The Grand Odalisque - a sculpture by an unknown artist

Posted by Bettina Tizzy

Most everything that Rezzable Productions showcases has an element of mystery to it, and today's first look and reveal to the members of the Not Possible IRL and the Impossible IRL groups was no exception.

All photographs have not been retouched.



New and completely unknown Rezzable artist 3D Soup has created an immense sculpty sculpture called the Grand Odalisque: a hyperrealistic sleeping female nude, complete with stretch marks, pimples and calluses on her feet. She is lovely and endearing and we all know someone like her in Real Life. In fact, she probably looks like many of us do in Real Life.



Reminiscent of the works of Lucian Freud or Ron Mueck, the Grand Odalisque marks a leap forward in content creation in virtual worlds... an exacting portrayal of, and the embracing of our very real physical qualities.

As RightasRain Rimbaud (aka Jon Himoff), CEO of Rezzable commented, "It's really about realism, isn't it? It's an amazing piece. Gives you another dimension and level of access. At the same time, this piece makes you wonder why the avatars haven't changed or become more realistic on the Second Life® grid."


New media rockstar Gazira Babeli admires the Grand Odalisque

When I inquired further about 3D Soup, RightasRain stated that the artist believes that the piece will speak for itself, and is not taking any interviews. Of course, most old timers who remember the groundbreaking work of a certain Starax Statosky who later became Light Waves, believe that he is the only person capable of doing this quality of work. Coincidentally, Light Waves worked for Rezzable Productions until he left the grid, creating the startlingly poetic, very majestic sim Black Swan, which will be leaving Second Life at the end of August, to be re-rezzed on Rezzable's own OpenSim grid. Light Waves was also responsible for the creation of the Greenies sculptures and avatars, and the Ballerina which is currently rezzed at the Greenies Home Rezzable.

You can view the Grand Odalisque, rezzed at Black Swan, by teleporting directly from here, and then walking through the door on your right and down the pathway.

Baby found at Black Swan

Rezzable Productions' RightasRain Rimbaud (aka Jon Himoff) sent me an offline that read, "I got a big surprise to show you... you gonna flip really..." Who could resist such an invite? I logged in.

His teleport took me to Black Swan (teleport directly from here), the mysterious and fantastical sim created by Light Waves when he made his re-entry into Second Life® after an even more mysterious and much morned absence. Black Swan has been the center of considerable controversy recently, since Rezzable added an entry area and began charging $199L for admission.



Intriguingly, the creator of this baby is not Light Waves, but Unreal McCoy (rez: 4/29/2004). "Who is this artist?" I asked RAR, as he is affectionately called. There was a long pause before I got an answer. "The artist prefers that the focus be on the art." Oh, I do so love a mystery!

RAR mentioned that the sculpture is on sale and for the special price of $5,000L today. Tomorrow that will go up.

A Virtual Art Show that Would Not be Possible in Real Life

Click to see large (pretty crazy stuff here)

UPDATE: The last day to visit the Garden of NPIRL Delights is June 23, 2008 (teleport directly from here).

Press Release

Rezzable Productions, the largest developer of public spaces in virtual worlds, and Not Possible in Real Life (NPIRL), a working group dedicated to identifying, sharing and showcasing well conceived and realized content creation that would not be possible in Real Life, have joined forces to hold the largest-scale art show of its kind in the metaverse: The Garden of NPIRL Delights.

Taking a page from Hieronymus Bosch, Rezzable and NPIRL have enlisted the participation of over 100 of Second Life®’s artists, architects, builders and coders to construct the NPIRL Garden of our collective dreams, spanning four simulators/islands to illustrate: the Underworld, Earth, and Paradise.

NPIRL’s inaugural build festival, sponsored by Rezzable Productions, will open its doors to the public on Friday, May 16th through June 22nd, and hold numerous events, including music (both live and DJs), and tutorials. Musicians interested in performing at the Garden should contact Gweneth Lange. For all other events, please contact Vint Falken.

Rezzable has provided the following sims for the event: Rezzable Create, Rezzable Design, Rezzable Discover, and Rezzable Explore. A slurl to the event will be posted on this blog, as well as a new event-dedicated website produced by Vint Falken of Rezzable Productions, which will showcase each participating artist. If you have the Garden HUD, you will be able to teleport into the Garden from anywhere in the grid, too, to a new spot each time.

