Shape Form Magic

Are you my mommy?

SL is a strange place. We all know that. In the last two days, I have contemplated leaving there once and for all. A lot of my friends from early on have left. The ones that are still there are busy or just don't like me anymore! LOL And lately when I log in, I don't know what to do. I've done the bar thing, the music thing, the fashion thing, the boy thing, the music thing...again, the dancing thing, the attempting to build thing, the rp thing, and the shopping thing (which I still do!)

I'm not sure what thing there is left to do! LOL I would like to feel like I contribute somehow, but I really don't. Perhaps my contribution is keeping the SL economy alive and well. Hooooo!

But something always seems to happen when I am ready to commit SLuicide. LOL Last night, I was listening to Max play and I receive this random IM. I'm like, ugh. Not interested!! But this person must have known me cos he was really friendly right off...he im'd "joonie....joonie....joonie." I found him in the crowd and did not recognize him AT ALL. So I asked if I knew him.

He started playing this cat and mouse game. You know the one....kinda like 3 guesses or Hot or Cold. So that went on for a few mins and I could NOT figure out who he was. I tried to think of who would say "joonie...joonie..joonie" but since he didn't have a German accent, I ruled that person out.

I noticed in his profile he only had two groups listed and he was barely a week old. The groups were about the same topic, so there was Clue #1! I asked him about this and he said yes, he loves this topic. He said we had last spoken about 5 or 6 months ago. Nothing...complete blank. And then...I dared to think it might be someone I have missed a lot! I didn't want to get too excited just in case it wasn't him. I narrowed it down to two people, hoping it was one in particular! And it WAS!

OMG I was soooooo happy! We talked for a while and it was so awesome to hear from him. I hope he continues to come around. We talked about the reason he left and he has every reason to leave. But I'm so glad he popped in for a while. Hugs to you...you know who you are! ;-)

The next awesome thing that happened was...I received a notecard from Bettina Tizzy. If you don't know who she is, find her and join all of her groups! LOL Anyway, I received the following notecard:


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STRANGERS ALSO DANCE
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The inaugural exhibition for the IBM Exhibition Space is Strangers Also Dance by Glyph Graves. Glyph is a Australian based artist whose interactive works incorporate sound, elaborate visuals and narrative. This piece in particular provides a journey through an alternative universe inhabited by jellyfish-like creatures made of sound and light. Incorporating interactive scripts, including cellular automata, the creatures and plants will react to your presence, incorporating you into their behavior. Come visit an exhibition where the denizens are as curious of you as you are of them!

ABOUT THE ARTIST
============
My art in SL is currently focused on the interplay between form, structure and texture. As well asthe normal digital tools of graphic and 3D modeling programs, I also freely make use of Linden Scripting Language as both my chisel and my paintbrush. I'm constantly in a state of wonder at depth and the dimensionality that's available for art of Second Life.

I'm known for my work with slow alpha textures in complex sculpts but also work with interactive sound. In addition, I have a strong interest in Artifical Life (both evolving and non evolving) and Artificial Intelligence and see SL - despite its limitations - as a good test-of-concept platorm .

Winner of the outstanding 3D sculpture Award at the Radiance Exhibition @ AngelGate
many exhibitions including:

- Total Windsculpture - A multi element sculpture that maps the SL wind to movement colour and a set of musical notes.
- Full sim at Ars Simulacra Showcase Island
- Various pieces rotated at the Aho museum
- Level 14 at Crossworlds Gallery
- Kiss the Sky Exhibition
- Chakryn Forest
- Russian Archipelago
- Radiance Exhibition @ AngelGate

Art Builds participated in :
- The Immersion collaboration with Bryn Oh and Nonnatus Korhonen
- Rezzable's underwater build at Rezzables 14
- Rezzable Plasma Deep Space build
- Dancoyote Antonelli's ZeroG SkyDancers
- Caerleon - Surrealistic Dance Hall
- Caerleon - Life is a bowl of....
- Caerleon - One prim wonder


NOTES ON "STRANGERS ALSO DANCE"
=======================
The build

This build was first conceived in Feb-March 2008 but never progressed very far due to lack of time and prim space. The jellyfish, the ripple effect on the sculpt sand base, the speakers (the green plants in the dance sphere), early versions of the sound scripts and some movement routines date from then.

I tried to minimize the use of notecards by having the story IMed to the avatar through the grey green "biocrystals".

It's a simple story of the inhabitants of a warm gas giant and their adaptation (or not) to SL. It could possibly be allegorical. Of life in SL....or not. In any case you might just prefer to think of the tv series Lost.


