Wednesday, July 24, 2013

UWA Art & Machinima Grand Finale - 4th August (Audience Events Ongoing)

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The UWA Grand Finale Announcements for the overall winners of the L$1.1Mil MachinimUWA VI: Reflections, and the L$600,000 Reflections: UWA Centenary 3D Art Challenge will be from 6am SLT, SUnday 4th August at the UWA-BOSL Grand Amphitheatre.

Grand Finale Time & Date: 6am SLT Sunday 4th August
Location: The UWA-BOSL Grand Amphitheatre (Entrance 1, Entrance 2, Entrance 3)

64 machinima and 64 artwork are in the running for the overall 1st prizes of L$200,000 & L$100,000 respectively. The brilliant Yesikita Coppola has put together an composite machinima of all 64 works in a truly remarkable 2 minutes. All the artwork can be seen in this creation by Devi Sky.

2 Audience participation events are ongoing, where art & machinima afficionados can provide a top 10 list in order, and win for themselves a share of L$65,000. The top 10 lists should be given to the jayjay zifanwe or emailed to jay.jay@uwa.edu.au

CLOSING DATES FOR THE AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION EVENTS ARE 25th JULY 2013

Instructions for MACHINIMA AUDIENCE EVENT HERE

Instructions for 3D ART AUDIENCE EVENT HERE
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Monday, July 22, 2013

Southern Illinois University & UWA Collab - The Sonic Lab


A partnership has been launched in the virtual world of Second Life between Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (SIUC) & UWA on the sim Virlantis, where an educational themed experiment has been set up for the creation of sound and animation content, with its long-term goal being the development of animated film and online media that serves at-risk learning communities.  Jay Jay Jegathesan founder of UWA's virtual world presence  helped make this partnership possible.

The immediate goals for  Dr. Phylis Johnson, Professor of Sound and New Media (SIUC) and her colleagues were to create an immersive environment - the Sonic Lab - for teaching sound online historically and culturally as art and practice.   For that purpose, a multi-layer sound lab was constructed to help students develop critical listening skills, by virtually tuning into the modern origins of music and learning to appreciate the sonic environment, now and then, that contributes to our daily soundscapes.  The virtual classroom experience leads students through time, place - and sound. The Sonic Lab connects students to the sounds of the past, present and future. They enter the virtual world via a medieval realm soaked with layered sounds ignited by one's presence and touch. Visitors acoustically engage into a soundscape rich with nature's lush greens and harbor sounds, and perhaps stop into the local tavern for a chat and music. Their travels take them to modern times, from Ragtime's Scott Joplin, to experimental masters Edgard Varèse and John Cage, to those they have influenced, Reich, Zappa, The Beatles, Hendrix, Ramones, Riot Grrrls, and New York's alternative scene. The sound installation was funded by a course development grant awarded by SIUC's Distance Education program for Summer 2013. 

This goal has been realized with strong support from Belinda Barnes, Lowe Runo and Kara Trapdoor, and the environment that was created was opened to the public on the 22nd of July 2013. 

 

The longer term plan  calls for the development of virtual media studies and production. This collaboration is expected to be a three year experiment in the design of an open-ended, accessible and collaborative animation platform that focuses on outcome based learning for at-risk communities.  Part of the process involves assisting educators with some production basics: character and story/curriculum development, original sound composition, set construction, to motion capture animation that can be imported and exported between virtual platforms.   The idea is to help educators participate and lead in the virtual media making process and develop creative and relevant animation (and mixed reality) content targeting youth from communities that lack resources and skills.  Of course, whenever possible, the target audience will participate in content development and production.   

Ultimately, educators (and students) would be encouraged to contribute animated film and other virtual media forms to an archival web site of shared content, techniques, and program reviews.  A pilot series will be created to demonstrate the process.   Themes addressed include social justice, collaboration, diversity representation in all its forms, and science/technology.
  
The goal is to open up the diversity of voices, from all locales, from South Chicago to South India to Western Australia, and so forth. Critical are representation of characters/voices pertaining to gender, ethnicity, disability, and socio-economic level. 




