On Artists and their Patrons: An SL6B discussion to help shape the future of the Arts

Posted by Bettina Tizzy

On June 1, the New Media Consortium's (NMC) CEO Larry Pixel (aka Dr. Larry F. Johnson) guest blogged here on a topic that has sparked a vibrant dialogue: On Artists and their Patrons: Nurturing Support for the Arts in Second Life®.

The arts in Second Life may be blossoming, but the level of sophistication in terms of sponsorship, promotion and funding still lags far behind Real Life. Also of much concern: lands that were previously available, and amply so, are drying up.

What do our artists and their patrons need to do to get up to speed? How can we encourage more of Second Life's residents to step up and provide meaningful support to the arts?

Please join us tomorrow for a critically important panel presentation to discuss how we can foster and shape the future of arts in Second Life... and begin to put them on par with their Real Life counterparts.

ON ARTISTS AND THEIR PATRONS, Nurturing Support for the Arts in Second Life

WHEN: Friday, June 26, 2009 at 7pm SLT - (60 minutes)
WHERE: NMC's Cooper Coliseum (teleport directly from here)

The session will be conducted in Second Life voice.

PANELISTS:

* Alexandar Vargas (multi-sim arts patron, including Welsh Lakes, artist)
* DanCoyote Antonelli (aka DC Spensley, artist)
* Douglas Story (artist)
* Mondray Chandler (RL Museum)
* Nur Mo (founder/owner of Poetik Velvets; patron)

Chair: Bettina Tizzy

GOALS:

* To inspire more land owners to provide significant land and other means of support to artists.
* To compare and contrast funding/support methods in Real Life versus Second Life. This level of sophistication and understanding has to begin with us.
* To encourage artists and their patrons to discuss expectations at the onset.
* To come up with a tool set, sort of a Chinese menu, that is mutually beneficial to both parties.

Many thanks to Larry Pixel for bringing attention to this important issue and to the NMC for their support and the use of their venue.

The city that glows

If you are a fan of Flash Gordon, then you know that all the action takes place on Planet Mongo, a kingdom ruled by the evil Ming the Merciless. And if you follow the story in the newest Flash Gordon series produced by the SciFi Channel, then you are also aware that Mongo was once an exquisite blue and green planet until a tragic accident caused a poisonous gas to be released into the atmosphere that very nearly destroyed it.

There is a person among us who knows all these things about Flash Gordon and more. So ingrained is his affection for the science fiction hero and his planet, in fact, that he has envisioned and fashioned his own Mongo in Second Life®: a glowy, art deco-ish extravaganza of a place.

It is hard to believe that we visited it just five months ago (teleport directly from here)... it is quite, quite different.



Some people are devoted learners and lucky for us, some are devoted teachers, but Lumiere Noir, creator of the Ivory Tower of Prims, happens to be both. Lumiere also has a predilection for things kitsch and camp, and he absolutely, unqualifiably delights in all things Flash Gordon, especially the 80s movie.

Combine all his passion with incandescent opalescent glow, toss in the architecture of a genie's bottle, erect a modernized Chrysler Building, recreate the sweeping stairways of a 30's movie and voila! Planet Mongo!




And it's a shopping mall! Lumiere's Planet Mongo was destined to become a retail venue for his vehicles, furniture by Red Randt (including the best bookshelves I've ever seen on the grid), and some upcoming surprises by Avi Arrow.




Larry Pixel, CEO of the New Media Consortium has this to say about Lumiere Noir: (He) represents the best of Second Life -- he communicates an excitement around the possible, is engaged in continuous exploration of it, and shares everything he learns selflessly. I wish more of the residents of Second Life understood its ethos as well as Lumiere. He is one of those rare people who make Second Life a better place simply because they are part of it.

Mr. Pixel goes to Washington

Update: You can view the testimonial here.

Our own Larry Pixel (aka Larry Johnson, PhD), CEO of the New Media Consortium (NMC), testified today, along with Philip Linden (aka Philip Rosedale) - soon to step down as CEO to become Chairman of the Board of Second Life's Linden Lab - before Congress and its Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet. The topic: "Online Virtual Worlds: Applications and Avatars in a User-Generated Medium.” You can read what Larry had to say here.

