josina burgess

nazz lane
velazquez bonetto

metaverse art
2008-2010 Nr.2a
 This e-book dedicated to
Giorgio Vasari
(30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574)
 metaverse art 5

A publication of the
Artspace Diabolus Cybernetic Art Research Project (CARP) 2010

copyrights: Artspace Diabolus Cybernetic Art Research Project (CARP) 2010

Josina Burgess aka. Jose den Burger (Amsterdam Holland)
Nazz Lane (USA)
Velazquez Bonetto aka. László Ördögh Diabolus (Stuttgart Germany)

forward: DanCoyote Antonelli aka DC Spensley (USA)

Metaverse snapshots:
Helfe Ihnen
Igor Ballyhoo
Josina Burgess
MillaMilla Noel
Tyrhel Byk
Alizarin Goldflake
Chrom Underwood
Velazquez Bonetto

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a

retrieval system, or transmitted, in a form or by any means, without the prior
permission in writing of the copyright owners.
This publication includes some words which have or are asserted to have
proprietary status as trademarks or otherwise. Their inclusion does not imply
that they have acquired for a legal purposes a non-proprietary or general
significance nor any other judgement concerning their legal status.
6 metaverse art
ARTISTS: Eros Boa MillaMilla Noel Odysseyart
Adam Ramona Evaluna Sperber Miso Susanowa Pirats
Abstract Baroque Evo Szuyuan Misprint Thursday Second Front
Ak Yip Fau Ferdinand Miulew Takahe
Al Hoffman Feathers Boa MosHax Max PROMOTERS:
Alan Sondheim Four Yip Myth Guyot Angeline Blachere
Alizarin Goldflake FreeWee Ling Nazz Lane Desideria Stockton
AM Radio Frieda Korda Nicci Lane Cher Harrington
Amarynth Emmons Flower Exonar Nicolas Sack Cyanide Seelowe
Anita Fontaine Gazira Babelli nnoiz Papp Jilly Kidd
Anu Papp George Janick Nonnatus Korhonen Joy Ash
Arcana Jasnma Gleman Jun Patrick Millard Inarra Saarinen
Ariella Languish Gumnosophistai Nurmi Patric MOYA ItsNaughtKnotty Cannned
Artistide Despres Humming Pera Penelope Parx Katie Reve
Avatara Alchemi Haico Hax Pixels Sideway Lauren Canetti
Bingo Onomatopoeia Helfe Ihnen Rose Borchovski Nebulosus Severine
Bennet Dunkley Ida Abbey Sabrinaa Nightfire Preciousse Moody
Bryn Oh Igor Ballyhoo Sanam Sewell Slim Warrior
Caravaggio Bonetto Jack Shoreland Sandree Aubierre Thinkerer Melville
Calimera Lane Jenaia Morane Sarima Giha Tommy Parrott
Carly Frequency Joff Fassnacht Sasun Steinbeck Tricia Aferdita
Chantal Harvey Josina Burgess SaveMe Oh Upo Choche
Chen Pitney Juanita Deharo Sca Shilova Xander Ruttan
Chi5 Shenzou junivers Stockholm Selavy Oh Yavanna Llanfair
Cinega Soon Juria Yoshikawa Sennaspirit Coronet
CodeWarrior Carling Karl Merlyn shellina Winkler AUDIENCE:
Comet Morigi Kolor Fall Solkide Auer Artfox Daviau
Cristian Rexie Kourosh Eusebio Sisi Biedermann Calimera Lane
Christo Kayo Lamosca Velde Sicily Zapatero Chestnut Rau
Chrome Underwood Lion Igaly Sowa Mai Clovis Luik
Cypress Rosewood Lollito Larkham Stephen Wenkmann Dublin Rodenberger
Dale Innis Loup Erin Sunn Thunders Frutti Freschi
Dancoyote Antonelli Lucian Iwish Therese Carfagno Kitterannae Hifeng
Darcy Mokeev Luce Laval Thess Writer noname
DB Bailey Man Michinaga Tim Deschanel Oona Pinion
Debbie Trilling Magdeleine Rossini Tyrehl Byk Penelope Parx
Dekka Raymaker Man Michinaga Velazquez Bonetto Prissy Price
Del May Marion Rickenbacker Werner Kurosawa Rowan Derryth
Diavolina Kirax Marly Milena Wirxli Flimflam Siss Criss
DeNovo Broome Marco Manray Tayzia Abattoir
Deruub Pastorelli Maxxo Klaar ART GROUPS: Theo Finney
Eden Toll Medora Chevalier Avatar Orchestra Thirza Ember
Eeyore Ogg Mencius Watts Caelreon Uva Oxide
Eifachfilm Vacirca Merlino Mayo Cetus Vicky Dixon
Elfod Nemeth Morris Vig Diabolus/CARP Vive Voom
Em Larsson Myth Guyot Museo del Metaverso Wendy Swenson
 metaverse art 7