The content creation tools in the online world of Second Life provide an unprecedented palette for artistic and intellectual expression. Most of the natural laws of physics are not obligatory or even necessary. We can walk (or fly) through walls, and walls themselves can expand or contract wildly, or teleport a visitor to an entirely different place. In virtual worlds, architects and fashion designers are given unfettered new freedoms. The body can be exposed to extreme heat or cold or comfortably wear a display of exploding fireworks or shattered glass.

It is in this novel environment that a new school of thought and practices have emerged and taken on a life of their own, and the terms “NPIRL” (Not Possible in Real Life) and “PIRL,” (Possible in Real Life) have become lexicons in virtual worlds.

This is not a routine build festival. In fact, it is the first time that such a large number of mostly well-known and well-regarded artists, architects, and scripters have come together to not only embrace and demonstrate art and architecture and landscaping that is “not possible in Real Life,” or NPIRL, but also to construct it around a theme so surreal that a similar effort could not be duplicated in Real Life.

That many of the participants are artists or architects or art directors already, in Real Life, is irrelevant. In Second Life they go toe-to-toe with a full time chef, a financial planner, a magician, and a post doctoral mathematician.

"While most of the artists are seasoned content creators, a number of the participants are relatively new to virtual worlds or have never been a part of a build festival. This isn’t just about bringing in the best artists, but also about building a community of people who appreciate and enjoy creating things that are NPIRL," said Bettina Tizzy.

“It is not true that the online experience of Second Life consists only of fantasy Role Play, shopping for virtual goods and cybersex, or even of digital and sometimes shallow duplications of things that exist in Real Life, said Jon Himoff (aka RightasRain Rimbaud), president and CEO of Rezzable Productions. “It is about user engagement in an immersive 3D world that doesn’t even exist in online games, such as WoW. If you give people in Second Life a chance and a little structure – not a lot – they create art that is native to this new environment. For the Garden, we have joined together to push the bar way up in this new frontier, which is both an artistic and technological experiment.”

Many surprises await the visitor, and multiple visits will be necessary to fully discover all that the Garden offers, including a new sculpture by Light Waves, a multi-layered environment created by Darek Deluca that spans four sims at 3000m altitude, and individual and group installations by over 100 artists.

Every effort has been made to inform the visitor and facilitate a quality experience: guided tours in a vehicle especially created by Lumiere Noir and scripted by Darek Deluca; a Garden HUD by scripting wiz Miki Gymnast that enables you to see and learn about each work; and Landmark-Ready notecards have been especially prepared by Corporate Jay. Miki Gymnast and Pavig Lok devoted countless hours to working with the artists to harmonize the scripts in coexisting installations. The sheer number of scripts that are running would normally crash most sims.

“We are also taking this opportunity to educate the Second Life visitor about the IP rights of artists,” added RightasRain. “Upon arrival, visitors will be asked to attribute any photography and Machinima to the artists whose work they portray.”

“Rezzable Productions put their entire team to work and provided every resource necessary and/or imaginable to help bring this about. I’d like to especially thank LittleToe Bartlett and Beatrix Newt, without whom the careful layout and planning and nurturing of the artists would not have been possible, and the many NPIRLers who gave selflessly of their time,” added Bettina.

An object that is really an event: The Garden of NPIRL Delights promotional triptych

The triptych created by the Rezzable Productions team to promote their joint effort with us, the Not Possible in Real Life group, is simply without equal in the promotional category.


Click to see large (pretty crazy stuff here)

The 4-sim, 2-month build festival - Garden of NPIRL Delights - is getting underway, but there is still LOTS of room for more builders. FOUR sims, people! If you own or manage a sandbox, would you consider rezzing this 24-prim baby there? It will autoadjust depending on the stage of the festival, so you may leave it rezzed.

What do I mean when I call it an event? Check this out...



The freebies alone... a pair of wings, a halo, and a lightning bolt that you can zap... um... others with, are top retail quality.



The festival is open to all builders and building begins tomorrow. The sims will open to the public on May 14th. We are very interested in discovering unknown builders, in helping intermediate builders along (there will be tutorials and all sorts of events once the festival opens to the public), and group collaborations, too.