It's a shame that Philip didn't publish his prepared remarks on the web, as well. For the record, I'd be happy to share my thoughts with the marketing and public relations team of Linden Lab. I think they need to pull up their socks, don't you?

Turning the page on 2007 in virtual worlds - What happened and what's next

Virtual worlds are at the heart of what Not Possible IRL is about. Without them, our group and our cause would cease to exist. 2007 was the year I discovered Second Life. I am too new to look back and too new to look forward - with any real sense of perspective - so I turned to three thought leaders and veterans of virtual worlds who are deeply in touch with the ups and downs of the metaverse in very different ways.

Larry Pixel (aka Larry F. Johnson, Ph.D.) is the CEO of the New Media Consortium (NMC), an international consortium of more than 250 world-class universities, colleges, museums, research centers, and technology companies - and the largest educational body in Second Life - dedicated to using new technologies to inspire, energize, stimulate, and support learning and creative expression. He is also the founder and chief instigator of the prestigious Horizon Project , an annual status report on emerging technologies and education.

Forseti Svarog (aka Giff Constable) is the COO of The Electric Sheep Company, the largest startup dedicated to the creation of 3D content and sticky experiences in virtual worlds Second Life and There.com, including the "I am Legend" survival game on behalf of Warner Brothers, and the "CSI NY: Virtual Experience" - both in Second Life - as well as the OnRez viewer, a User Interface that makes navigating the metaverse more intuitive and accessible.

Seifert Surface is a post-doctoral mathematician who is probably best known in Second Life for creating a tesseract house inspired by Robert A. Heinlein's short story "--And He Built A Crooked House--," as well as his math-inspired sculpture, but I will likely think of him first and foremost as the winner of the Not Possible IRL logo contest.

Bettina Tizzy: Insofar as virtual worlds are concerned, what are you looking forward to?

Larry Pixel: I am pleased to see the work Linden Lab (LL) is doing to address stability and quality issues -- I am seeing real progress, and many signs that indicate that it is a major focus for them. I am also excited by the large number (50+) of players in the larger virtual worlds space, many of them new in the last few months. LL has been especially supportive of the work education is doing in Second Life, and that, along with the clear successes we are seeing in the edu space, makes it easy to be excited.

Forseti Svarog: I think 2008 will be a continued year of interesting experimentation for Second Life. SL will continue to see amazing creative exploration but its overall growth will slow until Linden Lab and the broader SL ecosystem are able to solve some of the things holding SL back such as stability, scripting limitations, limited APIs, usability, and more. I actually do not think that it is the visual capabilities (i.e. Windlight) that are getting in the way of its success right now, and LL needs to be careful not to focus on visual sexiness in such a way that they push the platform out ahead of most people's computer capabilities. SL needs more killer apps, i.e. more reasons for non-creatives to come, but the platform really needs to become more robust to get there. That said, I do expect SL to remain an interesting and active virtual world.

2008 should see a lot of virtual worlds activity around the youth market, more private worlds on a diverse set of platforms, and more "stepping stone" approaches where projects bridge 2D, flash-based worlds, and 3D. There will be continued corporate and educational experimentation in Second Life, Wunderland, and other tools as people try to understand how virtual worlds aid in team and group learning and collaboration. It shall be interesting to see what Google/Sketchup does in 2008, and if that consumes some of the architecture/design energy that has been pouring into SL this past year.

Seifert Surface: Lots of stuff. Better and faster scripts with Mono, and physics with Havok 4 should lead to lots of new ideas becoming possible to realise. Longer term, I think sculpties will be only the beginning in terms of better support for 3D objects.

Bettina Tizzy: What technologies or trends have you particularly intrigued?