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Friday, July 12, 2013

Victoria Lenoirre's Exploration of Nino Vichan's "When the Mind's Eye Listens"

Up and running this month at LEA6 is the full sim build created by the imaginative Nino Vichan, When the Mind's Eye Listens. He was kind enough to give me a tour of his sim creation on July 2nd, the day his sim opened up to the public. There are seven levels, not including the teleport area that he calls "home" on the teleport menu.

This is what I copied from the notecard you should receive at the landing point:

About the Installation

In the infinite space of your mind's eye the neural pathways that define your memories, dreams, fantasies, and the memories of those dreams and fantasies, intersect and reform patterns that combine the stimuli received from your visual and auditory input channels.

In this dimension the laws of physics are only used as referential material for the infinite creative processes that govern your experiences.

Free floating endlessly through this continually modulating universe you encounter a melody from a wooden flute that drifts like a dusky, perfumed mist and gives you a feeling of peace. 

A flash of pure yellow light, that is only the meaning of the color and not the visual color itself, is defined by a metallic crash that evaporates into the vapor.

The universe of your Mind's Eye is inhabited by strange and wonderful creatures, of Intangible substance or pure color, that live in the ephemeral space of a momentary sound.

I offer this work as a vehicle into your mind's eye where you may pause for a moment and breathe deeply and slowly in an atmosphere of 
color, 
    sound, 
        shape, 
            light, 
                motion, 
                    emotion                                                 and meaning...

When you arrive, you are in an open area of black water. You can either walk around or click on a green slab and sit on it, to be flown around the area. The slab is called Feather tour 2.2. Make sure to turn your sound up, this sim installation is reliant on sound. So just close your eyes and feel the ambience as you explore Nino's vision of the mind's eye. Let the music be absorbed into your body and feel the space it creates within you.

Home point at When the Mind's Eye Listens


To go up to the first level, click on a green spiky sphere and click 1.landing. This is the first level of the mind's eye. Here you can see shapes and everything is in black and white. Images in our minds are based on shapes. The landing is full of materials that our minds can use to create all sorts of fantasies and stories. Notice that the sounds here are mechanical, they are symbolic of an industrial reality.

Proceed to the next level, 2.green eye. Green eye is about defining the infinite space inside our mind's eye. This level is also where synesthesia occurs.

From wiki:

"Synesthesia, is a neurological condition in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway."

"According to Richard Cytowic, sound  color synesthesia, or chromesthesia is "something like fireworks": voice, music, and assorted environmental sounds such as clattering dishes or dog barks trigger color and firework shapes that arise, move around, and then fade when the sound ends."

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synesthesia)

So on to the third level, yellow eye. Nino called it "the land of tinker bell." You are now going deeper into the imagination. You will notice green particles, neurons. This level is about passageways and synapses. Messages are constantly being transmitted between our neurons. Yellow eye is "the genesis of our conceptualizations". Here is where we experience reality.

The fourth level too has to do with anatomy as well. Salmon eye gets molecular. As you explore this level, you will see a cell. Nino was surprised that I identified it correctly. I still remember my Biology lessons! :-)

And the fifth level, is one of my favorites, blue eye. From the teleporter, it is a little bit of a drop when you walk forward to get to the teleporter. Riding through this level is the ideal approach, you feel through you're riding through the eye of a storm. There are the intense hot pinks and the icy blue. The pink made me think of flames. This is what Nino calls the "space for exploration." As you go deeper into this level, you might feel like the waves or flames of pink and blue are enveloping you, coming at your face like a veil. The colors tease and intrigue you.

Now the sixth level, orange eye evokes more emotions and feelings. When we dream, the emotions and the body are involved. The rays of orange radiate in an outward direction at first then move inward.

Are you ready for the final level, level 7? Reflection, here we come! By the way, Nino Vichan submitted a piece of work for the UWA Centenary 3d Challege Reflection. His piece was phenomenal.  In this level, this is where thoughts are occurring...the land of thoughts. In Nino's words, it's a "cerebral metropolis." Recurring dreams happen here. "We create this space and become familiar with it, we revisit it. It is a structured environment that resembles structure in the real world. " Reflection has a quieter and more enigmatic tone and sound. A sea of light, reflected light beams. It was a whole new experience for me.

