Tyrehl Byk’s Particle Art at Diablous

In February, SL Newspaper did an article on Tyrehl Byk’s Event Horizon Particle Show, sometimes called the “Particle Phantasmagoria.” It’s gotten a number of rave reviews for his unique display of particle art, including an appearance on the “Tonight Live” talk show.

Tyrehl has not been resting on his laurels, but has still been at work. Besides his regularly scheduled show, he recently built an exhibit one can visit any time at the Benvolio sim, at Diablous Art Space.

The show is on a platform over 3000m in the air. After the scenery rezzes, one will see a domed building with a sign next to it. The sign asks for people to reset their viewer controls in order to see the particle show at it’s best. It shows what to set graphic settings in “Preferences,” including setting the draw distance low, near 100m, and maxing out the particle count. Then on the Advanced settings on the toolbar, one makes a couple other changes. Following resetting, one clicks on the door, then enters.

Right away, one gets a hint of what is to come, with the plasma-like light surrounding the passageway that leads into the dome. Once inside, one sees a number of platforms circling the edge of the building. Each has a number of buttons. By pressing them, a group of particles can be made to appear or disappear. Pressing a number of them, the results can be a quite detailed and visually striking display of brilliant colors. One button allows for the option of a half-dome to appear on the platform, but this is not necessary. One can cam into the cloud of particles, or walk in and see from inside via mouselook.

The platforms are not the only displays of particle art. There was another show of particles that occasionally appeared above, closer to the top of the dome’s interior. It would occasionally appear, sparkle in a show of color, and then slowly fade.

Once again, Tyrehl continues to shine with his particle light art.

The Diablous Particle Art Show is at the Benvolio sim at (130, 122, 3090).

Bixyl Shuftan

Woman´´-- An Exhibit of Art By and About Women

  "Woman", a new art exhibit, opened this weekend at El Castillo de Cortes, located at the Instituto de Español (61, 213, 25). Colorful flowers and symbols decorate the exhibit rooms and point the direction of the tour. The exhibit honors International Womeńs Day, which is celebrated on March 8. In one gallery, flags from the nations that celebrate this day line the walls. Very festive!

     International Womeńs Day commemorates the work and contributions of women to society. Much of the exhibit features photographs and historical works of art about and by women from all over the world.

 One somber exhibit focuses on the danger and violence that many women encounter. This exhibit features art depicting the deaths of women in Juárez, Mexico, a border town across the river from El Paso, Texas. Since 1993 there have been thousands of women killed in Juárez, with most of the murders remaining unsolved. A notecard provides excellent information about this tragedy as well as information about the violence related to the drug trade.

     The exhibit also showcases the talents of many SL women residents. A few of my favorites were "Masks", a pastel by Juliete3d Quintzet, "Storm Spirit" by Fuschia Nightfire, "Wikked", an acrylic and mixed media work by Trill Zapatero, and "Starcosis Hunts" by Eleses Faulkes. A large variety of styles and price ranges are available.

     The exhibit runs through March 19.

Grey Lupindo

BOLD & BEAUTIFUL Exhibit at Tart Gallery

A special showing of the Bold & Beautiful Exhibit occurred at the Tart Gallery on 2 January 2010.   The gallery is owned by ByrneDarkly Cazalet and has two floors of art. 

The Bold & Beautiful exhibit featured artwork by real life poster artist Claudia Hek of The Netherlands. Unfortunately, Claudia could not be present.   Due to technical difficulties, Claudia is unable to maintain a presence in SL.

Of interest is the fact that each of the posters features dark haired females as the subject, evoking thoughts of a Betty Boop characterization.   A common theme is the use of a red flower in the hair.  Each woman is modeling various looks, such as a pirate with ship tatooed on the arm, cigarette in her mouth; a woman encircled by red roses and wearing a sombrero; an Indian girl, and a  woman in lingerie sporting a nun's head wear--interesting. One of the more striking posters was a woman superimposed on a black panther surrounded by flames and baring fang teeth.

