Prim Perfect Jigsaw: Coffee in Arcachon, as places slip away in Second Life

Coffee in Arcachon

I took the picture for today’s jigsaw during my visit to Arcachon, the Francophone sim that will be closing in four days’ time.  If you visit, there’s a tip jar out. To keep it open another month, they need to gather together 50,000 Lindens in the next four days. And then, of course, if they want to keep it open beyond another month, they need to gather another 80,000 and another, and another.  Without the language project to fund it, the future looks bleak and this lovely little piece of virtual France will finally be gone.

It’s not a good week for the Euro-centric sims; I hear that the Swedish Embassy (not a Second Life creation by online Swedes, but an attempt by the Swedish government to enter virtual worlds) will be closing too.

Coffee in Arcachon

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Catch up with your Prim Perfect jigsaws (showing images of Second Life and other virtual worlds).

If you’d like to submit a photo of your own to feature as a jigsaw, send it to the Prim Perfect Flickr Group. It should be sized 800w x 600h, or else it will need to be re-sized.

Last Chance to See – Arcachon

Arcachon Atlantique

Some days you simply have to tear up the post you were writing – and write something else.

I was planning on writing a not-too-discouraged post today about the state of the grid, pointing out regions that were changing – in design, in theme, in ownership.  Even when some regions were being sold, there are still encouraging signs.

And then you land on Arcachon.

Arcachon – Closing

I have to admit, I’ve never been to Arcachon before.  We had it on our list of places that we really want to feature on Designing Worlds for its content, its authenticity, its wealth of learning and interactivity … but I had never been there myself.

There will, sadly, be no show now.

Arcachon

Based on the southwest of France, the Gironde, it once consisted of two sims.  Now it is just one, but Arcachon Atlantique has a lovely little harbour, huge beaches and an authentically French feel. On doesn’t just parler francais ici – part of its funding came a language institute developing a programme that would enable people to learn French through an immersive experience in Second Life and – in particular – in the charming region of Arcachon.

Learn French in Arcachon

But that funding has run out, and Arcachon finds itself 50,000 Lindens short of the money that would see it continuing another month.

In five days it will be gone.

Arcachon farm, photo by Aisling Sinclair

So, once more, I am sharing a last chance to see. Because, unless a good angel steps in, the charming little French port with its stores, its windmill, its lighthouse, its camping sauvage and its cafe, its bandstand, its information about French and European customs, its boat rides, its bicycle tours, its fishing, its hot air balloon, its cute farm with its animals … all will be gone for good.

Arcachon at sunset, photo by Aisling Sinclair

Prim Perfect Jigsaw: In the Office

Prim Perfect Head Offices

Well, actually, not quite in the office. This is the staff canteen at Prim Perfect’s Head office, and one of the places we like to hold meetings.

I was waiting for someone to turn up for a meeting, and snapped what I saw – Dijodi Dubratt’s utterly gorgeous building, with glimpses of Aisling Sinclair’s landscaping behind … and in close view Pitsch Parx’s tables, chairs, vases and desktop lamp.  It’s a glorious place to invite people over to meetings!

So – why don’t you take a picture of where you are and upload it to our Flickr group, with the words “PP Jigsaw” somewhere in the title? Size the image 800 wide by 600 high and give us permission to download … and your picture could end up as a Prim Perfect jigsaw too!

Waiting at the Prim Perfect Head Offices

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Catch up with your Prim Perfect jigsaws (showing images of Second Life and other virtual worlds).

If you’d like to submit a photo of your own to feature as a jigsaw, send it to the Prim Perfect Flickr Group. It should be sized 800w x 600h, or else it will need to be re-sized.

Living with Lag

A cool grey world.

Last night, while walking around a corner in my lovely SL home, I crashed.

And I don’t mean, like, SL logged me out. I mean, like, my computer turned itself off. And then came back on and said in several languages, basically, ‘I couldn’t deal any longer and panicked.’ Sad face.