josina burgess
nazz lane
velazquez bonetto

metaverse art
8 metaverse art
Contents
Metaverse Art 2a
Artist interviews:
Al Hofmann 13
Alizarin Goldflake 17
Amarynth Emmons 25
Anu Papp 31
Ariella Languish 37
Artistide Despres 47
Avatara Alchemi 53
Calimera Lane 59
Carly Frequency 65
Chantal Harvey 71
Caravaggio Bonetto 77
CodeWarrior Carling 85
Christian Rexie 91
Chrome Underwood 97
Dale Innis 103
Darcy Mokeev 109
Debbie Trilling 117
Del May 127
Deruub Pastorelli 135
DelNovo Brome 143
Eeyore Ogg 149
Eifachfilm Vacirca 153
Em Larsson 161
eros Boa 167
FreeWee Ling 175
Artist index
DanCoyote Antonelli: 11,89,90
shellina Winkler: 12,108,110,111,112,113
Al Hofmann: 14,15,16
SaveMe Oh: 16
Velazquez Bonetto: 14,15,80,81,150,152,177,178,179
, 180,182
Alizarin Goldflake: 18,19,21,22,23,24
Junivers Stockholm:26
Josina Burgess: 26,80,81,151,177,178,179,180
MillaMilla Noel: 26,70
Sca Shilova: 26,70,96,105
diabolus/CARP: 27,28,29,30,39,68,69,72,73,74,75,76,
78,79,118,119,102,121,123,124,125,126
Igor Ballyhoo: 32,33,34,35,36,52,177
Juria Yoshikawa: 40,41,46,58,162,163,164,165,166,186
AM Radio: 42,43,44,45
Artistide Despress: 48,49
Pixel Sideways: 50,51
Sarima Giha: 54
Anita Fontaine: 55
Misprint Thursday: 56,57
Calimera Lane:60,61,62,63,64
Moshax Max: 66,67
Caravaggio Bonetto: 80,81,82,83,84
Bryn Oh: 87
Chen Pitney: 88
Alan Sondheim: 92,93
Lucian Iwish: 94,95
Chrome Underwood: 99,100,101,102
Selavy Oh:106,107
Solkide Auer:114,115,116
Del May: 128,129,130,131,132,133,134
 metaverse art 9

Deruub Pastorelli: 136,137,138,139,140,141,142

Cynega Soon: 144,145
Faethers Boa: 146,147,148
Eifachfilm Vacirca: 154,155,156,157,158,159,160
Em Larsson: 161
Frieda Korda & Maxxo Klaar: 183,184,185
eros Boa: 168,169,170,171,172,173,174

Dear Reader,
This book will give you an insight of the Phenom-
enon: ART IN THE METAVERSE. We will show you
many different examples of what is created here
and from many different creators as well. Many cre-
ators that work in this Metaverse were so kind to
express in this book what they think and how they
use this virtual world as a tool to express them-
selves in a total new way. Its hard to show all and
everything, there is a constant process of creating,
pioneering and experimenting going on, but we
have tried to give you a good idea about what is go-
ing on right now in the metaverse. Dont expect this
to be a list of artists with their creations, we give
a random view of what is made and created, what
is written and what is thought about this wonderful
new world, The Virtual World.
10 metaverse art
We asked artists, musicians , creators to answere 14
questions about their opinion and personal views on
Metaverse Art. Many of them dont have english as
their native language, allthough on SL the most spoken
and written language is english. We preferred to let the
artists speak in their own way, so did not change their
words.
The questions we asked are these:
Artist / Content Creator Questionnaire:
We are interested in publishing a series of articles in a
book form about Art in the Metaverse. With this in mind,
we would like to include your responses, perceptions
and your experiences regarding the creation of art in the
metaverse. In recognition of your contributions as an art-
ist / content creator what you think and have to say is
important and our goal is to present many diverse view-
points about Metaverse Art from as many different artists
/ content creators. As a Metaverse Content Creator/ Artist
we would like to hear from you. We are asking that you
please complete the following questionnaire and return
your answers back to us. We are also requesting that
you include any supporting information that you deem im-
portant in helping us understand your responses, please
include relevant materials such as; biography, artistic
statement, a catalog of your work, links to website’s etc.
Please note, by completing this questionnaire and
returning it along with supporting information to us, you
are providing us your approval to use and publish your
responses.
Should you have any questions, please contact any of
us listed below , in-world or out-world. We look forward
to your responses.
Best regards,
Josina Burgess
Nazz Lane
Velazquez Bonetto
1. Why is the Metaverse as a medium interesting to
you and why have you chosen this as a platform to
express yourself?
2. What topics/areas do you tend to communicate
using this medium?
3. What topics/areas do you want to work on in the
near future?
4. Which of your creations in the Metaverse do you
think are particularly well done or significant and
why?
5. How do you communicate your thoughts to other
avatars? Does your style tend to be formal, for
example Or abstract? Is it emotional or rational? Is it
both? Are your images iconic, spiritual or concrete? Is
it something totally different?
6. How do you describe the intention of your Work?
That is, why do you create art in this environment?
What do you hope to achieve by doing so? What
impact are you trying to create?
7. How important is it to you what the public think and
feel about your work?
8. How important is it to you to get feedback and
reactions from the public?
9. How important is it to you what other Artists/Col-
leagues/Peers think of your work?
10. What special Metaverse tools or techniques do
you use in your creation process? What skills did you
bring into the Metaverse from RL?
11. How does creating Metaverse Art help you in your
RL?
12. What themes and technical trends do you think
are important for the future of the Metaverse?
13. Do you prefer to work alone or in collaboration
with other artists?
14. Do you tend to specialize in Metaverse only art
(“NPIRL”) or do you import RL pieces for displaying in
the Metaverse?
 metaverse art 11

Picture 1: DanCoyote Antonelli in Global Justice Event

12 metaverse art

Picture 2: metaverse environment by Shellina Winkler

 metaverse art 13

amount of souls.
What is important could vary enormously in every
universe and evry being is one in it’s own. I reckon,
evolution is important, art as one it’s vehicles also.
In orden to get into this terms is of course escential
a planetary well being to begin with. Missions are to
follow and evrybody will their adecuate place in the
chain. One should be in such of state of mind that will

Al Hofmann give individuals the clarity to -see- themself portrait as

a part of the hole evolution process.

