While Calder might be a valid reference point for this piece by Juria Yoshikawa, it’s difficult not to evoke two-dimensionality in three-dimensions with sculptural work in Second Life. Whereas the reduction of weight IRL evokes an emotional response, in Second Life, its merely a matter of the adjustment of a few properties.
However, Juria Yoshikawa’s work plays upon our understanding of surface and texture. When touching this piece, the outline of each individual plane becomes visible, and it becomes clearer that the four-channel planes before the viewer are not merely animating, but also flapping in the wind.
Yoshikawa’s Odyssey profile has some images of how these works look best… in image form. While it is enjoyable to fly amongst the planes, the edges of the animated textures are often visible, clashing harshly against a daylight sky. This experience could arguably be the point of the work, whereas less interactive (but more emotive) generative art, such as Scott Drave’s Electric Sheep creates expressive forms without the conceptual overhead of SL.
The forms are beautiful and challenge the environment of SL, but deserve to be accompanied by a “best viewed at night” sign, like how James Turrell’s Meeting opens only at dusk.
I find the outlines around the edges of each shape here to be distracting and very telling. Inattentiveness to the other 4 planes that actually still exist on each of the prims used in this derivative hyperformal artwork.
There are no flat planes in SL, only “flatish” cubes. The artist would be well served to remove this telling artifact to improve the quality of the experience.
The Flapping in the breeze is exploitation of the possibilities of “Flexi” prims that were added to SL’s creative palette a year ago or so.
What I like about the work is the combination of scripted qualities and bahaviors. The layering not possible or even thinkable in the material world. This is the critical kernel appropriated from original artists in SL like Sasun Steinbeck, AngryBeth Shortbread, Selaras Partridge and Sabine Stonebender. To whom this artist owes a great debt.
An artwork that does not have a critical foundation, like sunday painters in the park in the material world is just another light show. A superficial and eventually unsatisfying imitation of more substantial and pioneering earlier work.
Left by DC Spensley on March 5th, 2008