Level 7. reflection, me  riding on the feather tour 2.2 to see this amazing level



Where does REM start?
Nino: REM starts when you put in the CD

Hahaha, Nino made a joke. R.E.M. is a great music band, no?  He loves puns and jokes.

Have you ever had a lucid dream about SL?
Nino: A lucid dream is a dream in which the sleeper is aware the he or she is dreaming
 A dream-initiated lucid dream (DILD). It  starts as a normal dream and the dreamer eventually concludes
that he or she is dreaming. A wake-initiated lucid dream (WILD) occurs when the dreamer goes from
a normal waking state directly into a dream state with no apparent lapse in consciousness.
 Nino Vichan: SL is WILD. When you see my art, you see my lucid dream.

Thanks so much, Nino for a brilliant installation and full sim art installation! If you haven't seen it, you should! It is definitely mind boggling and a treat for your senses.

Here's your limo to LEA 6.

Nino has an installation running at Aneli's Gallery now, Bob and the Box. His new installation is full of puns. His partner, Cayenne Avon, also has one there called "Flowers." Come see it! It'll be there until September.

Have fun and enjoy the art!

Victoria Lenoirre

Thursday, July 11, 2013

MachinimUWA VI: REFLECTIONS - Audience Participation Event (Win a share of L$45,000/USD200 for watching machinima)



The Grand Finale Winners announcements for MachinimUWA VI & the UWA Centenary 3D Art Challenge (both themed REFLECTIONS) will be held from 6am SLT on the 4th of August. As serendipity would have it, we have 64 Machinima, and 64 3D artworks in the running for more than L$1,800,000 (L$1.8 mil) in prizes.

UWA would like to acknowledge the extraordinary efforts of the co-host for the event, LaPiscean Liberty (of AviewTV), the unsung hero of film in Second Life. We would also like to acknowledge fellow sponsors, Tom Papas, OPEN THIS END, with thanks to Cristina García-Lasuén (RL) / Aino Baar (SL), the Parramatta City Council, MetaHarpers (Arhenn Oberlander), AviewTV, Freemason Magic  with special thanks to Professor Ted Snell, UWA Director of the Cultural Precinct & Jon Stubbs, Director of Student Services.

WE INVITE EVERYONE TO A L$45,000 (USD 200) AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION EVENT


Win a Share of L$45,000 (approx USD 200), a Spot on the Official Jury for the next Machinima Challenge @ UWA & Special RL Package. eadline For Audience Participation Prizes: Midnight SLT 25th July 2013.

L$45,000 has been set aside for all film & machinima lovers who take part in a special participation event. We are asking everyone to view the machinima and give us whom you think will finish in the TOP 10 in order 1st - 10th as decided by the official judging panel. (email jayjayaustralia@hotmail.com OR list them on a notecard to Jayjay Zifanwe - please put your name on the title of the notecard with the words MACHINIMUWA VI Audience Event). 

This is not a popularity vote. Your top 10 is your prediction of who the actual top 10 will be according to the official judging.

The 5 participants whose order comes closest to the final order as decided by the judging panel (Listed here), will win for themselves between L$5,000 - L$15,000. The first prize winner will also be invited to be on the panel for the next grand art challenge and ALL 5 will receive in the mail a special pack that includes a copy of the book, '100 Treasures of UWA' which was produced for UWA's Centenary.