Artist I guess reassureance is a part of knowing if ur getting

ur job done, lol. Again concepts changes constantly
like the feedback needs. In my personal case in this
matters I set the interaction up to the audience, al-
ways an open actitude can give good results for both
parts.

Totally superficial , except I doing a group project of

course.

Recording, audio,video, looping, studio work: are

some experiences that help to get the music into the
metaverse.
The Metaverse is a long wait platform for me, it en-
hances in a very profound way my way to create. New
It help me understand new perspectives and ap-
horizons to explore and transform as u go.
proaches to art, creation and life itself.
Music
Group creation, video integration to ninjam. massive
SL is and extension of RL. I see it as a new fresh clean
interactive approaches.
oportunity for humans to improve ourselfs. Doing
I do music and my challenge is to expand instant com-
things right this time :-)
position, improvisation, and the ultime goal is to bring
happiness through art as a creative human activity. I
love my extended collaboration work with the c.a.r.p.
group. We have an instant understanding of param-
eters in order to create and improvise instanly from
scracht.
Music is everywhere :-)
My intention is to create and provoke happiness,
awareness, evolution, unity... in all the maximun
14 metaverse art
 metaverse art 15

Picture 1-4 Al Hofmann in living architecture CARP 2008 Velazquez Bonetto

16 metaverse art

Picture 5: Al Hofmann in Cheesus Church by Saveme Oh

 metaverse art 17

ish a piece and throw an open studio to premiere it,

dozens of people come to see and comment and buy.
In RL I have to battle traffic and pay parking to see
another’s art show; here I just tp to as many cultural
events in a day as I want. Lastly, because of the global
nature of the internet, my work is finally seen all over
the world.

Alizarin Goldflake I am basically a mood artist. My immersive art envi-

ronments use images, sounds, scripts, and animations

Artist
to create an emotional experience. Visual delight is
always a goal; other moods I commonly try to evoke
are peace, relaxation, wonder, a sense of mystery,
nostalgia. ArtWorld Market (Richard Minsky) ascribes
the reason my art works in this way to motor neurons
in his August 2008 review (http://minskyreport.com/
alizarin.htm). You can read a description of motor
neurons here: http://www.interdisciplines.org/mirror.
Basically, the idea is that when you see your avatar
having an experience, you experience the same thing
yourself.

Looking to the future, on a technical level I am inter-

ested in learning Blender in order to be able extend
I choose to create in the Metaverse because it provides
my range past the shapes that are possible with the
me with tremendous freedom. In RL I am a 2-D artist
SL editing tools.
(http://www.marthavista.com). Here in Second Life
More generally, I am interested in developing RL/SL
(SL) I can build large 3-D environments. In RL art ma-
crossovers. My work is currently in the “Through the
terials, framing, and shipping all cost a fortune; here
Virtual Looking Glass” SL and internation RL show:
I spend practically nothing to make my pieces, and
http://www.virtual-art-initiative.org/TTVLG/Home.
when I need to move them, I can do it with one hand.
html. My machinima about the Caerleon Interactive
In RL I am limited to images; here I can augment my vi-
collaboration just got picked up by the Museum of
sion with scripts, sculpties, and sounds. In RL my work
Computer Art in Brooklyn (http://moca.virtual.muse-
is created on a light-reflecting subtrate; here the sub-
um/newmedia/bradford/bradford.htm). I blog about
strate is light-emitting, which gives colors an extraor-
my virtual art in RL: http://alizaringoldflake.blogspot.
dinary vitality. In RL I work alone in my studio; here I
com/ and post videos on You Tube: http://www.you-
am surrounded by friends and fellow artists. In RL the
tube.com/user/amajami and have a Flickr stream:
economy has put all my galleries out of business and
http://www.flickr.com/photos/alizaringoldflake/ My
it is difficult to show my work; here I have a constant
work appeared last summer in “Second Life: Perform-
stream of visitors through my studio and when I fin-
18 metaverse art
 metaverse art 19
ing the Real in Digital Arts” by Dr. Leman Giresunlu
(Assistant Professor Doctor, American Culture and
Literature, Dokuz Eylül University, Izmir, Turkey), aka
Venus Rosen in SL. The paper was presented at Arts
2009, International Conference on the Arts in Soci-
ety, Venice, Italy, July 31, http://a09.cgpublisher.com/
program-detail.html: conference schedule, http://a09.
cgpublisher.com/proposals/755/index_html: lecture
synopsis.
“Metempsyche’s Garden” was included in Neutral
Ground Gallery, Regina, Canada, “How We Play,” Au-
gust 6 - 22, 2009, presented by Soil Digital Media Suite,
in a piece by Nonnatus Korhonen/Andrew Burrell
called “Caerleon Artists Collective Project(ion) Space.”
And a video tour of my SL studio and art work was
included in the Boston Cyberarts Festival event , “Bos-
ton Is Watching,” April 25, 2009, at the Boston Public
Library, Boston MA, USA. I hope do to many more of
these cross-overs in the future.

