What's New at the LEA

By Gemma Cleanslate

The  Linden Endowment of the Arts  have granted their regions to the artists for the next three months. Most builds are almost ready and you can actually get to visit some now. Bixyl did write about  Pinwheels LEA 26 a few weeks back (link). I took a look at several and recommend visiting them all.  

One that I loved was the region called Black Elk. It is a tribute to the lovely prophetic words of Black Elk, a native American medicine man or shamen. It is a beautiful display on LEA1. You will see his words in the air amid horses and other symbols of the spirit of nature.  Livio Oak Korobase (Livio Korobase) is the creator in this region. Above in the air is a stunning collection of symbols in a hovering tiny planet like build overseen by flying doves. Sit and enjoy.

On LEA16 Dave Searby Mason had created a three level interactive experience you don’t want to miss. Use the notecard you will find there to help you enjoy each level to the fullest. The ground level is restful. The tp at the entrance will take you up to the sound spheres where headphones will enhance the visit. Wander and listen. Another tp will take you to the third level of which David says, "is also designed to walk through like the spheres but here the visual aim is different.  I wanted to create a ghostly feel to add another dimension to the sounds."  It is an experience not to be missed. 

Another that I enjoyed very much is LEA 10, La Palma Sculpture Garden by Peli Dieterle, still a work in progress. There are lovely sculpts in the area near the water now. However the setting is so restful I brought out my horse and took a long ride up the winding road to the top and back down again. The build around the interesting sculptures is delightful. Take a tp over there. While you are at the welcome area cam out and take a look at the pieces of art that are in the sky.
 
This is just a sample of the regions you can visit. There are other TPs from the welcome area to take and you can save the LM to come back many times over. Some of the regions will be holding events at various times during their stay and there is a calendar on the website .I will do another article on more of the exhibits. There are many! You can start at the Welcome area http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/LEA3/126/126/22 . Here you will find posters for the various regions with their teleport slurl by clicking on the poster. This will take you to the sim.  Connect to the blog or website from the welcome area poster that lists it. 

Gemma Cleanslate

Pinwheels at LEA 26

By Bixyl Shuftan

Recently at the Linden Endowment of the Arts sim LEA 26, there's an interesting new exhibit called "Pinwheels." A display of fractal art, it takes up most of the length and width of the sim in three dimensions, and every few moments parts of the display will shift position at random. It's made up of triangular-shaped prims high over the sim, going from the starting position in a walkable twisting path consisting of steep cliffs and twisting bends.

While giving the place a visit, in mid-August, I ran into the artist, Mac Kanashimi. He had a few things to say about the place.

"So this is your exhibit?" I asked him.

"It is," Mac answered.

I looked around, "Looks pretty big. Just how much of the sim does it cover?"

"All of it," Mac answered.

"We're just shy of 3000 in the air," I observed, "Does it go all the way to the bottom?"

"Oh no," he answered, "the path (of fractals) goes 256 meters deep."

"What gave you the idea for this build?" I asked.

Mac's answer was, "After my Mandelbrot fractal art in round 4, I skipped round 5 to build fractal prototypes. This is one of the fractals for which I built a prototype. There is a list of fractals on Wikipedia for inspiration."

"Was it hard for you to create it here?" I asked.

"When I deployed it on August 2," he answered, "it was just push the button and wait. It is all scripted."

"How long was the wait?" I asked.

"Somewhere between one and two hours," Mac answered.

"To those not in the know," I asked, "could you explain a little what fractal art is?"

The artist answered, "a fractal is a pattern which is repeated on a different scale. I use 2D fractals and the third dimension is used for the art."

"About how long will this be running in Second Life?" I asked.

Mac answered, " 'till end of December,"

"So far, about how many have been coming here?" I requested.

"1743 different visitors," he responded, "including me and my alt." (the interview was done August 17)

"That's quite a number," I told him, then asked, "About how many a day drop in?"

Mac answered, "between 200-250 since this exhibition appeared in the Editors' Picks category of the Destination Guide."


"So what else have you worked on in Second Life?" I then asked him.

Mac thought for a moment, "Round 6 was Dragon Curves, Round 4 was 3D Mandelbrot Fractal Art. SL8B - SL11B, and an exhibit of small 3D fractals. (The) SL birthday exhibit was a 3-ring gyro with a seat, 88 polyhedron skeletons, a 3D maze and a small dragon curve."

"Sounds like you've been busy," I told the artist.

"Since my SL birthday," he answered.

I had noticed Mac's headwear was done in a style I recognized. So I then asked, "By the way, whom did your hat?"

Mac answered, "the hat was designed my Mikati Slade-san. The hat was a gift during her 'Pico Pico Life' exhibit. I am her scripting advisor."


"Interesting, so you both work together at times?" I asked.

Mac told me, "I assisted behind the scenes with her SL9B Cake Stage."

We were temporarily distracted by a naked visitor dropping in. I commented to the artist, "Heh heh, looks like you get no shortage of interesting visitors Mac."

The streaker then vanished, Mac saying, "I put him on the ban list for indecent exposure."

 I chuckled, "Heh heh, so who have been your most interesting vistors here?"

"Reporters and artists are interesting," he answered, "SaveMe Oh was interesting."

I recalled SaveMe as having gotten the boot from a few places, including Burn2. "What did she do here?" I asked.

"She specializes in wearable exhibitions," the artist told me, saying this time she wore, "dressing cabins with wait-in-line cords and a queue of waiting NPCs, also a complete house and a herd of zebras."

I chuckled, "Heh, sounds funny."

"Oh yes," Mac commented, "but I did move the landing point, otherwise visitors landed inside the house. If someone is hogging the landing point, I always move it to a different spot."

"Sounds like you've been busy here," I told him, "I take it you're already at work on future plans?"

"I am," he answered, "but I have not chosen the definite subject yet."

Before leaving, I asked, "Anything else you'd like to mention about Pinwheels or any other project?"

the artist answered, "for every project, something interesting pops up. For the Mandelbrot fractals, it was the link limit. For Pinwheels it was letting each object know what the direct neighbours are. For Dragon Curves, how to fit 10 curves together like a jigsaw puzzle."

"Okay, well, thank you for your time, Mac."

"You're welcome."

I tipped my hat, and we parted ways.

Pinwheels can be visited at LEA26 (118/5/2969).

Bixyl Shuftan