Boris mentioned that Rachel probably wouldn’t know the different meanings of the Swastika. I think she would be very aware of it, I only met her once but she seemed pretty tuned in. The question is would Linden Lab know the difference? Swastika’s are apparently banned in SL, so does that apply to the Hindu symbol as well as the Nazi version?

Rachel’s style reminds me of Claes Oldenburg and I thought this was a pretty exciting piece, vibrant, bold and very lovingly constructed.

Left by Arahan Claveau on July 11th, 2008

I concluded that the work was actually meant to be a manifestation of her personality, so all those seemingly random elements were just aspects of herself, including her taste in ice cream. Behind the Swastikas were lots of tiny pictures of a woman, perhaps her RL photo?

I like the sound of that installation artist you mentioned, find a link!

Left by Arahan Claveau on July 11th, 2008

Thanks everyone so much for discussing my work! I’m delighted to engage with the esteemed panel at BiW and even be on the panel sometimes!

It is true Patrick, one of my sculptures does bear a superficial similarity to one of the esteemed artist Marcos Novac’s works. One out of many hundreds of sculptures and works from both of us there seems to overlap morphologically. This is hardly derivation is it?

I think a deliberate conceptual intent to recreate an artwork might qualify as derivative (I’m not mentioning any names here). Derivation is not my project or a phase of my development. Since the rest of my catalog, the conceptual intent and context of the work you criticized has nothing to do with the work of Marcos Novac, your critique rings a little hollow. You are going to have to do better than a red herring rhetorical attack to bite this old coyote!

Some artists in SL make it a point to support/derive their work from what has come before. I find this kind of historical vampirism to be a hold over from the 20th century. Take a look at the existing record of my work in SL. I simply choose not to rely on outdated crutches or even the politics of identity to support my work. If you read my writing and really take a look at the history of my work in SL you will find that this is true.

So any similarity you might find between the any of the other couple hundred or so works I have displayed in Second Life at any one time is pure accident and nothing to get all bunched up about!

Thanks again for your interest in my work and the kind things you had to say about the so called Tower of Light.

Cheers!

-DC

Left by DC Spensley on July 14th, 2008

Thanks to DC for that input, but I beg to differ, as I do not feel that the work is derivative, but the work in Kiss the Sky was very similar to Novak as well, and many of DCA works reiterate formal themes explored in the 90’s by artists like Davies, Shaw, Stenger, Alexander, Dolinsky, Little and Novak, to name a few. The hyperformal work in its form is not a radical jump from Judd, but where I do give a great deal of credit is in framing Formalism as the Hyperformalism brand in the close context in its new space of SL. It’s not necessarily new work; it’s a jump to a new context that really opens it up. Duchamp was the master at this, and DCA cornered the market on that theme, and that’s great. It’s basic capture of mindshare.

In an upcoming essay, I say a few things – concurrent ideas happen at roughly equivalent times. Picasso did not collaborate with Einstein, but they were both concerned with relative viewpoints.

Secondly, context is everything – saying something similar in a new space can change the conversation completely. There are “contextual” artists who have radically shaped the contemporary art dialogue in the early 2000’s, so redefining tropes is no sin.

Third, the 90’s in New Media tends to be overlooked, and history in SL is still being uploaded. Reinventing some wheels, (not saying all your work has done this), can happen when histories aren’t available. However, I think when they are rebuilt, it’s a great opportunity for a really positive conversation to leapfrog work forward.

We’ve been talking about Novak (not Novac for a while), so please actually look at the work, as the misspelling tells me you haven’t.

I like SZ – it’s my favorite piece to date, as it’s the most multifaceted, articulate piece that I have ever seen out of the old dog. I love that there are many viewpoints and experiences in the piece, and it isn’t just this “quivering mass of shards” or stripey thing, and I think it’s the strongest work yet by far.

However, I think at over a thousand prims, it’s un-neighborly to dominate the space that much between SZ and the other piece. It would be really considerate to only put one piece of that size up at a time. Selavy Oh’s prim array had the same issues.

Congrats on the new piece, and thanks for putting it there, (there was no missing it). No hunching involved, crits are part of my day job. Jay just wants me to get feisty. I’m more cordial in SL.

Left by patlichty on July 14th, 2008

Patrick, Jay, Et Al,

Kiss the Sky is a group show, 14 artists in fact are showing there. I have definitely seen Marcos Novaks work (at least on the web) I’m just a careless speller at times.

What you say about context is very relevant to the conversation. MN did not work in a social context like all the the artists in KTS do (including myself). And all Hyperformal artworks in Second Life are tempered by this fact and other new conditions that make any comparison to 90s art a stretch.

