SL Art

There are so many ways to create and display art and now there is another way for artist to display their creative genius. People are building and scripting locations on Second Life that gives the viewer as an avatar a three-dimensional point of view of their creation. I believe this is the newest form of art these days and there will be more artists that will be choosing this type of palette to show their art. I found some amazing locations under Showcase in the search engine on the Art tab.

I found Art Box where an avatar can interact with famous pieces of art. You are teleported to a room with several familiar pictures. Then you touch the piece you like and it teleports you to a room that is the piece of art in 3D. On the side they have the all the props and even outfits so you can get the full look. There is also an avatar at the side to clean up after your done playing around with the set.

Another location I am very fond of is Immersiva at 180, 83, 26 by Bryn Oh. You are teleported in a sea of very shallow water with a mountain island made of metal and a free small object that you have to get closer to see what they are. When you get to these objects they are all connected to a story line. On the other side of the mountain there is a wooden contraption built with objects inside. When you touch the object it teleports you to a black room.

When you spin around there is a still scene with a note on the ground. Through poetry the artist tells a story through teleporting to each scene. You can walk around but cannot change anything. The story is interesting about a robot rabbit and the conflicts it goes though. There is another place that teleports you to a crisp white room with scenes set up like several small stages. This location is very whimsical and futuristic and a really cool idea to tell a story.

Restaurants With Art

I enjoy sitting down at a restaurant and looking around at the art on the walls. A restaurant called Recipes on Crooks in Troy is a perfect example. This is a very small place and kinda hard to find but always has local artists work on the walls. I think this is a great idea and more restaurants should do this. It gives the room a creative vibe and even inspiration to the customers.

Recipes is a very cute place that serves breakfast and lunch. Kind of expensive but has great eggs Benedict and French toast as well as cappuccinos in really large cups. This is a one-room restaurant and every wall has artwork from an artist. The pieces are hung by bent spoons, which I think is a really cool idea. The art gives the room an atmosphere depending on the artist. I found it very interesting to eat my eggs and look around at the paintings or photographs.

A place my friends and I go to not only because they work there but because it is super cool is in Clawson called Black Lotus Brewery. This is a wonderful place to hang out and drink, eat and listen to live music, all while checking out local artists work on the walls. They brew their own beer in all different flavors according to seasons and have a small wine list. I usually get a fun wine spritzer and my friend Ally gets her beer with vanilla ice cream, which is apparently delicious.

Another cool place for local art is the Cass Café in Detroit on Cass Avenue. It is a very interesting and eclectic restaurant that serves an amazing menu with a full bar. It’s nice for Wayne students to hop over for a quick meal and drink before going back to class. They also have live music and local artists displayed on the walls. They have also won awards from the Metro Times, Best Bar Art, Best Bar for Conversations, and Best Bar to Take Friends From New York.

Black Lotus

Cass Cafe

Work of Art

There will be a new show looking for The Next Great Artist on Bravo premiering June 9^th called Work of Art. For all my years of watching reality show I have never seen one about artists. It looks like it is going to be the same set up as Top Chef or Project Runway. There is of course a host China Chow, who is not surprisingly a model as well as an actress and artist who grew up around prominent artist in New York. The judges are Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn, Jerry Saltz, and Bill Powers; unfortunately I have no clue who any of them are but are very relevant in the industry.

There is also a mentor Simon de Pury or the Tim Gunn of this show for those of you who watch Project Runway. Sarah Jessica Parker is one of the executive producers for this show, which is unexpected in my opinion. I would figure her to be more of a fashion show producer instead of an artist show. I feel like this show might be taken the wrong way or possibly made to be something that could be looked down upon. I hope the producers do not give the impression to the viewers that all artists are crazy lunatics but show that there is sanity in the art world.

I am very excited to watch this show and see how they handle the fourteen contestants. I am concerned on how they will judge the contestants art. I believe creating art and displaying it is a very personal experience and these people will be doing this in a matter of hours in front of millions and being critically judged by very important people. I do not know if I would be able to handle that. The winner would get an express ticket to possibly being an important well-known artist.