Several of the grid's most talented creators made this explosive (literally) promo for the festival... It really is more of an event than an object. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you would like a copy of it.

Credits:
Hieronymus Bosch: Painting
Ordinal Malaprop: All scripting and building
Spiral Walcher: Flowers and lightning bolt
Kaelie Candour: Wings
Madcow Cosmos: Devils
Vint Falken: Several textures
RightasRain Rimbaud: Project Director

Announcing... more than just a build festival... it's "The Garden of NPIRL Delights!"

May 15th Update: The show opens to the public tomorrow, Friday, May 16th! You can read all about it here, and see a partial listing of the participants here.

May 11th Update: Just to let everyone know that there is no more room at the inn and we are not taking on any more new builders, but thanks for your interest, everyone! Also, opening day will be May 16th. We look forward to seeing everyone there. More on this on the blog soon.

Rezzable Productions and the Not Possible IRL group have joined forces to hold a large-scale two month extravaganza loosely themed around “The Garden of NPIRL Delights.”

This isn't just about building. It's about giving content creators free reign to further discover their creative might *flex!* and the opportunity to shape our virtual world in ways that... yea, you got it, would not be possible in Real Life.

Taking a page from that madman and artist, Hieronymus Bosch, Rezzable and NPIRL invite you to help us conceive and construct the NPIRL Garden of our collective dreams, spanning four sims to illustrate: the Underworld, Earth, and Paradise.


Click to see large (pretty crazy stuff here)

This is not about recreating Bosch's Garden. It's about imagining and crafting your own. If you were to journey into heaven or hell, what would this look like, and how might you make this as immersive as possible? Think Dante's "Divine Comedy," but with your own twist. And what are the earthlings doing that might force them into the depths of the underworld or paradise?

Don't limit yourself to looking at this from a Biblical sense. Create your interpretation and own it. It could take place in any era: past, present or future. If you like, you can use it to cross-promote a current build, but this must be original work.

When: Building will commence April 27 and must be completed by May 14 - Tear down: June 23, 2008

Prim and height allocations: 500 prims per person; possibly more if you collaborate on a team. There will be 3 layers with variations on the theme in effect -underworld, earth, paradise. We will terraform for you - up to 200m - but you must specify this in your proposal. Sky-builds are also acceptable.

Organization: The festival will be self-organized and set-up to encourage idea-exchanges, group collaborations and creative freedom for the development of original works.

In other words, play nice. We reserve to right to boot anyone out if we think they aren't being ladies and gents.

How to participate: Send us a general description of your build concept before April 26th (first come, first served) via email to: npirldelights@rezzable.com. Be sure to tell us what type of build you are undertaking (underworld, earth, paradise), if you will need terraforming, and how high you will need for the build to be. This will help us to determine where we will position your build for better overall balance.

Serious stuff:
• Anything overtly offensive: hate/porn/obscenities/too gross will instantly disqualify you and your work will be returned without further ado
* You must own the rights to all the materials you use
• All rights to the creations remain the sole property of the artist
• Photographs, video and any event materials depicting your work may be distributed in-world and on the web by Rezzable Productions and Not Possible IRL.
• Artists may set items for purchase but no signage to that effect may be displayed

Looking forward to this!
RightasRain Rimbaud and Bettina Tizzy

He's the King of Glow, that Spiral Walcher. Now there is Kings Rezzable, too: The Tunnel of Light

A month after Windlight First Look was re-introduced (November 14, 2007), I stopped by AM Radio's The Far Away for a visit, and low and behold, there was this fellow doing some unusual stuff with the glow rendering feature. His name was Spiral Walcher.



At that time, I was way more interested in the whimsical hat that was perched a top his white bald head, but I would soon swoon over his new neon creations. It turns out that he was using only one texture - a dot - on his prims, and then infusing it with glow rendering and rotating the heck out of it. Less than a month later, Spiral had created The Electric Forest (teleport directly from here).



Last night, press and bloggers in Second Life previewed Spiral Walcher's new sim - Kings Rezzable: Tunnel of Light - courtesy of RightasRain Rimbaud's Rezzable Productions (Teleport directly from here). I met up with Spiral to get the skinny... erm... the shiny.