I don’t release a piece of art until I feel it is both well

crafted and significant, at least to me. If I had to pick
a favorite piece of mine, I think it would be “Metem-
psyche’s Garden.” It is a visualization of reincarnation.
A fish is reborn as a mermaid. The mermaid is reborn
as a human. The human is reborn as a winged spirit,
who is finally reborn as a moth. The cycle repeats and
overlaps, capturing the evolution of life from the sea
to the land to the air, with the insect finally inheriting
the earth. The focus of this build is the ephemeral gi-
ant particles, which are actually high-resolution jpegs
of digital drawings created with Corel Painter using a
Wacom digitizing tablet and stylus. For me there is
something very haunting about seeing my drawings
suddently appear at a very large-scale and then drift
away on the SL wind. A brief video about “Metem-
psyche’s Garden” can be seen here: http://www.you-

Picture 1: Acquarell by Alizarin Goldflake Picture 2: Come Go with me by Alizarin Goldflake

20 metaverse art
tube.com/user/amajami#p/a/u/2/A3SJbvg-bHk.
In RL I am primarily a landscape artist. I use a fairly
realistic style to create images of recognizable phe-
nomena - trees, clouds, sunlight on a wall. My medium
is digital drawing, and my goal with my landscapes is
similar to the goal I expressed about my virtual art;
in other words, my intention is to affect the viewer’s
mood. When I bring my digital drawings into SL as tex-
tures for my immersive art, my style remains realistic,
but although my imagery appears to be concrete, it is
always meant to point toward something spiritual.
As for what I hope to achieve by making virtual art,
creating the art and having it seen by others is really
my only goal.
Since the point of art is to communicate to others,
what the public thinks and feels is quite important to
me.
I value all kinds of feedback, positive and negative.
Praise is encouraging, and criticism is a good teacher. I
often solicit criticism from my friends when I am near-
ing the end of a build, because fresh eyes can catch
weaknesses that I have overlooked. I particularly value
the opinions of Juanita DeHaro about my work.
Because other art professionals know more about art
than the general public, their opinion is especially
valuable to me.
My RL digital skills include Painter (digital drawing/
textures); Photoshop (textures); Blender (a beginner),
Rokuro, and Tokoroten (all for sculpty textures); Au-
dacity (sound); and Fraps (video). My second life tools
are the edit window and some script modding ability.
Among those skills, my strongest suit is digital draw-
ing; my RL digital drawings, for example, have been
featured in the last three editions of the Painter Wow!
books by Cher Threinen-Pendarvis: http://www.ama-
zon.com/Painter-X-Wow-Book/dp/0321503252.
Making SL art got me into process art in RL. In ad-
dition to my landscapes, I now make abstract digital
collages, which I print on canvas in panels, varnish
and glue together, and hang with rods like Japanese
scrolls. It is called process art because the final im-
age is not envisioned at the outset but emerges as a
result of assembling, layering, and composing visual
elements. These can be seen here: http://www.mar-
thavista.com/DigiCollage.htm.
Because of my interest in creating in the metaverse,
I have had to learn a tremendous about in the 3.5 years
that I have spent in SL, so I am a more confident per-
son technologically.
I think being a SL avatar has also affected my RL by
making me more confident about presenting myself
and taking chances. For example, I walked into the
Museum of Science, Boston, and suggested a Digital-
Virtual Art installation for the Cahners Computer Place,
which was accepted!
But most important of all, I have made some won-
derful friends here, friends that I regard as Real friends
in any world.
In terms of improvements to the Metaverse, I think it is
extremely important that a way to protect Intellectual
Property rights be developed.
Whether I prefer to work alone or in collaboration with
other artists all depends on the other artists. I have
participated in some truly fun collabs but in general I
tend to work alone.
Most of the art that I make is only viewable in SL
(NPIRL), but I also import my RL drawings and collages
and put them on prims, where they look even better
than in RL. I love it that my digitally-created work at
last has a home in a digital environment.
 metaverse art 21

Picture 3: Come Go with me by Alizarin Goldflake

22 metaverse art

Picture 4: Metempsyche’s Garden by Alizarin Goldflake

 metaverse art 23

Picture 5: Sunrise Sunset by Alizarin Goldflake

24 metaverse art

Picture 6: Nightlight by Alezine Goldflake

 metaverse art 25

pening and imagine will only become moreso as the

metaverse progresses and becomes more integral to
daily life.

I would like to learn more about interactivity for my SL

sculpture. SL offers a lot of opportunities that real life
doesn’t when it comes to laws of physics, etc. I feel like
I am not taking full advantage of what can be done

Amarynth here and only here.

Emmons
I have gotten a nice response thus far to my SL sculp-
tures. My photography has done well also. Don’t know
that any of my pieces could be called particularly sig-
Artist nificant, however.