* More than happy for the machinima artists taking part as well to submit their lists, as this will not impact the actual results

AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION PRIZES(Awarded to viewers/ visitors whose top 10 lists most closesly aligns to the actual juried top 10)
  • 1st Prize L$15,000 (approx USD 68)
  • 2nd Prize L$10,000
  • 3rd Prize L$8,000 
  • 4th Prize L$7,000 
  • 5th Prize L$5,000 

All works are on the AviewTv RSS feed for MachinimUWA VI: Reflections. Full List below

ALL 64 MACHINIMUWA VI ENTRIES 
(In reverse Klingon Alphabetical Order)
Chic Aeon (Corvallis, Oregon USA) - DRAWING OUTSIDE THE LINES
Hypatia Pickens (Rochester, New York, USA) - CLOUD (YOUTUBE) / CLOUD (VIMEO)
Karima Hoisan & Natascha Randt (San Isidro del General, Costa Rica & Gelsenkirchen, Germany) - WINDOW ON A TRAIN
Vilvi Rae (Jyväskylä, Finland) - PAST|BEYOND (VIMEO) / PAST|BEYOND (YOUTUBE)
Emmo Wei (Florida, USA) - PALE HORSES
Ambrosia Lanley (Seal Beach, California) - DREAMTIME
Lazarus Doghouse & Pixie Rain (Memphis, USA & Peterborough, England) - MERE REFLECTIONS OF HER
Maximillian Merlin (Hannoversch Muenden, Germany) - THE FEATHER
GnomeZen (Ashland, Oregon, USA) - RENUNCIATION
Misprint Thursday (New Hampshire, USA) - BINARY STAR REFLECTIONS
Carol Rainbow [Carolrb Roux] (Oxfordshire, England) - DREAM OF LIFE
Joe Zazulak [Spiral Silverstar] (New Orleans, LA, USA) - THE MIRROR LIES
Haveit Neox (California, USA) - LOST ALPHABET OF LA CITTA PERDUTTA
Tutsy Navarathna (Frenchman in Pondicherry, India) - NARCISSUS (French); NARCISSUS (English) (Mature Content)
Bryn Oh (Toronto, Canada) - JUNIPER
Erythro Asimov (Tours, France) - TAYA-TAN
Sophia Yates (Lancaster, Massachusetts, USA) - REFLECTIONS
Braclo Eber (South Africa) - STOLEN REFLECTIONS
Aquaglo (Texas, USA) - 100 YEARS OF EDUCATION?
Hypatia Pickens (Rochester, new York, USA) - SLOW LIGHT (VIMEO) / (YOUTUBE)
Luci von Smörgås [Lucian Zemenis] (Lund, Sweden) - REFLECTIONS (IN YOUR MIND)
Friday Siamendes (Denver Colorado, USA) - FOUR EYES
Glasz DeCuir (San Sebastian, Spain) - VIRUS IN HEAVEN
Devi Sky (Northridge, California, USA) - REFLECTIONS OF A LIFE
Mary Wickentower (Zimmermen, Minnesota, USA)  - REFLECTIONS ON COLOR
Veruca Vandyke (Arkansan, USA) - MALADY
Sophia Yates & Secret Rage (Lancaster, Massachusetts, USA) - REFLECTIONS INSIDE THE BLACK
Mysty Mellison (Colorado, USA) - THE FIRE
Hypatia Pickens (Rochester, New York, USA) - THE FAIREST ONE
Talia Sunsong (Berkeley, California, USA) - MASKS OF LIFE
Carol Rainbow [Carolrb Roux] (Oxfordshire, England) - REFLECTIONS OF CHILDHOOD
Joe Zazulak [Spiral Silverstar] (New Orleans, LA, USA) - SHADOWS REFLECTING DARKNESS
Chic Aeon (Corvallis, Oregon USA) - NO REGRETS
Pallina Loon (Rome, Italy) - PALLINA..THE LITTLE RASCAL
Erythro Asimov (Tours, France) - EGMONT (YOUTUBE) / VIMEO
Edward/Joseph Nussbaum (Durham, North Carolina, USA) - IKE R US
Elizabeth Spieler [Michele Rubatino] (Emerald City, Seattle, USA) - UWA REFLECTION: JOB
Karima Hoisan & Natascha Randt (Costa Rica & Germany) - REFLECT ON THIS: DACTYLS ARE DHARMA TOO
GnomeZen (Ashland, Oregon, USA) - DREAM REFLECTION
Carl Velde (Naples, Italy) - COMMUNICATION IS NEVER VIRTUAL
NicoleX Moonwall (New Orleans, USA) - REFLECTIONS
Molly Cybertar & Eric R. Nelson (Wisconsin, USA) - REEL 2
Bay Sweetwater (San Fransisco, USA) - CASTLE IN THE SAND
Misio (Melbourne, Australia) - PLANET TAKNI - REFLECTIONS ABOUT ARTIST
Chic Aeon (Corvallis, Oregon USA) - CAN YOU HEAR THE SILENCE
Aquaglo (Texas, USA) - REFLECTIONS OF CHOICES
Ed Vespucciano (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) - LE SACRE DU PRINTEMPS
Elizabeth Spieler [Michele Rubatino] (Emerald City, Seattle, USA) - IN THE DARK
Sierra Rains (San Francisco, California, UWA) - LOVE FAILS
L1Aura Loire/ Prof Lori Landay (Boston, MA, USA) - MIRROR PEOPLE
Wynshel Heir [Shelwyn Corrigan] (San Francisco, California, USA) - REFLECTIONS
Joe Zazulak [Spiral Silverstar] (New Orleans, LA, USA) - REFLECTIONS OF A VIRTUAL WORLD
Erythro Asimov (Tours, France) - HASTA TU ESTRELLA
GnomeZen (Ashland, Oregon, USA) - THE AWAKENING
Carol Rainbow [Carolrb Roux] (Oxfordshire, England) - REFLECTIONS
Sundog Branner (Lismore, Northern Rivers, NSW, Australia) - ART GROOVE
Gomolokai Absent (Kaunakakai, Molokai, Hawaii, USA) - LIFE REFLECTIONS
Aquaglo (Texas, USA) - IN MY SECRET LIFE
Misio2 (Melbourne, Australia) - WINDOWS & PIGS
Aquaglo (Texas, USA) - I WALK ALONE
Erythro Asimov (Tours, France) - HURACAN - LOVE IS STRONG (YOUTUBE) / VIMEO
Giannis Piaggio (Athens, Greece) - THE LAKE
NicoleX Moonwall (New Orleans, USA) - REFLECTIONS ON THE WAY IT WILL BE
Corphaelia Ninetails (The Island of Anglesey, North Wales) - DAY ZERO

