Memespelunk

August 24 to September 7
This is now a permanent installation at IBM
http://slurl.com/secondlife/IBM%201/220/9/36/

This is the second installation of Garden Electric for the SLCC conference. I was generously given a space in a waterway between two IBM sims and had a wider audience then I’d normally have from SLCC and IBM. Here was the notice I posted to the artist groups in sl…

Garden…”a fertile and delightful spot or region” says my aged dictionary. Leave all ideas of your grandma’s garden behind. Imagine Jacques Cousteau meets William Gibson. Shimmering. Roaming. Singing. Glowing organics of the underwater world have a life of their own. Garden Electric is here again for a week to be a part of SLCC in a watery space at IBM. Make sure to switch on music to enjoy AldoManutio Abruzzo’s composition made in collaboration for this piece. Midnight is the best sun setting to see the glowing lights in their full glory. Bring a friend and be one with the living aquatic lights. Don’t be afraid of getting a little wet!

There were several new light sculptures I created specifically for this installation.

A new kinetic installation made up of constantly shifting cubes.

Video of the first Garden Electric installation by Evo Szuyuan:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIjonfmtWLo

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Q&A about Garden Electric

In a written interview with a graduate student Australia, this is how I explained Garden Electric:
Q: Did the setting for the piece, in Second Life, greatly affect the subject matter used in Garden Electric? That is, for what reason did you decide to bring Second Life characters in contact with a ‘garden’, rather than anything else?

Juria: Yes, it being in a virtual world with a specific set of tools completely influenced it. In my work I respond to the nature of the materials and environment, not force some idea or form on them. Site and material specific. Being in the “water” also influenced the direction of the work.

Why a garden? Well, as I developed more and more of these aquatic-like organics, I created them to have a life of their own. Not just sculptures in the conventional sense. As a collection, a water garden of electric organisms seemed to make sense. Also, in my mind gardens are intimate places which invite introspection. This appealed to me. The result was that avatars came and stayed for long periods of time alone and in groups.

Q: Your piece evokes in the viewer much the same emotions as nature can; it instils in the viewer a sense of awe, and interacting with it is very calming. Do you think this is paradoxical, seeing that by spending time in Second Life, the audience is ignoring tangible garden/ nature in their environment?

Juria: I suppose it is paradoxical. But SL itself works that way. Why not go outside and enjoy your real life? I don’t really see my garden as nature. It has a natural feel but is clearly not a simulation of any nature that we know. It has a sci-fi, mechanical feeling that I was interested in exploring. At the same time it is organic, plant-like and jellyfish-like. The hybrid of feelings works very well in SL. I think people spend time inside my installation for similar reasons they spend time listening to ambient music. It gives them space to think while experiencing forms, tones and motion.

Q: Also on the subject of the awe provoked by Garden Electric; should this awe have been directed towards Second Life, and the endless possibilities it presents for interaction and creation? Because it left me, instead, with a keen longing to go interact with ‘real world’ nature! Was I wrong?

Juria: No reaction is “wrong”. If the work makes you want to do something in real life, that is great. If it makes you want to create in sl, that is good too. I don’t really believe there is much difference in the rl and sl we talk about. My sl and rl blend together. As I meet my sl counterparts in rl, my life becomes increasing blended.

Q: What was your purpose in creating Garden Electric?

Juria: To experiment with form, motion and composition. To create a mood and a visceral sensation.

Q: As far as the aesthetics go, Garden Electric is a gentle, ethereal, and (for want of a better word) ‘pretty’ work. A soothing and moving experience. What inspired the combination of the fluoro palette, soft curves, slow transitions, transparency?

Juria: I had been using primarily geometric shapes in my work up til this point since I have a minimalist inclination. However, wanted to try something new and experiment with new organic and semi-figurative forms. Naturally, the translucence occurred as I wanted to create overlapping layers of light and color animation. I was seeking a new beauty that was both familiar and strange at the same time. I like this contradiction. I feel the end result was soothing and pleasing yet it poses questions about reality and your presence literally inside the work.

Q: I have never entered SL myself. And I am very impressed with the interactivity of the work; viewer really engages with piece. Do you think interaction in SL on a regular basis would (or could) improve one’s appreciation of the Garden Electric? Does it matter to you that people outside of the SL environment are looking at the piece?

Juria: Yes, I think one’s experience in sl can influence how you see the work. On the one hand, a complete lack of experience could leave you in awe that this sort of thing exists. At the same time, not being able to interact fully with the piece (move inside the shapes while triggering sounds) would leave you with a superficial, 2-dimensional experience of the work.

Q: Did you encounter any major problems in creating the piece? Were they related to working in Second Life, being as it is new and without known parameters?

Juria: No. None really. It came very naturally.
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technorati tags: second, life, art, installation, light, sculpture, Juria, Yoshikawa