My sculptural work is abstract and my photography is

generally not. I would say the images tend to be more
emotional and sometimes spiritual. In photography,
I mostly concentrate on nature and the human form.
In my sculpture I like working with materials that are
somewhat contrary to each other such as wood and
glass or glass and metal. I like the balance between
the hard and the delicate. The harder material is often
in a protectoral role wrapping around the fragile glass.
The fact that residents retain all rights to their intel-
lectual property is what first drew me to Second Life.
I like that it is a completely new medium. I like that
I later decided to show my art work and create work
there is a community of artists here. And I like that
within SL because I’m very shy about showing it in real
there are no borders or limitations to what you can do
life and it is much easier for me to be outgoing in the
and where you can show it. The audience that I have
Metaverse. I am also excited about being in on the be-
here is so much broader than what I could have in real
ginning of a whole new type of world and new ways of
life. I also feel “safer” here to create and show my work.
creating and marketing art.
As are many artists, I’m a very sensitive person and it
My work isn’t really topical. I do RL and SL photogra-
does feel good when someone validates you as an art-
phy and also SL sculpture and I find that I am drawn
ist. On the other hand, I don’t take criticism too well!
mostly to nature and also people. I do like when the
line is blurred between SL and RL work. Some of my
Its nice but I don’t know if its terribly important.
photos can be difficult to distinguish at first. To me
that highlights the sometimes blurred line between
It is fairly important. I like to feel a part of the artist
Second Life and real life in general that I see hap-
26 metaverse art
community here so feeling that I am a valuabe addi-
tion to that community does play a role. There are a lot
of really talented artists here and I feel honored to be
a part of that.

I brought my photography skills with me. I am still

learning to work with scripts in order to make some
of my work more kinetic. So far, I’ve been mostly using
the more basic scripts such as rotation, particles, etc.

I’ve gained a lot more confidence about showing my

work to people in real life after getting a good re-
sponse here. I haven’t yet tried for a RL gallery show
but I think I may work on that within the next year.

I would like to see a lot of strides made in making

Picture 1: Josina Burgess & Junivers Stockholm in the RINGS
4d cinema production
building easier and more intuitive. Scripting can be
a huge roadblock to those of us who aren’t program-
mers. Obviously, content theft is a big issue; though,
thankfully, I have not had a problem with it. I would
also like to see better ways of marketing events and
products.

I have not tried collaborating with other artists so I

can’t say for sure though I think probably I am better
alone.

I do both.

Picture 2: MillaMilla Noel & Sca Shilova in the RINGS 4d

cinema production
Picture 3: CARP Production The RINGS scenario king of
the world
metaverse art 27
28 metaverse art
 metaverse art 29

Picture 4: The RINGS 4d cinema production by CARP

30 metaverse art

Picture 5: Debbie Trilling & Junivers Stockholm in the RINGS

4d cinema production
 metaverse art 31

bring awareness to the needs of children globally. I

have conveyed that in the design of the sim. The im-
pact, it speaks for itself. Come and visit.
Extremely important.
Very.
Very.
Broadcasting and architectural design.
By providing RL connections that assist with the foun-

Anu Papp dation in RL.

Less mall/shopping and more educational sims.

Artist
Either or, depends on what the project is.
I import my broadcast and voice.

This platform allows me to reach a broader audience

in promoting Gaia’s Lap Foundation, Inc in a more one
on one, virtual way through my LIVE performances
and education. It also gives me the ability to apply my
architectural background in my build/sim design.

The foundations projects through the groups and per-

formances.
Inworld video broadcasted in RL about this medium
and its ability to promote other non-profits.
Ravenhart sim has always had a reputation for a be-
ing not only a beautiful sim, but a wonderful place to
come and relax.
I communicate through my LIVE performances which
is direct.
I connect the Universe through the power of music, to
32 metaverse art

Picture 1: my angel per by Igor Ballyhoo

 metaverse art 33

Picture 2: forest of scissors by Igor Ballyhoo

Picture 3: I drowe bird on the sky by Igor Ballyhoo

34 metaverse art

Picture 4: Kunst der Fuge by Igor Ballyhoo

metaverse art 35
36 metaverse art

Picture 5: scissors tree with red silken shawl by Igor Ballyhoo

 metaverse art 37

ry, etc. What is happening now is I’ll have 2-3 projects

going on at once, all of which are so drastically differ-
ent from each other because the medium is so new
and in an experimentation stage- people are experi-
menting to see what can be made from it. It’s actually
funny and keeps things interesting!

Eventually I think I’d like to stick with narrative film-

Ariella Languish making for children’s shows as well as documentary

films. Corporate is the main way of making a living at

Artist
the moment, and those can still be an outlet for cre-
ative expression but my real passion falls into films,
documentaries, and music videos. I think as the me-
dium grows more and more investment will be put in
this and with a well made indie flick it can easily hit
the mainstream.

