Faces (That We See)

By Gemma Cleanslate

Thought provoking is what I would call the exhibit in Lea23. Ilyra Chardin (Ilyra Chardin) in collaboration, with friends has created a project named “Faces.” It involves you, and me. 

The entrance room has pictures and poems and comments about people and life , in real life and in Second Life , from people we know or have read about. We are all people behind an avatar. Some we come to know well because they want to let the two worlds meld, others do not so we know them as Second Life residents only. The portraits reflect the varied choices we make as a persona in the virtual world. The words on the wall remind us of the connection between our persona and the real person behind the face. Read it all well. The information in the slide show of a survey from 2015 is part of the basis for what is going on here I would suggest.  

Every visitor is invited to join in a writing contest . Look on the posts for information and rules. After checking out everything out in the anteroom walk through a door of your choice and begin your journey in creating your story . The information pack in the anteroom that you pick up will help you . Choose the scenario you like best as a basis for your story and begin to create. A map in each folder will guide you to the sites that offer options for thought.

Or, just go visit and explore the venues that are out there. I  took a tour of all the venues and your choices are many. You might approach the venue from one angle or another and come up with a completely different thought about what you wish to do. In one of the folders there is an interesting insight into Trolls. I found it really so interesting just looking at all the various sites that Ilyra has created.

I loved all the sites and saw so many options. It will be so interesting to see the stories that develop. There is much to think about in this installation. Just visiting each site caused me to come up with several possible stories of characters I know here or in real life.

As an example of this is from the folder at the hospital, “Did you know that 81% of those surveyed reported that someone close to them was in the hospital in real life during their time on Second Life?  Fifty-one percent reported that they were in the hospital at least once during their time on Second Life.  Eleven percent reported that they had a child during their time on Second Life.  84% reported a death of someone close to them during their time on Second Life.”  I have had both experiences. 

I am not sure if I will have time to write for the contest but am thinking about it. I have to get going on Christmas and winter places for you to explore! Visit and explore the region and the many environments created for you.

Gemma Cleanslate
  

Areo Park's Fifth Annual Halloween Trail

The Areo Pines Park area, usually known for horseback riding in the virtual countryside, has a different look for this Halloween season. For the fifth year in a row, it is offering it’s “Halloween Trail.”

The Halloween Trail takes full advantage of the ten sims of space, offering more than thirty exhibits. Some are a simple scare, such as a tribute to Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds.” But there are also larger and take a little time to go through. There are several haunted houses & castles, plus a haunted prison, in addition to a crypt and corn maze. Besides looking at them, there are levels of interactivity, such as being able to dig in the dirt at the Hiltop cemetery. Some are exhibits from previous trails, but there are some new ones.

Upon arrival at certain places in the sim, one is offered a notecard with teleports to various attractions. One can use the LMs, or just tour around on the Trail. The places are best seen at sunset or Midnight.

Vampire Bat Lair Motorcycle (154, 99, 53)
Hilltop Cemetary, Equus (130, 88, 35)
Cannibal Island , Caledfwlch (117, 68, 28)
Ghost Pirates, Caledfwlch (86, 69, 28)
Man-Eating Plants, Horse Ranch (94, 73, 22)
Bilavio Haunted Manor, Horse Ranch (57, 115, 23)
Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds", Horse Ranch (129, 241, 23)
Seaside Haunted House, Seaplane (178, 64, 23)
Thriller Back Alley, Motorcycle (26, 172, 22)
Haunted Castle & Crypt Maze, Firehouse (43, 52, 31)
Witches Camp, Horse (28, 129, 32)
Hilltop Crematorium, Horse (136, 143, 74)
Killer Bees, Aero Pines Park (21, 110, 24)
Haunted Prison, Aero Pines Park (32, 214, 23)
Bates Motel, Aero Pines Park (151, 19, 22)
Chop Shop (Bad Noobs Processing Center), Equus (103, 229, 22)
Corn Maze, Equus (34, 193, 22)
Guillotine, Horse (216, 23, 23)

Some places offer a small gift, like the “Thriller Back Alley” giving you a Thriller AO. The Hilltop Crematorium is near Roxies Roadhouse, where one can get a motorbike, or a balloon ride. At various locations, one can rez a broom to ride around.