Let me say up front that I know the reason my virtual experience is so sad and slow is that I am doing it via a 3+ year old MacBook Pro. When I started SL, my machine was brand new, the viewer was old, and everything was rather peachy. But in the new-fangled world of browser-like viewers and mesh, my poor wee machine is struggling. And while I’d love to rush out and get a shiny new one, it isn’t the right time, and I’m not going to shell out the ducats just for SL (sorry SL).

So I’ve been living with lag for quite a while now. Much of my virtual experience is grey and slow to rez, and everyone’s movements are choppy and stilted. But if I am patient and stand somewhere long enough, my world becomes lovely and vivid, and I’m pleased to be there. As such, I definitely limit my experience to places that are worth the wait, like art installations (and which are much lower lag than shopping events!)

But see, that was my SL, I didn’t know any different. That is, until this last Christmas when I had the chance to login on my dear friend (the Cheeky Pea herself) Isla Gealach’s gorgeous 27″ iMac. Isla has NO LAG. I actually had no idea that when you tp’ed somewhere, it could be instant… and when you cammed around, it could all go in a blur. I was enthralled, then I was in despair. How would my SL ever be acceptable after this?

After a manic episode of almost ordering a Mac mini on the spot (I’ll be a Mac user til I die, so I’m not having that debate here, to each their own), I came to my senses. I’ve been living with lag for a while now, and I would certainly survive it.

But since the new year, it’s been particularly bad… and I was somewhat relieved this week to learn that I wasn’t alone. On Tuesday, when I went to preview Bryn Oh’s wonderful new exhibit ‘Imogen and the Pigeons’, SL was entirely borked for all of us… it’s been a mess since, and then last night, the computer thing. When I restarted, Firestorm wouldn’t start AT ALL. So I said f*ck it and loaded up the SL viewer.

Guess what? I’m sort of ok.

PJ and I went back and finished Bryn’s exhibit (and you HAVE TO GO IT IS AMAZING), and it was FINE. I was even able to navigate some of her trickier paths (because when you are regularly laggy, sharp turns and curving stairs are a bitch!). So now I’m suspicious that the problem is Firestorm for Mac, and this isn’t the first time I’ve heard that.

I’ve had other random issues, such as mesh walls not rezzing until I uncheck basic shaders in my graphics (and then check again and it’s fine). But this wee ramble which is in service of not a lot is basically just to make a plea for content creators: please remember those of us who live with lag?

For example, I am wandering around a major and popular store right now which will not let me fly or tp from A to B in their HUGE store. I get that you want me to walk by all your stuff, but 1) it isn’t rezzing fast enough for me to see, and 2) I just get frustrated when I have to walk back through, downstairs, and around to the next store when I’m even a bit laggy.

Please, remember and be kind to those of us who live with lag.

Art for your Weekend

The Arrival by Rose Borchovski at LEA 23. Photo by PJ Trenton.

As a large chunk of the planet is at least grey, if not covered in snow, why not curl up at home with some excellent virtual culture! There is so much wonderful art opening this weekend in SL, and we’ve already highlighted three must-see exhibitions thus far:

Rose Borchovski’s ‘The Arrival’ opened yesterday at LEA 23, in which her Susas return for more misadventure. A multi-layered and multi-media work (sound on!), Rose’s installations just keep getting better and better in my view. And while you are there, many of the other LEA exhibits are open as well, so you can check the LEA blog for details on those.

Bryn Oh in her new exhibit ‘Imogen and the Pigeons’. Photo by PJ Trenton.

Bryn Oh’s newest Immersiva work ‘Imogen and the Pigeons’ officially opens today, so don’t be surprised if it is a busy sim. It is well worth the effort as Bryn delivers another intricate tale to explore. This is not a quick trip though, so make sure you have at least an hour to spare to fully enjoy this work (I believe it took PJ and I a couple, as we were so engrossed).

Winter Outlined by Fucshia Nightfire. Photo by PJ Trenton.

And Saffia gave us a jigsaw peek at Fuschia Nightfire’s new installation ‘Winter Outlined’, where you can pop in for some very unique skating fun!

If that wasn’t enough (and it’s never enough with great art), Stephen Venkman’s show ‘Past Present Future’ opens at the stunning Elephant and Seadryke Gallery at Eliza Wierwight’s Patron, today at 2pm SLT.