I’ve done a series for IBM about their software and I

think it accomplished using machinima to NOT be
a commentary or self aware of Second Life. In other
words, it was just about Software and happened to
use Second Life’s graphics. Not one time did it men-
tion Second Life. I think this is especially powerful
because people might start to use SL graphics for
The metaverse helps machinima in general because
bigger things outside of SL and it opens up a whole
you have a lot more freedom to create special effects
new world outside of just virtual. This is truly how ma-
or express meaning. You can create anything as far as
chinima can become mainstream.
sets in a cheap and effective way. That means with a
lower budget, you can create special effects or recre-
Unfortunately communicating with avatar actors is
ate a certain time period. So, you can do bigger and
very formal and conventional. I tell them what to do
better projects. Also, you have control of weather,
in a step by step basis. There’s normally not a lot of
lighting, and gravity. Personally, I like that I can do
room for interpretation because all an avatar can do
more things as a 1-person team without having the
is double click something to play an animation. I get
weardowns of a massive crew.
those ready ahead of time and it requires no acting
skill. To move things along, it’s very rational. Now,
My niche was big business video for a while but I see
once someone invents a device where the person can
the trend going towards narrative machinima. I feel
act from their computer and a webcam captures it and
like a lot of people are investing in this medium as a
the avatar does what the human does, THEN i will be
viable source for creating video. So, I see more sectors
more emotional and abstract, convincing them to put
using it like corporate training, narrative, documenta-
38 metaverse art
on a stellar acting performance.
I’d like to create art to tell stories, to express myself and
visualize what I see in my dreams or on long train rides.
I want to control lighting, have the sun hit a cheek just
right, learn to think of every piece of my scene as contrib-
uting to a greater unconscious feeling that is produced
in people’s minds without them realizing it. As a director,
I have to be aware of everything and what it portrays. So,
the intention of my work is to tell stories through produc-
ing feelings so people can almost live in the stories. The
impact is whatever the emotional response the work call
for.
Ideally, someday I’d like to be so financially free that I can
just create work for myself. I would distribute it to those
interested in seeing my point of view and visions. But to
truly work the way I’d be happy to do so would be to be
independent of what they say. I guess I just can’t put criti-
cism and art in the same bowl. And I guess I’m a little bit
selfish because I want to do it for myself. I’d sooner care
what my future children would think than anyone else :)
heh
At the moment, very important so that I get better and
continue working. When I get good enough to appease
myself, I mean certainly no one can ever be perfect. But
I think I’ll know when I’m finished as an artist and create
purely for myself. I work really hard now so I can be self-
ish later.
As important as reactions from the public. Everyone’s
opinion matters, I try not to judge who they are and sim-
ply look rationally and noncritically at their criticism but
decide for myself if its something I should work on.
I learned the most complex camera moves here and how
to shape light from the flexibility of the Space navigator
as it can create a camera dolly move, tilt, pan, and crane
all at once. Literally, all space is open to me to recreate
any type of move so it’s made me understand more
about the move and reveal process. I also understand
light more and how it hits landscapes at a certain type
of day and how to shape it.
It makes me understand camera angles and lighting
more in RL.
I think the graphics need to get better and shadows
need to be more secure. Shadows are a big big plus to
the realism of the animation and the best machinima
out there right now is almost good enough to com-
pete in the big leagues. The hard thing is finding the
gems in a sea of people who do it as a hobby. Although
sometimes those who do it as a hobby end up being
the best. Anyway, the more talent emerges and is pub-
licized and raved about out there, the more people will
accept and invest in this medium. So, shadows are a
plus as well as a way to control depth of field (like I can
push the background out of focus if I wanted to). The
addition of the two of these in a secure, non-crashing
way will completely change filmmaking here.
Part of why I’ve invested so much time and energy
in machinima is because I get to do more alone. Not
that I don’t enjoy collaboration, but I do enjoy having
more control because I feel its the easiest way to really
nail down my vision. There are some projects that call
for collaboration though and like any filmmaker, you
adapt to whats best for the story.
No. I have a bunch of RL music videos but I keep those
online, don’t import them here.
Picture1: Living Architectrure international collaborative
cybernetic audiovisual project by Al Hofmann, Caravag-
gio Bonetto, Merlina Rokocoko, MillaMilla Noel, Josina
Burgess, Velazquez Bonetto. diabolus CARP metaverse
art exhibition 2010.
metaverse art 39
40 metaverse art
 metaverse art 41

Picture2 spaceinstallation by Juria Yoshikawa

42 metaverse art
 metaverse art 43

Picture 3: virtual installation by AM RAdio

44 metaverse art
 metaverse art 45

Picture 4: virtual installation by AM RAdio

46 metaverse art

Picture 5: virtual installation by Juria Yoshikawa

 metaverse art 47

time. Let the next generation juge, lol.

Could be difficult to analyse. The public is quite easy
and i do not see much open critic on the Metaverse.
But some feedback is encouraging.
Not so important.
Rather important if a certain level of critic can be giv-
en.
Varied, from professional texturing tools to 3D model-

Artistide Despres ing (Blender), video and sound editing...

As a RL teacher in an art school, it keeps me research-

Artist
ing with tools and medium.
Well the mix of all the disciplines + Networked col-
laboration
I do both quite alternatively.
I try to specialise in Metaverse only art.

I consider the Metaverse is an important new medi-

um to express art and i wish to experiment with new
forms that will result from this evolution.
Utopian, and light political messages through meta-
phoric representations.
The border line and communion between disciplines.
As a whole and structural pov i like the work of Bryn
Oh and aurakyo Insoo. I have also interest in works
that explore the use of multi-disciplinair horizons.
Must be a mix... My professional influences (photogra-
phy) tend to give a semi realistic render. But i work at
taking distance from that phenomene.
I would rather give no label.
The experimental aspect is more important for me
than a real achievement. A real achievement cannot
be measure unless you observe after a big period of
48 metaverse art
 metaverse art 49

Picture 1-2: consume level 10 by Artistide Despress

50 metaverse art

Picture 3: consume virtual scenario by Pixel Sideways

metaverse art 51
52 metaverse art

Picture 4: good by Igor Ballyhoo

 metaverse art 53

menting and exploring the opportunities still.

Acceptance of my work signifies ‘belonging’, and that
is a basic human need. Although I’m still working out
how much of that is ego :)
ditto 7
ditto 7
I belong to the school of “minimal post processing”, so
I use very basic tools. As far as my skills, please refer

Avatara Alchemi ‘Artis’s statement’ below.