Spiral Walcher: This is basically an expansion of the Electric Forest. There are elements in each area that refer to it, stemming from my desire to create something organic, rather than architectural, which is where I had concentrated my efforts in the past.



Bettina Tizzy: Why do you suppose you are so captivated with glow?

Spiral Walcher: It adds a whole new twist on things. It can really make the things pop. It also adds new depth and layers.


Spiral's latest hat now features the planets you'll find at Kings Rezzable

Bettina Tizzy: You went from teeny prims to big BIG prims... from your hats to this. What about size? Does size matter?

Spiral Walcher: I started making furniture. mostly because it was easy and good to learn with. I went on to very large scale builds... things like castles, and eventually I began to learn tiny prims for various reason... mostly because it really teaches you prim manipulation on a very detailed level. The hats spawned from that, but overall, size doesn't matter. I've made things in tiny spaces and things with a whole sim.



Bettina Tizzy: Does anything glow in your Real Life?

Spiral Walcher: Just my computer monitor at night... working on my tan as usual. I wish I could work with neon and lights in Real Life, but I don't have the equipment or the know-how.



Spiral Walcher: After I stumbled upon my type of Windlight building, I began to wonder what the world would look like with this type of glow. I saw it in my head and thanks to Rezzable, was able to make it happen.


Additional credits:
Scripting: Ordinal Malaprop
Exploding sun particle effects: Jopsy Pendragon
Planet textures: Ponk Bing

A few tips...
+ Start your visit off by touching the paper boat.
+ Be sure to touch the trees, the dragonflies, the frogs... for some fun surprises
+ After you've finished the initial ride, you can revisit the areas you most enjoyed by utilizing the local teleporters.

Catastrophe! - Space junk falls from the sky and wipes out the dinosaurs!

I was sipping my tea and struggling in-world with Second Life's crise du jour, when RightasRain Rimbaud's panicky IM came in. "There've been multiple UFO sightings! The dinosaurs are restless!" Of course, I set my cup down and made a mad dash for Rezzable to see what was up.

Indeed, chunks of UFO's were falling from the sky and demolishing Madcow Cosmos' dinosaurs. Oh dear.

I regret to inform you that all efforts to save them, heroic ones at that - in particular by one Kool-Aid pitcher that attempted to extinguish the flames by hurling himself at them - were for naught.

Rezzable Productions: The slippery slope of turning art into a revenue stream

I don't envy RightasRain Rimbaud and his team of swashbuckling buccaneers as they seek to marry art with retail and promotion amidst Second Life's cynical winds. Still, with 30+ sims on the grid and many of the best VW content creators on its payroll, no one stands a better chance of turning art into a revenue stream than Rezzable, the largest art funding group in Second Life.

Since it exploded onto the Second Life scene at the beginning of August 2006 with the introduction of Greenies - surely the best-loved sim on the grid - Rezzables' branding has struck me as ranging from brilliant to quirky to even mildly annoying at times.

Recently though, it has had more moments of goodness than not. I must say, I'm relieved. Rather than allow themselves to be categorized and nudged into a corner everyone knows and understands (a mall, a gallery, a store, an entertainment center...), Rezzable has floated a bit, testing many different waters, thereby giving itself a broader canvas to draw on. New developments hint at a growing understanding of the motivations behind virtual consumption and, if this is true, we all stand to win in good measure. The bottom line... thanks to this company, a lot of the best things about Second Life exist... and even thrive.


Rezzable Sandboxes

While they have nothing to do with retail, Rezzables' sandboxes are venues where some of the most entertaining horseplay in my own Second Life has taken place. Friends build there and even non-Rezzable top tier content creators with access to these by-invitation-only sims simply show up to relax and hang out. For admission to this alone - and as a non-builder - I'd be willing to pay a monthly fee. *covers head with arms in anticipation of the swipes I'm gonna get for that one comment* Okay, okay... at least set out a tip jar, guys!


Some moments in Second Life are extraordinary and this was definitely one of them. A few weeks ago, Jurin Juran and I were hanging out at a Rezzable sandbox, and then Sabine Stonebender - with TXGorilla Falcone - and Betlog Hax showed up. Soon after, Flea Bussy, Madcow Cosmos and Douglas Story joined us. The rest is history... one helluva avatarathon!