Larry Pixel: I am very, very interested in social networking, something that is inherent in Second Life, yet still not implemented very well, especially when you compare it to some of the other major social networking platforms in common use on the flat web. An entrant that can bring the "user-built" philosophy and the openness to IP and ownership of virtual work that LL has pioneered, and mesh it with true ownership (ie backup to disk), easy compatibility with other 3D creation platforms, and rich social networking tools, will take over this space in no time. I have not seen that company emerge yet, but I am watching!

I am soooooo ready for SL on my iPhone. I hope someone is working on that client right now.

Forseti Svarog: There will be a host of private worlds built on emerging 2.5D and 3D virtual world platforms, but I'm guessing that many will not be as accessible to creative exploration as Second Life. Multiverse is quite interesting but my impression is that it is oriented around much bigger game and virtual world projects with larger teams and budgets. I think this audience should keep its eye on Metaplace, which should be a really neat avenue for creative exploration, albeit quite different from SL in that creativity will orient around 2D and 2.5D art and game design.

Seifert Surface: There are many interesting 3D interface ideas happening, particularly the Wii Remote and what people are doing with it. Imagine building in 3D by moving things around in 3D. Also, check out this video on head tracking for desktop VR displays using the Wii Remote:

Bettina Tizzy: What, if anything, has you especially concerned in regards to Second Life and virtual worlds' evolution?

Larry Pixel: Second Life, in particular, is already suffering from the perception of it as a "walled garden." We are seeing a move, among companies especially, to far less capable platforms, which are "open" and which they can "own" (ie, put behind a firewall). This may not be a bad thing for SL, but it is not a good thing for virtual worlds in general, as it will drive dollars to lesser platforms.

Linden Lab has said publicly several times that they want to go open, and have with the client. If they can open the backend in 2008, they will grow immensely. If not, we may be seeing them in 2-3 years as an interesting early player -- like CompuServe, or AOL.

Forseti Svarog: I remain very bullish on the entire virtual worlds space, but it is going to fragment in 2008 in more platforms and more private worlds. I think Second Life is going through a transition period where the technology, and our broader culture, has to catch up to the vision. SL's ability to succeed will depend on how well and how quickly Linden Lab is able to execute, and if and when someone puts forth a compelling competitive alternative.

Seifert Surface: Nothing really, I think the seed has been planted now, and no matter if it is Second Life or some other virtual world that becomes the de facto metaverse, it's going to happen. I guess the demise of net neutrality could be something to worry about.

Bettina Tizzy: Is there anything in particular that you wish Linden Lab was doing differently?

Larry Pixel:
1) See above re: open sourcing the back end.
2) Find some way to relax the Byzantine hoops and rules one must go through to do anything with highschoolers.

Forseti Svarog: This is hard to say without a clear window into their priorities and active projects. I know they are aware of all the problems and challenges, and complex software is not written or improved overnight. This stuff takes time.

Seifert Surface: There are occasional issues, I think, that could be handled better than they are, but generally I think they're doing a pretty good job.

Bettina Tizzy: Any personal goals or projects you'd care to share with us?

Larry Pixel: NMC Virtual Worlds plans a big announcement after the first of the year. It will come out first in the NMC Campus Observer, about January 10th.

Also, the NMC's highly influential Horizon Report (75,000+ copies downloaded or purchased in hard copy in 2007) will be released in late January. The contents of the 2008 report will be announced on the wiki next week.

Notably, this will be the first year since 2005 that some form of virtual worlds is not mentioned in the Horizon Report. I am not sure if that means it is now mainstream for edu, or if it is passe, but among my Real Life constituency, there are many many established projects, and many of these are clearly reaching mainstream faculty and other groups. Within the NMC, virtual worlds are still important, but are no longer considered the set of hot emerging technologies they once were.

Forseti Svarog: My own bandwidth for taking on creative projects remains extremely limited. In 2007, my only big creative project was the book of avatar portraits. In 2008, I hope to find time to either dive into a personal Second Life Machinima project, or try something completely new on Metaplace.

Seifert Surface: Well, there's my new sim, "xyz", currently (and likely for the rest of time) under construction.