Sound

All sounds in the build are played note by note. The speakers (the green plants) are designed to produce a spatial sense by cascading the notes down prim by prim as well as having them arranged around the sphere.

In the start area of the build a stereo effect is created by splitting the stereo track into mono components and playing them in opposite prims (it is also swirled by playing the pairs in consecutive prims).

The music aspect will be modified during the life of the build ... time pressure did not allow the sophistication I was aiming for.


Movement

The movement is all physical except for the butterflies at the swamp level, it is much smoother and sim friendly than non phys movement. The main jellyfish ballet (the pinkish ones) use a heavily modified version of the CatRomm Splines script by Lyndyn Tzara. All others are from scripts I've written from time to time.


Sculptures

I've been playing a lot more recently with partially inverted solid textured sculpts. Though they have always been part of my sculptures the use of non alpha textures has made it more prominent. You will see them scattered around. I've become fascinated by the interplay between the two aspects, particularly the interpenetration of the two.


Organisms

Some are old some are new, all are ones I've made in SL.

I'm particularly fond of the cellular automata based ones. I set out to make a texture effect but when the similarity of what I was doing to cellular automata struck me I changed tack. They are a bit different from normal cellular automata in that they are asynchronous in their update and lack a rigid, regular placement. They react to both the avatar touching them and to the state of each of their local neighbors according to a simple rule set. After a touch the music starts to self propagate in a repeating pattern (which is different each time).

The resulting music can be quite pleasing. They don't do well in high lag areas though.


Acknowledgments

The individual notes used to create the sound that accompanies the ballet by janovick www.freesound.org

Bettina Tizzy for support, friendship and pointing out this video (http://vimeo.com/3996331) that led to the reactive reeds in the swamp as well as excellent suggestions that improved the look of the build .

Tezcatlipoca Bisian for inviting me and doing a fantastic job putting it on.

Juko Tempel and White Lebed for helping with testing.

A special thanks to Sabrinaa Nightfire and Georg Janick for very generously allowing me to build an earlier version on their land and Georg for the special thing that the Caerleon Islands art community is which only exists because of his vision and generosity.


Things I didn't make
The CatRomm Splines script by Lyndyn Tzara
The noob by Art Laxman
The Esky and beers by Gumby Roffo
Some textures made by Torley, the sand, chair (LL library)
The tunnel shape leading to the main dance sphere was shaped by Miki Gymnast as part of her wonderful ride at plasma. The sculpts and texture used to create the effect though are mine. ul ride at plasma. The sculpts and texture used to create the effect though are mine.



ABOUT THE IBM EXHIBITION SPACE
=====================
Since 2006, IBM has maintained a presence in Second Life which includes the venerable IBM 6 sandbox, a home and training ground for some of the grids most talented builders, both IBMers and non IBMers. Through the operation of the sandbox, IBM has tacitly recognized that community building and social content creation is a key part of the value of virtual worlds. Most recently, through the thought leadership of Jessica Qin (Craig Becker, CIO Office of Strategic Initiatives), IBM has taken this a step further by opening the two-sim IBM Exhibition Space, located on IBM2 and IBM3 in Second Life.

The IBM Exhibition space is currently curated by Tezcatlipoca Bisiani (Andrew Sempere, Research Designer at IBM's Center for Social Software), and will showcase immersive installations of virtual art and architecture as examples of the cutting edge of what is possible in 3d virtual worlds.
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Since it came at the same time as Bettina's, I assumed it was from her. I'm so jaded or burned out that I rarely go check out new sims. But if it's from Bettina or AM Radio, I'll go!

So off I went. And that is where I took the pic above. If you do nothing else, or if you feel jaded and disillusioned with SL, go check this place out. Srsly...it's worth it.

http://slurl.com/secondlife/IBM%202/163/16/23

http://tinyurl.com/pgvzmk


I was a little disappointed when I first arrived. It looked a lot like a business arch and then open ground. But that didn't last long as I followed the path and came to a body of water. At the far end was a shining pink crystalline form. Click it and you have the option to rest. DO THAT! LOL And the rest I will not tell you. But I will say it restored my faith in SL and was just the magical thing I needed to restore my faith in the good of SL and all it has to offer. It's not about the gossip and the drama and the meaness. At least not for me. I will not deny that it's fun and I have been guilty of enjoying my fair share of it. And I certainly would not begrudge you the opportunity to invest time and energy in it. But I am the most miserable in SL when I indulge in that. And I am by far the most serene when I indulge in a bit of magic and wonder.


So once again when I am at my most jaded, something pulls me through and makes me believe all over again.

Have a good day off tomorrow for those of you who observe Memorial Day.

Hugs..

JoJo