Flea Bussy, who is not a Rezzable creator but had dropped in for a rare break, tells me that "this is what happens when I have a spare hour." That's an average-sized tree to one side there, to give you some idea of the scale of this thing.


... and there's the wee Flea if you look close in on that same avatar!


Rezzable Creators

Becoming a Rezzable creator shoots you up to, at the very least, minor celebrity status in Second Life. Then again, several of the builders who work for Rezzable, such as Light Waves, Pavig Lok and LittleToe Bartlett, have heavily contributed to the caché it enjoys. One thing that RightasRain Rimbaud has done especially right as Rezzable's steward is that he doesn't stifle creativity; both young and seasoned content creators appear to be given the freedom to experiment and explore new ideas.


This photo taken at the Black Swan sim by ColeMarie Soleil

I will never forget the moment I was first teleported into what Rezzable now calls Black Swan (teleport directly from here). This sim marked the official return to Second Life of Starax Statosky (now known as Light Waves), and was unquestionably one of the highlights of 2007. To Rezzable's credit, Light Waves - who could have worked with just about any company in Second Life, or enjoyed much success by coming out on his own - elected to release his creations under their label.


Pavig and LittleToe's kitchen plus Light Waves' Greenies and ballerina and birdcage instantly put Rezzable on the map...


Rezzable Promotions

So what else is Rezzable doing right that's actually going to turn a buck or two?

I thought the ginormous sculptie handbag Pavig Lok crafted for the L'Oreal promotion at Greenies Home Rezzable (teleport directly from here) was stupendous. Not only did I revisit Greenies expressly to see it, but the experience jogged my memory of a L'Oreal lipstick shade I favor. Consequence: I purchased that lipstick and also ended up buying several other L'Oreal cosmetics while at the store, including the mineral-based make-up featured in the promo.



Rezzable Collectors' Gallery - Saleable Art

Another example of how Rezzable is marching to the beat of a different drummer is the way it showcases and sells art. As far as gallery spaces go for saleable treasures, its just-opened Collectors' Gallery is the new gold standard. Tasked with creating a retail showplace for not just any art - the opening show features Light Waves' sculptures and fanciful creations for both the Greenies and Black Swan sims - Miki Gymnast designed two sweeping, undulating, exuberant spaces.

You know something special awaits you from the moment you arrive at the base.



You then teleport from here...



... to an organic form sheathed in raspberry pink glass panels, and cradled in an enormous, curvaceous aquamarine bowl. Inside, works of such beauty or whimsy: Light Waves' sculptie ballerina, the gigantic evil-eyed cat, the Lovers' Rock, the Man Angel... even Dreaming and the birdcage, which I hope to own someday. Teleport directly from here.



Rezzable Community Relations + Retail

In sharp contrast, and yet another indicator that Rezzable is becoming better attuned to what people hope to find in Second Life, is the opening of a new sim called simply The Dump. Built primarily by Paulo Cassell, with contributions by Beatrix Newt and Foolish Frost, this slightly apocalyptic, dusty industrial environment is a site where you'll find free or dirt cheap, well-made junk strewn about for the taking. It's stuff like this that breeds loyalty and prompts folks to get behind a brand.


You'll notice that the quality of the photography has suddenly soared. I turned to Second Life's exceptional photojournalist Stephen Venkman for this and the next five images. Thank you, Stephen!

In addition to junk quests, sewer jet ski races, and an industrial dance club, The Dump also offers a gladiator fighting arena. Teleport directly from here, and then touch the sword for a local teleport.


This photo by Stephen Venkman

The arena for gladiator challenges awaits you up in the sky.


This photo by Stephen Venkman

Get dressed to kill by purchasing a detailed gladiator outfit designed by rob Balder ...


This photo by Stephen Venkman

... and prepare to battle in the arena, surrounded by a fire pit.


This photo by Stephen Venkman

Call me a purist, but one thing I do object to is the use of an image of the Aztec calendar for the floor of an arena that seems otherwise Roman. It just doesn't fit, ya know?


This photo by Stephen Venkman

Rezzable Fashions

Rezzable has discovered that one way of taking a satisfying bite into the lucrative end of Second Life's marketplace is to play off of its unique sims by turning them into catwalks for fashions, accessories and avatars to match.