Besides the exhibits on the Trail, there are also events:


Fri Oct 28 Halloween Costume Bash with Sandy "The Sandman" 6pm-10pmSLT
Equus (17, 203, 23)

Sat Oct 29 "Who ya Gonna Call?" It’s the GHOSTBUSTERS! Interactive Movie Adventure! It’s a 72 hour screening! - All Ghostbusters, Slimers, and Stay-Pufts Welcome!!!!

Sat Oct 29 5pm-7pm Halloween Costume Party
Equus (17, 203, 23)

Sun Oct 30 Ghostbusters! All Day & Night
Aero Pines Park (111, 3, 22)

Sun Oct 30 5pm-7pm Halloween Costume Party
Equus (17, 203, 23)

Mon Oct 31 Ghostbusters! All Day & Night
Aero Pines Park (111, 3, 22)

Mon Oct 31 Young Frankenstein 6pm 8pm & 10pm
Equus (17, 203, 23)

For questions, the notecard recommended contacting Cindy Bolero.

The Halloween Trail exhibits will remain up until November 6, for latecomers to the Halloween fun. But you don’t need to wait. The place is fantastic Halloween fun.

Bixyl Shuftan

Bryn Oh’s “Standby”

Virtual artist Bryn Oh recently completed the third part of her “Rabbicorn” story: “Standby.” Like "The Rabicorn" last year, it is made up of a series of displays of sculptures, each with a poem describing it’s part of the story.

“Standby is the third and final part to the Rabbicorn story,” Bryn wrote in a notecard,”I strongly suggest you watch these two machinima if you are unfamiliar with the story. Better yet would be to go through the builds themselves. I have put both the Rabbicorn story and the Daughter of Gears physical builds on Immersiva, (202, 146, 1151). I have also written up both on my blog where you can watch the machinima if you prefer to do it that way.”

Also in the notecard, Bryn Oh described herself as “a metaverse artist who is meant to exist only online. She is a concept, a pixel character who inhabits the virtual world of Second Life. The idea is to see if a virtual identity can succeed within the real world of flesh and blood artists.” Her blog describes the real-life artist as a Toronto oil painter.

I went to the location of the Standby exhibit, the entrance leading to an abandoned theater. Getting past that, I ran into the introduction of Standby, and found Bryn there, chatting with a few friends who came by. “The whole presentation is fantastic,” she was told, “Thank you for putting it together. I loved it very much.” She turned to me after some time with her friends, “This is my final part to the story,” she told me. I asked her if she planned this while doing the earlier Rabbicorn story, or did it come after? “No,” she told me, “this was all planned a few years ago when I did the ‘Daughter of Gears.’ “ She explained building all of the displays, “took about two months and ... 14,996 prims. The poems took a few months as well ... This is a special build for me. I wanted to be sure it was exactly how I wanted it.”

“Artistically, it is the most advanced,” Bryn explained, “and uses most of the unique traits of Second Life as an art medium. The scope of it is far more than anything i have done before. It began in 2008, where most of my builds are generally one-offs, though they are connected to this story but satelite builds.”

The story, through the exhibits, describes the Daughter of Gears and the Rabicorn, the best of friends, going out to to explore. Each one has a teleport to the next., progressing the story. The final scenes are a touching show of friendship.


.: I fell in love one afternoon
.: and wrote your name on a white balloon
.: I set it free to fly above
.: and dreamt it was a flying dove


Well-detailed, the exhibition can only be described as must-see by those interested in the art scene in Second Life.

"Standby" is located at IBM Exhibit A at (210, 209, 20). You can first check the Youtube trailer Here.

Bryn O's blog is located here: http://www.brynoh.blogspot.com/

Bixyl Shuftan