The artist will have to defend their work through everything. The problem is every one has their own opinion and taste level in art so it will be interesting to see what the judges say. One of the artist Nao said, “I’m not responsible for your experience of my work”. I do believe that everyone views art with bias eyes. Everyone has their own background and reasons for their likes and dislikes but there is also a difference between good art and bad art.

There are bios of everyone involved and videos on the Bravo site for this show. There is also a place where you can get creative yourself and draw a little something special.

Work of Art: The Next Great Artist

Wonderwall inc.

This site is made by Masamichi Katayama and is an interior designing firm that shows off their brilliance. There are portfolios that cover commercial spaces like retail spaces, restaurant and bars and office showrooms. Each design is crisp and clean and very contemporary. The main page is very creative in its design. At the top there are categories from news to jobs and years that you can view the bottom part by.

The main part is this extraordinarily designed showcase of all these places, which are mostly located in New York, Paris and Japan. When scrolled across the images transform by following the pointer the parts are twisted and enlarged. While this is happening there is the sound of little driplets’ of water when ever crossing to the next image. There is five across and thirty-five down if you view all of the sites on one page. When you click on a cube it tells you about the location and gives other addresses and there are pictures that download to the right.

The images are impressive and designs are very stylish. I can tell these places are for the rich and famous. The places are linear and complex with quality furniture. The lighting is very important and placement of furniture. Many places use glass and brick as dividers.

One of my favorites is A Bathing Ape Pirate Store in Nagano because it has a sense of humor. The clothes are displayed in treasure trunks and the walls look like you’re in the belly of a ship. The outside is a neon blue wall that looks like wood and water. I also enjoy the store The Ice Cream Store in Hong Kong because it is very atmospheric. The stairs to go up have little lights on the steps and walls and on the ceiling. When upstairs the whole room is covered in planet textures. The seats look like ice cream sandwiches and the down stairs looks like an ice cream shop but they sell clothing. It has a child like appearance and I’m sure the price tag differs.

Wonderwall inc.

Freebies

I may be addicted to shopping on Second Life. I want to go every time I am on line. Although it has to be freebies because I refuse to put money into SL. This is probably because I would be on more than I am already and I do not have time to have another addiction. I will buy anything that is free unless I already have it. I find myself buying things that look interesting or things that I would like in real life. I also buy things that I would not be able to get or wear in real life.

I click on the item and add it to my inventory then get to campus and open everything and check what I got out. I get rid of a few things but keep most of it because I never know when I might need a Jester costume or a citrus squeeze store. I like to keep the odd things just incase I need it for the special moment in the future. I have so many houses, boats and Vehicles I could be on the Rich and the Famous if this was real life. The things I have the most of is clothing, countless items in this category.

I have 20,714 items in my inventory at this very moment. Some how I wish I had all these for myself in real life. I would be one happy person with a lot of crap and most wouldn’t even fit me. A lot are duplicates though really. I could go through and probably get rid of a few thousand or so because I will most likely never use the item.

I have gotten this freebie shopping down to an art. I go to search under All and either input freebie but that usually pops up with places I have been already or places that have the same stuff I already have. Or I input something that interests me and I go to the location that looks prosperous and then look at the Price list and look for the word free. Then I teleport to the place and hunt down what they are offering me. I also love to look at the Showcase locations because those are usually very interesting and look for free things there. It’s nice to get a little gift and exciting to open it up like Christmas morning.

Designer Couch: Dale May

This site is very interesting because it shows many artist and photographers of all types and shows their talent. I’d like to focus on this one photographer Dale May. His work is beautiful and inspiriting. He is based in New York and works in advertising, editorial, music and conceptual based imagery. His work is amazing and should be because he is the Creative Director of Post Image Group. He retouches high-end digital works.

His first photo is of multiple people around a pool table brawling. The rest of the pictures on the page are of women covered in tattoos in pin up poses. They all have beautiful scenery with either natural or textured environments. Some images are more surreal and fantasy like. Near the end he has animal posing in human environments. One is a bunny and cat bowling.

The image above is my favorite from this site from Dale. I find it the most inspiring because of the bright color choices and intense contrast. I admire pin up photography and the retro look mixed with the 21^st century. I love the vintage-inspired look with a contemporary vibe to it. The inner lip tattoo is pretty cool too, I was going to get one of those but decided to get on in my ear instead.