Just this week I attended Pits of Hell... an intimate, yet dramatic preview produced by Emee Flanagan of Timeless Modeling Agency featuring Rezzable's fashions for Crimson Shadow (teleport directly from here), and Carnival of Doom (teleport directly from here). One designer whose work I cannot get enough of is Moxie Polano. I was also happy to see that Rezzable is moving away from ultra premium pricing.



Moxie's wedding dress is a royal gown and cape, accessorized with a top hat (there are several colors and designs to choose from). I'm told she is working on a new store line, under the label Haute Style & Co, and while she does not have a store, she does work under her own label TAILOR MADE for custom designs. It's PIRL but it works.



These extraordinary sculptie wings - called Shattered Seraph - are available in five different styles, spread wide while flying and also feature blood particle effects and bits and pieces of Gothic prose when touched. They are by Kaeli Candour, and Kaeli's own shop is called Fractured Psyche. The little red and white number - called Blood Bigtop Tutu and Lingerie is by Allegory Malaprop, and I want it NOW. Allegory's own shop is called Schadenfreud.

Rezzable Productions has had its missteps and generated head scratching moments along the way. Some creators have been more than irked by its requirement that their creations be handed over with full perms, but this is understandable when you consider the sheer number of people involved in the process of bringing those items to market. Others have shared that they were offended by the pay they were offered for what turns out to be many hours of hard and experienced work, and this raises other questions that are best dealt with in another blogpost, but can be summarized by simply pointing to other exceptionally talented creators, such as Aley Arai, who flatly refuse to accept payment for anything they do, and set many if not most of their creations to full perm. It's a mixed bag out there and the waters are muddy, indeed.

Making a brand a lasting and prosperous success is no mean feat, but building loyalty is even harder, and in this area, Rezzable appears to have already won the game.

Mars Rezzable: Miki Gymnast's temporary sandbox and our playground

RightasRain Rimbaud of Rezzable Productions had been telling me that Miki Gymnast was doing “some interesting things” over at Mars Rezzable, but he would add each time that he wasn’t quite sure what they were.

Seems that Miki spent six hours on the Mars simulator last Saturday fiddling with 5,000 prims to create these… well, I don’t know what they are either… but they sure are fun to look at. Oh… and one more hour making the particles.

Oh… and then she used another 9,000 prims to make the sim graphics, so that when you look at Mars Rezzable on the map, you get this:

Actually, I’m just joshing you. I do know what they are, ‘cause Miki informed me. These are Borromean rings. According to Wikipedia: In mathematics, the Borromean rings consist of three topological circles which are linked and form a Brunnian link, i.e., removing any ring results in two unlinked rings.

She says they are a sign of strength. I'd say they are a sign that Rezzable is adding a shining star to its constellation of great builders.

I’m here to tell you that Miki Gymnast is as delightful as her build. The NPIRLers had a preview of this morsel of a sim yesterday and while it is my own wish that it stay put for a while, Miki informed me tonite that “before I delete the things in a few days, it will be accessible to everyone. It’s not an 'official' Rezzable sim… not a real concept, only a temporarily sandbox.”
Feedback from the group was unusually positive. All kinds of people - with very different tastes - wrote back to say how much they had liked it. Miki also spent some time with another NPIRLer who apparently helped her work out a simpler process for the sim graphics. “I had used a very very complicated system to bring data in. Lots of coding. He gave me a hint on how to make it much easier. I (had been) going to the bakery via Australia first."

Don't care for that color?

You have only to wait a minute or less, and every color will have changed.

Miki says that she isn’t “really good at building or scripting, but I am able to combine things, and it's fun to explore combinations.” She is German, and explains that “we like programming. (It is) close to our mentality: if yes > do this. If not > do the other thing." She’s a student and has been simultaneously working at an architectural firm for three years, making photorealistic renderings and programming plug ins for cad applications.

She added… “you see the bubble on my shoulder? It is my debugger. Also I can (alter) all the settings here (with it). I can reset, delete, change colours and particle counts flying around us… everything on the sim with it.”

Miki's first rez day is November 18, and I for one am looking forward to seeing everything this girl is going to do in the months and years to come.
Slurl: Mars 01Areas Rezzable