I have only words of praise for DanCoyote Antonelli's sim-wide installation on Arts and Letters opening today at 6 pm SLT. Second Life is full of beautiful and interesting art exhibits, but DanCoyote (DC Spensley in real life) has taken his insights into the virtual space to a ground-breaking level.
Continue reading on for a sneak peak before the opening and some tips for a better experience!
1. The big picture view: Space as the volume of a cube, organized in a layered fashion.
The installation space is constructed to immerse the avatar in an a new environment, free of the geographical constrains that we as people controlling out characters are trained to recognize. I highly encourage you to set your client to the settings indicated at starting point. Failure to do so will heavily impact your experience.
2. Layers, Organization, and Navigation
Each layer is marked by semi-transparent walkways along which avatars can walk/fly and interact with artwork. Every level is a panoramic fine arts painting. To help you navigate between exhibits, there is a scripted tour in the shape of a red-cube. Click on it and select a node to begin your exploration. Don't be afraid to walk and fly around!
Some highlights in our gallery:
The golden installation is created with a complex pattern of interaction based on who is approaching and the kind of actions undertaken nearby.
Modeled after Don Quixote, this sculpture is DanCoyote Antonelli's rendition, titled "Exploding Starax". The lines are beautifully described as brush strokes and as soon as you approach it, the statue (as the name suggests) explodes in various pieces.
3. Subtle Points
The art installation here is unique and captures many deeper concepts. If you wish to understand more, I urge you to check out the novel information kiosks.
Left in the image: the closed conformation you will see on each layer. As soon as you approach, it will expand into a full-size board with information and description (right), to help you learn about the artwork.
Enjoy!
1. Thanks for the heads up with this article Amalthea, this is such a beautifully engineered installation. I love that when you arrive (as you point out), it gives you the 'viewer settings' recommendations to experience it properly.. I would have missed quite a bit otherwise.
I was lucky enough to briefly meet DC in person (so to speak) at another of his installations at uvvy some months ago. He was a really nice, approachable guy.. apart from having created so much incredible work, in such a perfectly suited medium!
Thanks again for highlighting this amazing artist here.
Cheers
Posted at 2:31AM on Aug 15th 2007 by Simondo Nebestanka