I started looking around the site and searched under the Digital art category and found many artists with very expressive works. Some have graphic designed based images that burst with curves and colors. Many have brilliant colors and abstract shapes that look more like wallpaper. Although others look more like advertisement and commercial with models or creatively designed logos. This site is full of talented artist that are inspiring.

Gamer

A movie came out this year called Gamer staring Gerard Butler (hot), Amber Valletta and Michael C. Hal. It’s about a man, Cable that was accused of murder and sentenced to jail. By the way it is based in the future so the prisoners are the avatars in a game played by people in their homes. The game is based on Call of Duty or other military games where the point of view is the face of the shooter in the game. This man is really talented at killing with the help of the kid that controls his movements.

His wife is part of a Second Life/SIMS world but she is a prostitute controlled by a really gross fat man. They show the world and it is very eclectic with bright colored outfits and graphic sexual scenes. The parts in this world are very intense with rapid moments and music to match. It looks like Second life would look if it were to be in the real world. There are names over the avatars heads and people can change their identity.

There is not a relationship between the players and the gamers because of the player being prisoners and having the possibility to die at any battle. In Cable’s situation he is the best ever in the game and could win his freedom and back with his wife and daughter. His daughter is actually being taken care of by the creator of the whole real person gaming system and the one who put Cable in jail on purpose. His character is pretty intense; he even has a song and dance number, which is entertaining.

This movie was not at all what I thought it was going to be like. I was surprised how they incorporated Second Life and SIMS but I thought it was interesting. Although I hope if this were to happen in the future, it would not be all about sex and prostitutes. Hopefully it would be more like how it is now but have the ability to be in two places at once with the help of avatars. There would be a world I could not imagine and probably will never happen, but you never know.

Psychic

A few years ago I went up north with my boyfriend and our friends. We were shopping at Mackinac Island and came across a psychic reading shop. My friend and I decided to try it out. It was my first time and I had always wanted to do this at least once in my lifetime. I usually think they are full of poop and just want money.

So I go into the room with the psychic and we sit across from each other. She starts telling me things that are actually happening in my life. I was very skeptical and making sure she wasn’t fooling me. I listened to what she was saying and answering her questions with very little words. I did not want to give anything about myself away so she could use it to convince me.

While she said a few things that did not relate to me she did say things that I was surprised she got right about me. She knew I was an art student and I wanted to create digital work. She also said I would move to California for my career in the movie industry and get a job on a movie set. She said I would become friends with a man that I worked with and get married and have two kids. This was interesting to me because it is a possibility.

At that point I was hopeful and excited of my future. I was wondering when would this happen and what can I do to get this started. I would love to work in the movie industry but California is not my cup of tea. I have been there several times growing up and it would not be where I would want to live. But if it takes me to where I want to be in my career that’s what I have to do. This is a huge step and I am horrible about taking that step. One of my friends mentioned that she was thinking about moving to California and it reminded me of that experience with the psychic. So maybe it is still an opportunity for me.

My Camera Phone

I recently got a new phone and the camera on it is very impressive. I have taken several photos actually 537 of everyday affairs in my life. I love to mess around with the effects and shooting modes. My favorite is the Mosaic shot because it breaks the image down to different shapes that I can manipulate and make abstract. I like to use the negative mode to get a darker and more dramatic effect.

There are many settings on the camera phone just like a regular camera. I can change the resolution, brightness, quality, focus, ISO, white balance, sharpness, contrast and saturation. Very different from the last phone I had from Verizon. I was surprised how well everything works in such a small package. I also get many compliments on how well the quality is on the photos.

It also has a video mode as well but I have not used it as much as I’d like. I plan on recording footage to make a video in the future with it but I have not found an idea yet. I’ve been having trouble finding my inspiration lately. I’ve been trying to capture images of random experiences but for some reason I have been missing the moment. Either I cannot catch the angle or the light or my timing is off with hitting the button.

The only thing I do not like about the camera is its timing from when the button is hit and when the picture is actually taken. It drives me insane, I have to tell people to wait at least 10 seconds before they can more away from the pose. I hit the button at the time I want to take the picture then it around 4-7 seconds before the picture is actually taken. By the time its taken the moment has past or its blurry and I get really mad. I also have a hard time with the flash because it gets really bright and blinds the eyes of everyone around when I use it. Besides those two problems I really enjoy it and think it can produce quality photos.