Finally, I asked if they considered themselves optimists or pessimists. Turns out that all three identify themselves as optimists, but Larry added, "Clearly an optimist, but also a pragmatist. I am quite optimistic that good ideas will be adopted broadly -- it just takes time. Some fall by the wayside, but as someone who has devoted a career to implementing emerging technologies, the ride is always fun, and there is much to be learned by studying ideas that seem to have great promise, even if later it becomes clear they were a side road on the path to another set of ideas."

I can't help wondering if all participants in virtual worlds... really, all early adopters, must be optimists in order to remain sane while embracing and exploring new ideas and opportunities.

Three Starax wands + Light Waves + a bare sim to play in = surely the most "WOWS" "ooooos" and "ahahahas" ever recorded in Second Life

NOTE: Most everything Starax created was not transferable, including the wand. Even Light Waves' wand by Starax is no transfer, so lamentably, this wand is no longer available for purchase/sale.

Considering the circumstances, the events of this afternoon were without precedent… a Not Possible IRL extravaganza... simply the wildest and most electrifying hour of entertainment yours truly can recall.

There stood Light Waves – the man who was once known as Starax - on a brand new barren island - holding what is widely considered the most celebrated object ever created in Second Life, the Starax wand.

Nearby... two of the original members of the Magic Wand Society, Ravenelle Zugzwang and Dirk Talamasca, their own wands at the ready. The rest of us: one blissful bunch of NPIRL'ers, there for the unimaginable romp that ensued.

A handful of extraordinary people hopped on the same wavelength to pull everything together in a couple of days for the merrymaking:
* Our warmest gratitude to you, Light Waves, for playing with us today even though you had a cold! Thank you for your wizardry and for creating the happy and heartbreakingly-beautiful things we so enjoy. *Hugs*
* We missed you, Larry Pixel! Wish we could have tp'ed you away from that RL plane and right onto the simulator you and the NMC so generously lent us for this special occasion.
* Ravenelle Zugzwang, also of the NMC… you didn't leave one thing to chance. Thanks to your skillful coordination, it all went off without a hitch. I don't envy you your wand. I'm so glad to know that someone as nice as you has one.
* Tayzia Abattoir, is there no end to all the joy you bring us? Thank you for helping us to find all the right people to make this happen.
* Bebop Vox, can't wait to see what you caught on video!
* Dirk Talamasca, you know that wand like the back of your hand. Loved the way you played with it.
* Finally, Wellington Bahram, thank you so much for taking the time to capture these super photographs in spite of the mayhem!

And without warning, things began to happen! Here a huge greenhouse appears... suddenly the glass is shattered; shards of glass falling all around you. Also rezzed here: a rhino, a crying baby, a revolver, and Homer!

There was the flying pig...

The wand makes things appear whenever they are mentioned, even in casual conversation! If you say "hello," giant letters forming the word fall from the sky. Then there's this giant green Cthulhu! Look behind him to see a flying pegasus with lovely flapping wings.

Dirk hopped on board the pegasus and flew away!

This girl's bubble grows and grows and grows... until finally it topples her over!

We were too busy having fun to photograph everything that materialized before our eyes... a sim-wide buffalo stampede, trains, Lear jets taking off, buses running over us... I especially loved the giant eagle, and the animations! Wow!

Mention Kong, and woalla! The giant ape appears, complete with his beloved Ann Darrow.

This rocket took off so high and so fast, I was unable to follow it with the camera after it ascended several hundred feet.

Beyond the brilliant scripting and the major-league sense of humor behind his work, Starax/Light Waves' staggeringly beautiful sculptures take center stage.



Uh oh! Santa overloaded his sled this year?

Not shown here... but when giant electric fans appear, their generated wind blows you away! Also, some things will set the avatars in their path on fire... here is one way to put it out!

This one is actually scary... O.o Wicked souls afire... rush screaming out of the devil's door.

Here Light Waves is caught in the eagle's talons and taken away! Riding that eagle is one of our newest NPIRL'ers, Kid Kuhn.
Ever so *many* things are not pictured here. We were too busy having fun! :P

This was one NPIRL exclusive that will be talked about for months and years to come.

