Mindscape

By Gemma Cleanslate

One of the offshoots from the VWBPE that I finally got to see will still be in the world of Second Life so you will be able to take a look at this marvelous display of the creative mind of artists at work.

Asmita Duranjaya, a well known artist and owner of InterstellART  put out a call to artists to create  for  a collaboration to be called, “ 'MindScape', and it will be related to brain research and to all, what can refer to the human mind, how to develop, inspire and care for or manipulate it. 15 artists will create either a 2D or a 3D work referring to the topic by adding his or her idea, be it more realistic-physical or more mental or philosophical abstract. I provide on my sim the environment for presenting the artwork and am also one of the active artists. The 3D area is a moon landscape, where the 50-prim-installations are presented."

Fifteen artists answered the call with both 3d and 2d displaying their own inner vision of the brain activity and care. At the entrance to the 3d part of the installation one can pick up a notecard that introduces all the artists and their biographies . You can also find a tp to the 2d gallery there and when you arrive tour the 2d exhibit and also take a look at all the past works of Asmita which are on that level .

I toured the entire 3d exhibition at her InterstellART  with Asmita and several other visitors on the day for VWBPE members and friends . It is so eclectic in the expressions represented, but so interesting to see the brain research and care that each could see as necessary to brain health and happiness. 

I had to go back to take a second and third look at each to try to discover what they see. It is like poetry , so individual in thought. These pieces are not static but most of them moving .

Up at the 2d art gallery  on another visit I toured the lovely display of the many artists who participated in that part of the exhibit . Memories , dreams , thoughts, good and perhaps bad are depicted in the portraits there.

 Stories may be congured up  in one’s own mind when viewing all the exhibits . It is definitely worth several visits to experience what each artist may have been thinking when working on their own part of it all. Asmita told me that the exhibit will remain in place for several more months so take your time there. It may be good therapy in these days to meditate on the pieces . I am not an artist, but am an audience of appreciation of  the creativity of those who are. That is why I love to visit installations such as this.  To begin the tour enter here . 

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Nice%20Atoll/185/142/3685

Gemma Cleanslate

SL12B : First Impressions

by DrFran Babcock

This is the first SL Birthday that I have ever attended without reading everything I could find before entering. I usually have a build as well, that allows me early entry, and the ability to preview everything, and to know what is going on from lurking on the group builder chat.

This year I am so busy with First Life that I entered the sims on Press Day, and had the “kid in the candy shop” feel of seeing a vast world for the first time. I had no preconceived notions, no advance plans to see any particular build (beside SLNewser, cough, cough), and I got to wander around, and look at whatever shiny thing caught my eye. Thus, what follows is very much based on the few builds I saw after I landed, and teleported around randomly.

I love the theme What Dreams May Come, because it allows all the exhibitors to unleash their creativity—something they seem to do regardless of the theme. Below are two exhibits that exemplify the best the best of this world of wonder and intelligence.

Asmita’s Dream by Asmita Duranjaya (http://slurl.com/secondlife/SL12B%20Pizzazz/218/183/30)

I was drawn to this parcel as I flew around SL12B because of the bright pink and magenta patterns and turrets. I landed in a whirl of fractals and dance balls. Asmita is a Second Life™ artist who has exhibited at a lot of venues in world, including the Linden Endowment for the Arts: http://giridevi.blogspot.com

The build in SL12B is very pink, and full of fractals. My very first build at Burning Life in 2006—which was called Burning Life back then, and not Burn—was made of walls covered with fractals, so I was drawn to it from the start.

There is no great, deep message here. This is a place to come and enjoy, and the dance balls make it clear that we are meant to have fun in this pink paradise. I hope you will come and do just that.

The Stuff of Dreams – iSkye Silverweb (http://slurl.com/secondlife/SL12B%20Spectacular/14/251/26 )

For the most part, when you wander SL12B you have no idea who has created the plots you are visiting. I use the inspect tool in the viewer. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the giant green bed to which I was drawn had been built by iSkye Silverweb. I know iSkye for her tireless work with Gentle Heron and Virtual Ability, and have noted that as time has passed she has developed into a competent and creative builder.

What I really liked about this build was that it had been well thought out with the theme in mind. It had a completeness to it that was probably attributable to the use of color, and the scale of the objects. The giant bed is more than pretty; it’s fun. You can jump on it all you want and your mom won’t tell you to stop. Here are iSkye’s words about the exhibit, taken from the notecard on her parcel.

        This world teems with life, with variety, with possibilities. There is so much to do and see and experience that one person cannot possibly do it all in just one lifetime. The world is just too big. But we can dream, and some of our dreams can actually come to pass. Wishes we had when we were young, but as we got older they became less important to us. Then we have other dreams to pursue... Life is about things we imagine, that become real. Have you ever rested on a hill watching clouds go by, lost in daydreams? Perhaps your dreams talk to you at night, in the moments between waking and sleeping? Life is constant change, always seeking...something. Our wishes and hopes may change, but the magic stays with us. Our lives can be the stuff of dreams.

The display is cut into two diagonally, with the bed on one side, and a dark green forest with candles on the other. It is meditative and speaks to the hope of dreams. I spoke briefly with iSkye and she was eager to answer any questions I had, but it seemed to me that her creation had said it all.

Come to SL12B

SL12B will be running all week with exhibits, interview shows, music, comedy and the final realization that, as iSkye asserts: “…the magic stays with us.”

DrFran Babcock