Senior Thesis

I am finally taking Senior Thesis! Yay! At last the day has come when I can say I am taking my last course and graduating soon. I have managed to hang on to a thread of sanity through these last few years and I can almost feel the freedom. It will be a huge accomplishment for me and a small boost of self-esteem. Even though it has taken me a lifetime to get here I will be relieved and a load lifted off my shoulders.

I am very excited to display my artwork at the final show. I have been thinking of ideas for a while now and I have a few cool plans. I do not want to give up too much information but they involve several items of bulky technical equipment and some sort of refection device. Another idea could involve me being on a ladder for a while. I should probably have a rough draft of what I want everything to look like and maybe price out a few things.

My life at the moment is stressful but could be worse. I have to be out of my apartment by the end of the month and find a new place with my boyfriend which that has its own difficulties. While packing and doing homework I am working 40 hours a week and searching for places to live in my free time. I wish I knew how to handle my time better so I would not have to rush everything at the last minute. This is how I have been all my life and it is about time to change.

I want the rest of this year to go smoothly and I will do anything in my power to make it that way. I will have a new place to live with my boyfriend and a constant work schedule. I am about to start looking for a job that relates to my major after I get settled into our new place. I am nervous but hopeful that I can do this. I just have to be positive and confident. I have been watching tutorials online to learn as much as I can about Photoshop, AfterEffects and FinalCutPro so hopefully I can handle anything as well as prepare for thesis.

Hoogerbrugge

Han Hoogerbrugge is an amazing digital artist with extreme talent. He has created several series online that are interactive. He is well known and a very respectable artist. He started as a painter and cartoonist from Rotterdam. In 1996 he started working with the internet creating his first series Modern Living Neurotica. This was the first piece I came across from him and I fell in love with his work.

On his website hoogerbrugge.com under Work there is an animation tab that has five online pieces, Nails, Hotel, Spin, Flow and Modern Living/ Neurotica. These series are interactive and flash shorts that have an experimental and slightly creepy feel to them. I think he is touching on life and death throughout his work. How people make choices in life and the consequences. He uses playfully creative ways to express himself.

Everything about his work is mesmerizing and makes me want to see more. I found his main site and saw he has also created instillations and videos. One of his instillations is shown as a dialog with instructions as well as a video that shows how it works. There is another on of his works is a projected animation on an LED-wall at the Museum Boymans van Beuningen. Where viewers can text words to him and then displayed on the wall. He manages to make each of his pieces as interactive as possible and playful so people want to see more.

There are also his humorous stills and books that viewers can buy on his website. From pillboxes to posters and silkscreen’s, there is a little something for everyone. He is also on Wikipedia, where it tells a little bit about him and all the websites connected to Han. There is something special about this artist and a little addicting as well. I cannot seem to stop looking at his work over and over again.

hoogerbrugge.com

Vectorpark

I found the main site for the Feed the Head site I have talked about before. There are four more awesome sites to explore and play with. I was so excited when I found this! My new favorite is Levers because it is a mind game. At first there is a blue screen with water at the bottom and a handle bar type of thing that has loops at both ends.

The goal is to take the objects that drop and hang them by the ends. Every time you hang the object the circle at the top will measure the time the object is not touching the water. If it does touch the water the timer stops and nothing will fall until the object is above the water for eight seconds. Then the next object will fall. There will be a submarine, a snowman, more levers and many more objects. The tricky ones are the water bucket and the birdcage because you have to measure the water a certain way and the bird keep flying around landing on the objects pushing them down into the water.

Another one that I enjoy is the Park. There is a man sitting on the left bottom corner on top of a bunch of disheveled objects. This man has a binocular looking object and when you move around the screen he follows. There are things to touch on like the little forest in the middle. When clicked on a larger circle of an oval tree forest appears.

When you click on the ovals they fall over and there is a lighter colored object that when you touch it, it falls and runs down the hill and up the cliff. Then a large honeycomb object appears with little white holes. When rolled over a light appears around then hole and when you click on them, it takes you to another circle that can be played with. This site is simple in its appearance but everything is calculated and created in a puzzle playful way that is intriguing.