The audience participation event for REFLECTIONS: The UWA Centenary 3D Art Challenge is now open and extended to the 25th of July as well. Full list of 64 artworks is listed and everyone is welcome to submit a top 10 list according to what they think will finish in the actual top 10 as decided by the official judging panel (a total of L$45,000 will be awarded to those getting it closest).

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

UWA Art Challenges & Research Collaboration in the Artists Chronicle


The Artist's Chronicle which covers the visual arts based in Western Australia has an article in their July/Aug 2013 hardcopy issue.

Pleased to see  coverage in the 'RL' side media. Has an image of French artist Shenn Coleman's work and references a paper jointly written by the University of Rochester & UWA.

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Thursday, July 4, 2013

REFLECTIONS: UWA Centenary 3D Art Challenge - Audience Participation Event (Win a Share of L$20K)



The Grand Finale Winners announcements for UWA Centenary 3D Art Challenge: REFLECTIONS will be held in August, along with the winners announcements for the Machinima Challenge. We have on display at UWA 64 artworks from all corners of the globe, except Antarctica (as usual).

One of the artworks below will be awarded the L$100,000 Grand Prize in AUGUST 2013!

UWA would like to acknowledge the extraordinary efforts of the lead curator for the event, FreeWee Ling, of the Unites States, who is an Honorary Fellow of the University of Western Australia. We would also like to acknowledge fellow sponsors, OPEN THIS END, with thanks to Cristina García-Lasuén (RL) / Aino Baar (SL), PEACE IS A CHOICE Gallery, with thanks to TheDove Rhode,  Virtlantis, with thanks to Kip Yellowjacket, Best of Second Life (BOSL) Group with thanks to Frolic Mills, Secret Rage, The Guided Tour Company, with thanks to JonyBlade Codesmith, Japanese Arts Journalist, Temi Sirbu and  UWA, with special thanks to Professor Ted Snell, Director of the Cultural Precinct & Jon Stubbs, Director of Student Services.