I disagree with your Judd theory and think that different conditions bring about different results. Judd did not work in a 24/7 network, telepresent world like we do in SL. Nor did he have the subtle scripting available that we do in SL. This changes everything.

The thousand prims is not an accurate either Im afraid. The pixel board piece takes up the bulk of those prims actually. There are always prims for builders in BiW and if it were an issue I know that Jay would say something to that effect. Besides there are times when I have had as few as 500 prims in the space at one time! I try to make good work and let Jay do the deciding about what is neighborly.

Cheers! (more later)

Nice to know you are watching too Patrick

-DC

Left by DC Spensley on July 15th, 2008

Jay, DC-

Good conversation. I’ll relent on the spelling issue, it gave that appearance. That being said…

The problem is I don’t find Hyperformalism that interesting from a critical perspective, although I do like Adam Nash’s work, among others. Saying we have new techniques to express ourselves takes me to ongoing argument whether new tools force people to say new things, which I tend to disagree with. Saying that we have a camera instead of a brush didn’t create a lot of great work for nearly 50 years. I hold out a lot of hope for SL.

My point on the DCA work at Kiss the Sky and the BIW works was that, like many DCA works, once the grandeur of the piece wears off, you want to move on. Sometimes big is just… big. It’s NPIRL, but in my opinion, it’s too easy in SL. What makes grand work IRL interesting is its material constraints (and spatial, which SL works for). It’s why I feel the the Rabbicorn piece and Magritte riff are conceptually stronger pieces, although SZ has a formal intricacy I have not seen as much in DCA work.

The social context is something we agree with, and this is where I think Nash’s work really shines, where his work can persistently adapt to the morphology of interactors – it’s a dialogue as opposed to monologue. This is where I think the new venue and “social formalism” (my riff on Beuys) has important ramifications. The “Full Immersion Hyperformalism” piece has elements of that, but rather blunt in its execution.

This particular conversation is indicative of RL differences between artists, scholars, and critics, and an example of “PIRL”. What I’m interested in is either NPIRL, or whether the work would stand up if it were projected at the MoMA. It’s hard to tell at times, and it’s not always easy to discern.

As for footprint, my point stands about prim count in regard to _both_ pieces dominating the space. One of the great things that Linden Labs promotes is diversity of creativity, and it would be great to see that shown at BIW. There is more really good work in SL, and it isn’t getting seen here because the sim’s full.

It would be great to see more diversity, and if not, I invite artists to place teleport markers.

I realize that there is a very loyal DCA contingent in SL (for good reason), and this criticism may not be popular. However, at the defense of all the other great artists working here, it would be really cool to see a greater selection from Brooklyn.

Enough DCA work. Part of art is leaving them wanting more (scarcity with pacing), and DC makes a good point – his hundreds of pieces devalue his ouevre for lack of subtlety / generosity, and it crowds others out.

Let’s look at/talk about something else.

Left by patlichty on July 15th, 2008

The Slarta piece is a variation of the ZenCoyote Pixel Board, not Full Immersion Hyperformalism”.

Left by patlichty on July 15th, 2008

Patrick is right!

Let’s look at some other art! I took the hint and released about 600 prims into the wild a few minutes ago by derezzing the pixel board…

When a smart critic and arts educator is giving good advice like pacing and subtlety. This old coyote listens.

-DC

Left by DC Spensley on July 16th, 2008

Further musings,

Work projected at the MoMA would be counter to the point and basic character of synthetic worlds. Radio is to TV, as TV, is to virtual worlds. It is all about the individual, private and configurable experience now. SL is made to be experienced on a network in real time inside the consensual illusion of simulated space. Not to be projected flatly on to a communal space. It is downright undemocratic to deny the rights or the viewers to move around on their own accord.

To reduce work native to virtual worlds to a single point perspective cinema projection is documentation and not fulfilling the basic nature of the new space which is active viewership instead of passive entertainment.

Whether your like Hyperformalist work that is a dialog or a heuristic narrative (monologue) is a matter of taste. I am also a big fan of Adam Nash but just as big a fan of Seifert Surface, Sabine, Juria or Elros for the way they all produce work that encourages the active viewer. Many subtle layers of experiencing an artwork exist. I would not be so quick to dismiss any work as blunt or unsubtle until I fully understood their intent.

Regarding the “big” fatigue you are feeling. Objects in SL tend to be scaled to the convention of the avatar. Working at mega scale is not simply for the sheer joy of making a huge thing as you imply, but for the conceptual and practical reminder of the tyranny of the figurative scale convention in a place where there is no need to conform. Working large is an optimistic view of exuberance and not a passive acceptance of imposed limitations. This is what art does is it not?

Desert Creature

Left by DC Spensley on July 16th, 2008

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