So far, there has been no link beyond expansion of my

Artist
skills, knowledge and experience.
Not sure really...(?)
When it comes to photography, I prefer to work alone;
in film, with a team.
I import RL images into SL, no specialty.
Artist’s statement:
... the idea and action that manifest - by the though-
form all begins ...
“A European hybrid, calling the burned land of Oz my
home. I reluctantly wear my heart on my sleeve, hid-
ing behind the veil of the electronic ether that spreads
its tentacles across this blue island in space we call
home.
My love of photography was probably seeded in the
Originally I was introduced to SL via work, setting out
very early years of my life, watching my father in his
to investigate the possibilities of creating machinima
homemade dark-room. Although my relationship
as proof of concept for RL films. It seems so far though,
with photography has been a stop-and-start affair:
that is not an effective option.
I didn’t really start exploring photography till my ar-
My photographs are of images that grab my attention
chitectural training. Then took it up again during
for whatever reason, so they’re not thematic.
my postgraduate years as a filmmaker, during which
Entertaining screen stories with a moral foundation,
I tought black and white photography development
be that for the mini, small, large or expansive screen.
techniques - the old days version of post processing.
I hope that my work, photographic and film, can in-
After this, for various reasons, I didn’t pick up the cam-
spire people to create a better future for us all.
era for 13 years.
My images of SL ‘nature’. It amazes me how mere
Since I have, ten years ago, I tend to point-and-shoot
screen-captures of arranged pixels can move a person
where I’m looking, so no filters or tripods. Conse-
emotionally.
quently, many of my photos tend to be angled, which
My style is abstract, emotional and spiritual.
has recently been noted as my ‘style’. Although devel-
My work is a result of a spontaneous innate need to
oped unintentionally, I do like the added dimension
express. There is no intention beyond that. I’m experi-
54 metaverse art
and perspective, not seen at the scene.
It is this kind of tension I hope to capture in my images,
be they RL or SL. Hence the scenes that grab my atten-
tion are inveriably in some kind of juxtaposed relation-
ship, be it of shape, colour, texture, light.
Like my father, I don’t call myself a photographer - I’m
something more akin to a life observer and an archiv-
er, seeing the images I capture as archived moments.
Moments which I hope not only reflect life, but create
a biofeedback loop, to facilitate creation of a better
future.”
My RL photographic stream on Flickr http://www.
flickr.com/photos/soulgate/
My SL photographic stream on Flickr http://www.
flickr.com/photos/41235206@N07/
Some works exhibited at ??

Picture 1: installation by Sarima Giha MdM arena

Picture 3: Anita Fontaine

Picture 2: installation by Sarima Giha MdM arena
metaverse art 55
56 metaverse art

Picture 4: Misprint Thursday (Odysseyart)

metaverse art 57
58 metaverse art

Picture 5: audiovisual installation by Juria Yoshikawa

 metaverse art 59

or less am absent from SL for one year by now.

For what I ve been called an artist, I just modded and
tossed together free particle scripts and a handful of
textures, thats all. Everyone can do this.
What I can say for sure is, it is nothing hat has not been
made before.
I enjoy creating visual effects out of nothing with easy
means.

Calimera Lane Parameters are not unlimited. I love to explore how

things work.

Artist
May I ask you to specify your concept of the public?
I unintensionally managed to place myself out of chat
range on most of the particle performances I had giv-
en friends told me afterwards. Would have been nice,
but I can say I had a great time anyways.
With particles you do not only simulate 3D with 2D
means. You also simulate 4D in 3D. I think thats what
Velazquez likes about my thingies. And about par-
ticles as such.
In the beginning I rezzed a prim, out of curiosity. Par-
ticles were impossible in the beginning. But they tick-
led my interest, whenever I saw them.
Open Access is important.
That depends on the person I am supposed to work
I came to SL to learn about Jaron Lanier’s concept of
with.
Virtual Reality as before I had only been familiar with
textbased online representation. That was the medi-
ate trigger. The immediate impulse was given by an
entry in an academic’s weblog, whose open research
on cyberculture I followed at that time.
For 18 months I logged in on a daily basis and already
before your very first log on--as soon as the registra-
tion process of creating a free SL account is started--
one can’t but express oneself. This is what online iden-
tity is about. You can’t hide.
I quickly got fascinated with all those representations
of the virtual becoming actual in the grid. Reality is a
matter of definition and one of immersion.
The rotation of particles ?
I wish I had the time to get into creating scripts. I more
60 metaverse art

Picture 1: Calimera Lane

 metaverse art 61

Picture 2: Calimera Lane

62 metaverse art

Picture 3: Calimera Lane

metaverse art 63
64 metaverse art

Picture 4: Calimera Lane

 metaverse art 65

let them see the world as I see it. If they like it, I am
happy.
Well, I like if people like what I do and want to see it
over and over, in my shop or their own homes, but I
am not crushed if someone doesn’t like my art... differ-
ent things touch people differently.
Very. Even negative feedback is important. Other-
wise, one works in a vacuum.