Claudia Hek was born on the rustic island of Terschelling in the Netherlands.  Later she left for Amsterdam to attend the Rietveld Art Academy there.   At Reitveld, she was learning portraits and realistic art.  She had wanted to learn techniques and apply it to the art she was focused on, primarily graphic art.   She soon realized her vision would not be encouraged and left the Reitveld.  During her time in Amsterdam, she found employment and began playing in bands.  Through her work with bands and involvement in the Amsterdam music scene, she was able to pratice her art  by doing posters, logos and t-shirt designs. From this work, word spread of her talent.   After some time, she came to the realization that she wanted to focus more on the art side of things so she quit her job and starting networking.  Because her work was already known through the music scene, she took on many jobs doing posters, etc.  Word of her work spread via the internet around the world and over the last 5 or 6 years, Claudia has been able to earn a living from it on a freelance basis.  She is now a well known artist in the underground scene and her style is most valued by garage/rock bands for her posters, logos and self printed t-shirts.

Claudia still plays in a band, with her animator/cartoonist/painter husband.  There are times that, due to the demands of the band touring and recording, she is unable to work at her art, but she continues to collect new ideas during those times.   Claudia claims she has always been into art and creating things, and as a child she focused on drawing horses. as that was her passion ,having grown up with horses.  Nowadays, Claudia is attempting to mix the realistic style of painting with the subjects she paints; she is not as excited about the graphics now.   She is very excited at working on her own unique style.  Between Claudia and her husband, they have the music/art scene pretty well covered!
Visit Claudia's website at http://www.claudiahek.com for more information or to make a purchase.

By Shellie Sands

Berlin Wall

It was 20 years ago today that the Berlin Wall fell. One of the starkest symbols of Communism, it cut an ugly scar through Berlin, people cut down by gunfire as they tried to escape through it. After several weeks of protests in the midst of the collapsing of the Iron Curtain in 1989, the Communists gave in on November 9, letting people through.

In the Ceil sim, this Berlin Wall “Die Mauer” exhibit stands at (60, 119, 23), presumably kept up only temporarily. The exhibit was also up last year for the anniversary of it’s fall (Click Here for the 2008 article).

Bixyl Shuftan

RFL Walk: The Really Wild West Exhibit

With so many exhibits on the Relay for Life walk, there just isn’t the time and space to write in detail on each of them. But I did get a sneak peak at one, the “Really Wild West” by the Passionate Redheads.

The exhibit was set in the Old West themed area of the Relay for Life Walk in the southwest corner of the RFL Endure sim (the other west sim was RFL Courage just to the east), the road just on the edge of the RFL Advocacy sim to the south. The place looked like it was set in some mountainous desert, with Native American music in the background. Just behind and to the right of the sign over the entrance was the main building, a two-story adobe structure that served partially as a store, offering a number of items for sale for charity. But the place also had some messages of inspiration. Nearby next to the road were some whimsical “Armadillo Crossing” signs, with armadillo nearby.

Paths and bridges helped one up the mountains. One could walk around to the various sights, but there were also teleports to the more notable ones. There was a mine in which one could hop on a cart and ride down the tracks. There was a river rafting ride, in which one could make their way down the twisting mountain waters. There was an Indian Circle, in which one could sit on a blanket, get a drum and a stick, and beat in rhythm.

The completion of the exhibit was announced in a few group chats a couple nights before the Relay for Life Walk officially started. People headed over, gathering at the adobe building, and having a party around the hot tub. When this reporter checked a few days after the Linden lease ended on Tuesday, it was still up.