The other two are my least favorite but still interesting. Vectorpark has seven circles in the middle of the page and each has a little peak of what will happen when clicked on. There is a little screen that appears and each has an object that moves to the movement of the pointer. Like in Lake if the pointer stops the egg shape with legs on a tricycle stops rolling over the lake. The last and defiantly not least is Windosill. It starts out a dark screen but you can see little objects that are slightly lit. Each can be played with by moving them with the pointer. If you touch the light bulb the lights will come on and you can see everything you can play with are in a large divided box. This site is my favorite for its creativity and simplistic aesthetic.

Vectorpark.com

Web Art

I once again stumbled across this site http://www.larrycarlson.com/supreme_om/ and it is amazing. Larry Carlson is a very creative artist and she displays her artwork in many different ways on this site. That stretches to her own blog and other sites she has that shows her talent. This site is defiantly addicting because there is so much to experience. At every click hypnotic video and surreal multi media photos show her creative talent.

At the bottom there are many little cubes that have names of the piece pop up. When you click on them the space above transforms into a canvas for her corky psychedelic creations that mesmerize. Each cube has its own video stream with audio that she has created as well. She uses a mixture of 80’s visual techniques and hypnotizing surreal images that are looped. That makes it feel like you are part of a dream or on some very heavy drugs.

On some of the cubes there are different parts to it that give you a variety of patterns and shapes. Many pieces use text in many different fonts that pop up quickly. Some have a futuristic feel to them and sound very techy. Like in the cube called Saucer Soup located top right in the cubes. There is also an interactive part where if you click on the little screen it takes you to another part for a couple seconds then back again. If you scroll over the main part where the city is, the image changes and acts differently.

On her website there is a link to see her black and white photos. They are different from her psychedelic pieces and are more child like but still have disconnecting mix of images. There is repetition and in a very creative way and mirrored images. There are little details that give the piece character and make you look a step closer. Every part of Larry Carlson’s site is amazing and amusing and inspires me to explore more of his site and to create work of my own.

Labuat

I stumbled across this site Soytuaire.labuat.com one day and found it very fascinating. On the first page there is beautiful cursive Spanish writing:

“Soy tu aire es una cancion llena de muchos y pocos. de orquestas y de bilas de voz. de vendades y mentiras a medias. y como tiene arribas y abajos queriamos darte algo para que pudieses moverte con la cancion.

Un pencel

porque soy tu aire aqui se pinta en el aire

Muevete por donde te pida la cancoin

acabaras haciendo tu propia obra que pordra si quieres ver en video”

Which I poorly translated to this:

“I am your air is a full song of many and few. Of orchestras and hoaxes of voice. of truths and lies by halves and as it has you arrive and down wanted give something so that you could move with the song.

Pencil

because I am your air is painted here in the air

Move by where it requests the song to you. You would end up making your own work that can see some if you want to see in video”

Every word on this site is in Spanish, so I translated the main information but some things did not make sense. It was hard to read the cursive writing so I tried to figure out what the words meant. The mouse has Spanish words on it as well that changes in seconds.

There is a percentage at the bottom for the preparing page. At the top there is a tap that says “Pintndo una cancion” which means “Painting a song.” After it loads the next page has a play button. As soon as you hit the button the pointer becomes part of a song that begins and can be controlled by the movement of the mouse. The brush strokes change with the music and movements of the mouse creates an amazing visual piece.

The song is very beautiful and makes it easy to play with this over and over again. Every time is different and I notice things I did not the first time. With splashed of the ink or paint like substance that appear and fill the screen with shapes that quickly pass by. My favorite is when little fish follow the curser and when the song gets more intense the brush stroke gets thicker and more expressive. This site shows a great sense of imagination and creativity that is a fresh breathe to see online.

I believe this site is for a Spanish recording artist named Labuat. Not exactly sure but that’s what I understand so far. I think it is a very clever idea for this artist to show her music that is interacting. It’s a way to listen to her music and play with the beat and create your own music video. I think it is recorded apparently but I have not figured that part out yet. This site is an expressive experience that is memorable and beautifully created.

Labuat.com