic skills of the Second Life world prior to attending the performance.

“Familiarizing yourself with basic navigation of Second Life will add even more enjoyment to the show,” said Spensley.

Video of a ZeroG SkyDancers II performance is available at YouTube and has received more than 10 thousand hits. “It’s difficult to convey the dramatic and immersive effects of the Second Life virtual world in a 2-D web environment, however the video does convey the overall concept of the performance,” said Spensley.

About DanCoyote Antonelli

Hyperformalist artist first invited to exhibit in Second Life by Ars Virtua curator Rubaiyat Shatner. Continued residency in Second Life is supported in part by private collectors and the spontaneous patronage of modern day Medicis Giulio Perhaps, Kitty Tully and many other generous patrons of the arts in Real Life and Second Life.

About the New Media Consortium (NMC)

The NMC is an international consortium of more than 250 world-class universities, colleges, museums, research centers, and technology companies dedicated to using new technologies to inspire, energize, stimulate, and support learning and creative expression. Its home in SL, the NMC Campus, is the largest educational body in Second Life.

Contact for tickets or more information

DC Spensley
Producer/Director
415-668-6238
dc@spensley.com

While we have a good pile of tagged media and stories on the main NMC web site, we goofed and completely forgot to share a fabulous summary video, created by our own resident artist and videographer, Stello Costello:

Remember again that we have a lot of conference material capture for you at:
http://www.nmc.org/keyword/slcreativity

The posters are in one of the studios of the NMC Performing Arts Center (previously known as “Learning”), NMC Arts (143,97,25). Follow the signs to
exhibition.

The exhibition is part of a virtual learning system called Critique_It™, developed at the UW-Madison in Second Life. Links to information about Critique_It™ will be available at the opening.

Proffessor Connors notes:

My primary interest at this time is to explore the possibilities that online technology brings to the critique - a core element in the art curriculum. A virtual environment offers ways to visualize key concepts in the critique as well as provide a more extensive consideration of the students’ sources for inspiration. Online simulations help reveal and analyze the decision making process used by students during the development their ideas. A primary goal of the critique is to see one’s own work objectively through the eyes of others. This goal is not exclusive to the arts, but has applications in most academic fields.

War-paint. Camouflage. Concealment. Act of self-expression or of belonging to a group. Representation, reflection, or pretense? For protection sometimes; actually often. A curtain, a screen, a veil behind which to hide. A shield, disguise or figment. Often fanciful though - ones persona, like war-paint. Masks and avatars. Behind each, a person, with hopes and fears, with feelings often much deeper than the side they show; actually, always.

For extra bonus points, see how many avatars you can identify who are from the NMC community (it is considered cheating to look at the credits, but hey, I did anyhow). I think I saw 6.

Should there ever be some sort of Academy Awards for Machinima (”I got a Machinny”), I’d certainly toss all my votes for the brilliant videos by Robbie Dingo- to learn more about his work and see even more lovely videos, visit My Digital Double or see his channel on blip.tv.