More than L$600,000 will be distributed at the winners announcements from 6am SLT on Sunday the 4th of August 2013. This will be held in conjunction with the winners announcements of the MachinimUWA VI: REFLECTIONS

WE INVITE ALL OF SL TO PARTICIPATE IN A L$20,000 AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION EVENT
Win a Share of L$20,000, A Spot on the Official Jury for the next Grand Art Challenge @ UWA & Special RL Package

Deadline For Audience Participation Prizes: Midnight SLT 10th July 2013
L$20,000 has been set aside for all art lovers who take part in a special participation event. We are asking everyone to view the artworks and give us whom you think will finish in the TOP 10 in order 1st - 10th as decided by the official judging panel. (email jayjayaustralia@hotmail.com OR list them on a notecard to Jayjay Zifanwe - please put your name on the title of the notecard with the words REFLECTIONS UWA Centenary 3D Audience Event).


The 5 participants whose order comes closest to the final order decided by the judging panel (Listed here), will win for themselves between L$7,000 - L$1,500. The first prize winner will also be invited to be on the panel for the next grand art challenge and ALL 5 will receive in the mail a special pack that includes a copy of the book, '100 Treasures of UWA' which was produced for UWA's Centenary. 

* More than happy for the artists taking part as well to submit their lists, as this will not impact the actual results

AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION PRIZES
(Awarded to viewers/ visitors whose top 10 lists most closesly aligns to the actual juried top 10)
1st Prize L$ 7,000
2nd Prize L$ 5,000
3rd Prize L$ 4,000
4th Prize L$ 2,500
5th Prize L$1,500 



Coverage of the Challenge

Temi Sirbu Blog: Item 1, Item 2, Item 3, Item 4, Item 5
Unforgettable Magazine
Kara's Korner
Living in a Modem World Blog
Virtual Outworlding Blog: Item 1, Item 2
Ziki's Blog
LNL Blog
Apmel Goosson Blog: Item 1
Quan's Travelogues Item 1; Item 2
Bright Lights Blog
Digital Rabbit Hole
Centro de Artes do Second Life Blog


UWA CENTENARY 3D ART CHALLENGE: REFLECTIONS,   ARTWORKS (64 IN TOTAL)
Click Here for Start Location (OR, you can teleport directly to each artwork by clicking the name):
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LEA FULL SIM ART SERIES: Nino Vichan's "When the Mind's Eye Listens"


After the first months break in the LEA FULL SIM ART SERIES since it started some years ago, Nino Vichan brings it to life once more with 'When the Mind's Eye Listens' for the July Round. A full list of the Series 3 offerings for the LEA FULL SIM ART SERIES can be found on the blog: LEA FULL SIM ART SERIES (click here for full year schedule)

GRAND OPENING: It's always open
LOCATION: HERE ON LEA 6 

In Nino's words:
"In the infinite space of your mind's eye the neural pathways that define your memories, dreams, fantasies, and the memories of those dreams and fantasies, intersect and reform patterns that combine the stimuli received from your visual and auditory input channels.

In this dimension the laws of physics are only used as referential material for the infinite creative processes that govern your experiences.

Free floating endlessly through this continually modulating universe you encounter a melody from a wooden flute that drifts like a dusky, perfumed mist and gives you a feeling of peace.

A flash of pure yellow light, that is only the meaning of the color and not the visual color itself, is defined by a metallic crash that evaporates into the vapor.

The universe of your Mind's Eye is inhabited by strange and wonderful creatures, of Intangible substance or pure color, that live in the ephemeral space of a momentary sound.

I offer this work as a vehicle into your mind's eye where you may pause for a moment and breathe deeply and slowly in an atmosphere of
color,
    sound,
        shape,
            light,
                motion,
                    emotion                                                 and meaning..."


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