Stephen Venkman at Elephant and Seadryke Gallery. Photo by Rowan Derryth.

Venk tells us a bit about himself:

A resident of SL for  almost 7 years. I started taking images in SL to chronicle the people I met and the creations I encountered. Once I was introduced to Corel Paint and Photoshop, the realization of pushing the envelope with my images was born. A first life artist in music only,  I stumbled upon Second Life.  I have since been involved with many shows in-world and one real life show in Europe at the Museum of History in Florence Italy.  After being invited to show at Second Life’s 4th Birthday celebration, I was invited to show in the first multi- artist shows at “The Cannery” gallery owned by Rezzable and ran by Vint Falken and Shoshana Epsilon.  I was also asked to join Avatrait Gallery as a featured artist, then to their board of directors, and also gallery curator/manager.  I have since slowed down on my gallery curating to take more time creating . I’ve opened up a shop for male shapes, and continue expanding my line of in-world characters.  Resident photographer for a handful of magazines, I’m never in lack of something to do in SL.  I am very interested in environmental design and making my own textures. Currently residing on my Sim with fellow designers, creators and photographers as neighbor, along with a few virtual pets. Life is good!

And with so much wonderful art, Second Life is good indeed!

Prim Perfect Jigsaw: From Winter Outlined by Fuschia Nightfire

Fuschia Nightfire’s invisible avatar

In addition to the opening of Rose Borchovski’s ‘The Arrival’ – which Rowan Derryth wrote about here yesterday – today also sees the launch of a new installation by Fuschia Nightfire – Winter Outlined, which sounds exciting … and rather fun.

I received this notice about it:

Gallery Graine’s Sculpture Garden is proud to announce the grand opening of Winter Outlined by Fuschia Nightfire, a sculptural ‘sketch’ of a winter scene, with an interesting use of invisible prims. This is an interactive installation, with a free outline avatar that you can wear to skate on the frozen water alongside the sculptured figures. Come and meet Fuschia and skate to the music of Whirli Placebo this Saturday January 12 from 12-2 PM SLT!

Winter Outlined poster

I ran into (and very nearly through) Fuschia herself a few days ago at Eliza’s Wierwight’s beautiful Patron. She was testing out the special invisible avatars – I was awestruck and couldn’t resist taking a few pictures which had fascinating effects on the land behind too …

This is, of course. part of a long and fascinating exploration that Fuschia has been carrying into identity.  We visited her beautiful black and white installation in Inworldz for the Designing Worlds. And now … being invisible is promising to be a lot of fun (and possibly a little chilly … You might even say downright crazy …

Fuschia Nightfire’s invisible avatar at Patron

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Catch up with your Prim Perfect jigsaws (showing images of Second Life and other virtual worlds).

If you’d like to submit a photo of your own to feature as a jigsaw, send it to the Prim Perfect Flickr Group. It should be sized 800w x 600h, or else it will need to be re-sized.

Ekphrasis: Rose Borchovski’s ‘The Arrival’

The Arrival by Rose Borchovski at LEA 23. Photo by PJ Trenton.

THE ARRIVAL:

Explanation 1:
The Susa Bubbles have caught a fish, and while they admire how big it is, the fish dies. They wonder if they are to blame.

Rose Borchovski’s new work ‘The Arrival’, at LEA 23, is a continuation of her Susa saga, in which these mischievous and sometimes malevolent childlike beings find themselves in another spiritual and philosophical quandary, brought on by the simple act of catching a fish.

The Arrival by Rose Borchovski at LEA 23. Photo by PJ Trenton.

Those familiar with Rose and her work know that certain symbols appear repeatedly, and the fish is chief amongst them (her gallery and group are both called Two Fish). If you’ve ever wondered why this is so, one of Rose’s explanations for this exhibit (she offers us a sampling) is enlightening:

Explanation 2:
I grew up in a small village on the edge of the sea. Once every few years a big fish (small whale) would strand itself on our beach. And that was an enormous happening event: the arrival, this giant big fish lying on the beach, its weight made it impossible to breath, longing for the water, overheated by its own fat, trapped in the sand, slippery and smelly. We would climb all over it, standing on top of its belly, poking it with sticks, jumping up and down for pictures, while the whale was slowly dying under our feet. The beach would turn into a fancy fair, good business for local kibbling (warm fish) and hot chocolate sellers.