We took the red pill

IN FEBRUARY 2007, Larry Johnson (aka SL's Larry Pixel), CEO of the New Media Consortium, gave a speech entitled "Down the Rabbit Hole: Or how the NMC took the red pill, got a Second Life, and found love on the 3D web."

Dang, that's a GOOD title. I had to borrow a piece of it cause the thought keeps ringing in my brain. For those of us who didn't abandon SL after those first few bumbling, bungling days, and went on to grok that this is the arena where the action will unfold in the coming years, it turns out that the red pill was pure manna.

Celebrating that which is Not Possible IRL takes it one step further.

***

This notice was issued to NPIRL'ers on August 24, 2007:

3star Tyne's fab freebie "Glass House Mary" was a huge hit with the NPIRL ladies - The PERMS are MOD/TRANS, so guys can give it to their best girl. ^.^ Thanks 3star!

THIS just in...

NPIRL member Foolish Frost - master scripter and lead builder for Toxic Garden Rezzable - tp'ed us in last night for a zippy peek at the prototype for the Zero-G Spherical Ride. Can't reveal much, but suffice it to say that it involves riding a surfboard around and inside planet earth at a high rate of speed. Weeeeeee!

Foolish described his work as "building solutions." He said people ask him "is this possible?" and he finds out. Still no word on when the final reveal will take place.

ANGRYBETH SHORTBREAD

"I think, therefore I am frustrated." Thus begins NPIRL'er AngryBeth Shorthbread's profile, and our plunge into her scripted, multimedia world.

Here's the short list on AngryBeth:
* She's collaborative
* Her work is as much about the development journey as it is about the final piece. She doesn't mind letting you in on her work-in-progress.
* She is generous with her information. Grab her education tool freebies. Google her and you will find that she doesn't hesitate to explain the techniques she employed to accomplish each project.

AngryBeth collaborated with Brian Eno on his 77 Million Paintings 4-location show in SL, June 29 - July 1, 2007, which you can read about on her blog. 77 Million Paintings was produced by Cyrus Huffhines of blueair.tv, in cooperation with Alexander Rose, who oversaw the project, while AngryBeth built the installations.

She is behind The Collective - an ongoing research project of the Design for Digital Media Degree at Leeds College of Art and Design into the pedagogical and vocational value of SL.

You will find a good collection of her work at her studio, The Pencil Factory. Tp to The Port and look behind you for another teleporter to the Pencil Factory, and then:
* Get your DNA scanned
* Talk to a well that talks back
* Mix your own tune with the Synthagoround, an in-world remixable tool consisting in synced patterns she created with Garageband. You can see/hear her own composition here.
* Send an email to the invaders and watch em grow!

Then, take the teleporters behind you to the next two floors:
* Super-Collider
* Don't miss the Synthy - Cube on the roof. Way cool!

There's her sparkling work with in-world vids:
* A Whale of a Tale, winner in the Best Story category of the 2006 Alt-Zoom Machinima competition:
* AngryBeth's "Scary Hole" film noir Machinima from June 2006.
* Finally, her "Bootleg Phil - masquerading as god" piece is a hoot. For it, AngryBeth reproduced Philip Linden's avatar and had a bit of fun with it - along with a mask of Philip Rosedale. Consequently, the practice of being Philip Linden has become a tradition of sorts at The Port.

Take home a memento from your field trip and pick up your own copy of the Phil Linden avatar near the main teleporter at The Port.:P

URGE TO SPLURGE MALLS

Malls in SL can be wacky and most assuredly NPIRL:

There's the mall inside a humongous refrigerator (there's some fun hospital equipment for sale inside o.O)
The Refrigerator

Check out the Chinese mall that is completely surrounded by a giant dragon snail.
Chinese Mall

This mall's art statement, discovered by 3star Tyne, features a rather soggy view of life in 2030.
Happy Dispatch

WELCOME to our newest members - in order of appearance:
Catherine Omega
Ian Pahute
Keystone Bouchard
Foolish Frost
LittleToe Bartlett
Botany Black
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