Most of the work on the exhibit was done by Lomgren Smalls. Of the theme of the exhibit, “We found out we were on the ‘western’ themed sim already,” he explained, “I thought blending in with what was already there was a good idea.” Others had told me Lomgren had spent so much time on the place, he got only a few nights sleep in the days just before it was finished, “If you count actual hours ... I put in around a day, to a day and a half of work. Others did more as well, with the river, the detailing, the plants, etc. If you count real-life time... it was done in... 4-5 days.” Of the various attractions, “We all contributed toward the ideas. Daaneth loved the mine idea. We were all just spouting out ideas quickly.” Lomgren had no idea how many stepped off the track to look around, but he had a good idea what they felt, “Everyone's loved it.” Although pleased to hear it was still up, he felt it wouldn’t me much longer before it would vanish into the blue, “Anything after (Tuesday) is a bonus.” Despite the temporary results, Lomgren was still happy to have built the place, “That Relay is awesome, and more people should try to get involved. And that building it was fun, if exhausting.”

For his work, the Passionate Readheads awarded him, along with Dusk Griswold, the first Annual Fimi Awards, named after the late Artistic Fimicloud.

On July 21, Daaneth Kivioq announced the Passionate Redheads had raised 2,425,968 L, or over $9,300.

Bixyl Shuftan

The Rabbicorn

I was in the audience at an event when a friend told me about something in the IBM 3 sim that she told me was must-see, “I don’t usually recommend places, but this ... “ So I decided to check it out.

I teleported over, and found myself in a room that looked like it was surrounded by television static, with a couple pages explaining how to get about. But with no portal to the exhibit, the only way to go was down a road, my vision around me obscured by the visual equivalent of white noise. Eventually, it cleared on the road itself, and I soon noticed a room through the static that was brighter than the rest and had some color. I could also make out some people inside. So I went inside.

And there was Bryn Oh, the artist behind the exhibit in her gray, ghostlike avatar. She was looking at some notes on the floor with someone. The room itself had a dark steampunkish feel to it with a phonograph in one corner and some sparking equipment around. Two others came into the room to congratulate Bryn on her exhibit. After that, Byrn turned to me, and after greetings she explained the area, “This is a story that is told in stages, through poems. It is about the character behind me.” She turned to a bronze mechanical form behind her on a table lit by a spotlight, part rabbit part unicorn, “The Rabbicorn.”

Bryn went on, “This is the first part (of the story) here. In the hand of the creator is a poem.” She told me I could zoom in on the poems, or “you can click on it to see it on screen. It’s easier that way. When you have looked at the scene, there is a teleport to the next one.” The teleports looked like black magnifying glasses with white sparkles around them. “Oh, one more thing, there is a machinima ... on top of a tower, there will be a TV there. Click on it. That tells more of the story.”

And so clicking on the first teleport took me to the first part of the story, the place showing a tinkerer having just built the Rabbicorn, and having to make a decision about the creation. Further teleports lead one further into the story, each place a work of art, and soft music in the background adding to the beautifully surreal atmosphere. At one point, the teleports lead to a climb up a debris-filled tower. Although one could just fly up with a flight feather, it’s better to try to walk and jump your way up as much as you can. It is around here one finds a link to the machinima Bryn mentioned. Watching it isn't necessary for the story, but does help add to it. It is not much longer when one gets to the end and the fate of the Rabbicorn.

Taking a look at Bryn’s blog, the exhibit opened on Friday July 10. She also stated that it was originally planned that no more than 6 avatars would be allowed in the sim at one time, feeling lag would ruin the experience. It was not an easy decision, as she worried some might get the impression that the small numbers meant their fellow residents had little interest in the finer arts in Second Life, “So if I can't limit the sim to 6 or so, and you find yourself in a laggy mass of people then please come at another time when it is empty. It really is meant to be seen this way. It has a mood brought on by the story, ambient sounds and being alone brings out the quiet mood of the story.”

An exhibit that is well worth the time to go see.

“The Rabbicorn” is at IBM 3 (56, 50, 23). To read more about this exhibit and other projects by Bryn Oh, click here for her blog.

Bixyl Shuftan