When the fish was finally dead, there was a grand finale. Men with big boots, shiny yellow raincoats and sharp knives would chop the bubbling and the now very smelly fish up into pieces. Looking at it made our hair smell for weeks.

As a child this left a huge impression on me. Why were we not able to carry the fish back into the sea?

I wondered if we were to blame.

The Arrival by Rose Borchovski at LEA 23. Photo by PJ Trenton.

The Susas wonder the same thing, as they repeatedly chant in haunting tones – and you must make sure to have your volume up as you wander this installation. ‘The Arrival’ exemplifies Rose’s continued move away from her earlier tableau-like installations (although sounds were always an important component of those too) towards an increasingly immersive approach in the form of the dynamic use of space, and interactive components achieved through collaborations with the talented scripter Caer Balogh.

The Arrival by Rose Borchovski at LEA 23. Photo by PJ Trenton.

With a teleport from the landing area, your journey takes you on a somewhat precarious path down the back of this very big fish, which is essentially a massive virtual sculpture. But that is perhaps an over-simplification, as from a formal perspective, this twisted playground exhibits Rose’s increasing mastery in the use of mesh to relate her narrative. The forms and their composition are skilful and beautiful, even if a bit disturbing.

The Arrival by Rose Borchovski at LEA 23. Photo by PJ Trenton.

But what the hell does it mean?

Explanation 3:
Christian explanation: do we need the fish to take over our sins?
Do we take more then we need, are we to blame?

The Susa story is multi-layered, and the Biblical themes and analogies are rather clear, if you look for them. I was struck by this the very first time I wrote about Rose’s work, and it is why I still find visiting her installations so very exciting. While they are certainly understandable for a broad audience, art history nerds like me find a wealth of symbolic material and references to ponder. Some of them incredibly direct, as Rose states in her fourth explanation:

Explanation 4:
Inspired by a painting: “Big Fish Eat Little Fish” by Pieter Brueghel the Elder.
Grandibus Exigui Sunt Pisces Piscibus Esca.

Big Fishes Eat Little Fishes, by Pieter Bruegel the Elder. Pen in grayblue on paper. 215 × 302 mm. Vienna, Graphische Sammlung Albertina (inv.no. 7875).

I wondered how many of these choices were conscious ones, particularly when pondering a jumbled mix of letters floating on the water that, when puzzled out, spell ‘freedom.’ For me, this referenced the Futurist artist Marinetti’s groundbreaking typographic work ‘Parole in Liberta’ (Words in Freedom). Rose responded: ‘I love layers… in the end we all borrow from the giants that went ahead from us.’ I agree, but the very best artists, in my opinion don’t just borrow, they reinterpret and reinvent, which is why I find Rose’s work so compelling.

The Arrival by Rose Borchovski at LEA 23. Photo by PJ Trenton.

However, explanation number 5 underscores the fact that neither my nor Rose’s ideas about ‘The Arrival’ should shape how this work is viewed:

Explanation 5:
Your story and enjoyment to discover the Fish.

‘The Arrival’ opens tomorrow (Saturday the 11th of January) at LEA 23. Go fish for your own story.

The Arrival by Rose Borchovski at LEA 23. Photo by PJ Trenton.

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Note from Rose:

I thank you all for supporting and visiting my art in SL. After some initial hick ups I had a lot of fun making this installation. Of course it is not finished. I will keep tweaking it until it has to die. I’m grateful that the LEA committee granted me this sim to create this installation.
Thank you, Rose ❤

CREDITS:
Installation and concept by Rose Borchovski
Scripts: Caer Balogh
Song at the end: Susanne Sundfør

Rose Borchovski Amongst her Susas. Photo by PJ Trenton.

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Don’t miss Rose’s other wonderful installations:

The Inevitability of Fate: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Cariacou/194/78/172

Echoes in the Garden: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Rosas/36/73/1801