Carly Frequency I love when other artists see my work and make com-
ments, because they are always looking at the world

Artist
in a different way than those who do not make art.
The skills I bring are merely my eyes and a knowledge
of how to present imagery, and an eagerness to learn
from everyone around me. There are no tools I use
here I don’t in RL, other than some lighting tricks. I’ve
only been here in SL a few months, so I am still learn-
ing every day!
It’s satisfying and I think it keeps me more creative and
open.
This is a hard one. I guess what SL is doing is a new
trend, in that we can have walk-in galleries and muse-
ums, as opposed to static websites, and we can inter-
act directly with our viewers in discussion, vs emails.
That’s exciting to me and I think we will see more of it
The audience is large and diverse in every way, includ-
in future, not just here.
ing geographically, and the overhead to exhibit is very
I work alone.
low, making it easy to share my art with a lot of people
Mostly they are RL photos, although I have begun cre-
I would never reach in RL.
ating ‘glass ware’, vases and bowls and things, here; I
I am showing the diversity and beauty of the world
do not and cannot work with glass in RL.
and its people through my photography.
I want to explore some macro images of natural and
man-made beauty.
I am especially proud of my husband’s photos of men
in Egypt; the expressiveness of the faces is amazing.
But I also love some of my work in Northern California;
the trees and ocean scapes.
Communication is all of the above, same as in RL. My
images are more concrete, but you can’t help captur-
ing Spirit when you shoot people and natural beauty.
I really just want to get my work in front of people and
66 metaverse art

Picture1: virtual architecture by Moshax Max

 metaverse art 67

Picture2: virtual architecture Moshax Max

68 metaverse art

Picture3: cybernetic performance diabolus/CARP

metaverse art 69
70 metaverse art

Picture 4: Metropolis 4d cinema production by CARP. Performer MillaMilla Noel, robot design and build Sca Shilova
 metaverse art 71

I am always looking for ways to bring emotion across,

as that is the hardest thing to do with machinima.
trying to create?
I want to bring machinima to the world. It is the next
new thing, it is avant-mainstream. I feel that i am a pio-
neer, taking the artform to higher levels, exploring,
never repeating myself, pushing my limits. I want to
make a difference with my films. And I want to make a
feature lenght movie.
Hm. I want it to be seen. It is not so much what people

Chantal Harvey
think about it, but that they think about it.
It is always interesting.
Some matter a lot, most dont.
Artist I work for tv in rl. I use fraps to film, adobe cs3 to edit,
quick time pro to encode.
It brings recognition, and invitations to masterclasses,
speaker conferences, cross media events.
Better graphics, facial animations, puppeteering.
Hey i like both.
I do cross media machinima, so i import rl film and mix
it with machinima.

My interest lays in machinima. SL is wonderful for

meeting people, as i like to work in teams, and it gives
the opportunity to build sets to film in.
Machinima. I film what i see, i film what i dont see.
Meaning i do fiction, too, short movies.
Anything, I do not limit myself to one sort or area. I will
do any machinima, from art to commercials, music to
politics or sports, documentery to presentations.
Anything goes. No limitations.
Merry Christmas Frank - it was a huge team effort, a
good story, and a good twist and feel.
Wish for you - It is what i felt when i heard the song,
and it does not show what she sings, it is pure emotion
caught in machinima.
The rings - a 44 minute machinima, filmed 5 times,
huge edit - first of its kind I believe.
72 metaverse art

Picture 1: The RINGS 4d cinema production by CARP

 metaverse art 73

Picture 2: The RINGS 4d cinema production by CARP

74 metaverse art

Picture 3: The RINGS 4d cinema production by CARP

metaverse art 75
76 metaverse art

PicturePicture
4: The4:RINGS 4d cinema production by CARP

Caravaggio
Bonetto
Artist
I like to use Second Life as a medium, because it
gives the possibility to create things that wouldn`t
be possible to do in Real Life.
The most important aspects of Real Life architec-
ture and art such as money, deadline and gravity
don`t exist or count in the Metaverse, but there are
other phenomenas that do exist, such as immateri-
ality which widens the creativity on a large scale for
most of the artists including me.
Compared to 3D Softwares such as 3D Max or
Maya the user surface of SL is kept very simple
and practical and an other very important thing is,
that whatever I build it comes into interaction with
other avatars who can enter my artworks, projects
metaverse art 77
and experience, reflect to it.
I tend to communicate topics that interest me in my
Real Life art. In my paintings I thematise pheno-
mens that influence the society I live in and ways of
acting in this society. As main themes I`ve choosen
manipulation, consumerism, globalisation, identity
and future studies. One work that I did in this area
was “Global Wood”, that turned out to be a great
success, it was even used as a stage for the Rings
show by CARP team.
On the other hand I did an experimental research
art project called “Emoticon” , where I`ve been
searching for connections between colours, mu-
sic and emotions based on the emotion theory of
Plutschik and on the idea of Spatiodynamic Theater
by Nicolas Schöffer. This project was an extraordi-
nary team work. I believe in collaborations, as the
knowledge of humanity is enduringly growing, one
cannot know everything. It`s important that one is a
master in his/her field and is able to collaborate to
share knowledge in the good of something greater.
As a third aspect I`ve been useing Second Life as
a tool to create surroundings, spaces, stages for
my latest paintings. In the near future I would like
to use SL not just as a tool but as an inspiration for
my RL art.
78 metaverse art

Picture 1: The RINGS the forest. scenedesign by Caravaggio Bonetto CARP 1

 metaverse art 79

Picture 2: The RINGS global wood, scenedesign by Caravaggio Bonetto

80 metaverse art

Picture 3: collaborative improvisation VJAZZ by Caravaggio Bonetto , Josina Burgess and Velazquez Bonetto
metaverse art 81
82 metaverse art

Picture 4: The WALL V1 costume design by Caravaggo Bonetto

 metaverse art 83

Picture 5: The Global Wood Exhibition by Caravaggo Bonetto

84 metaverse art

Picture 6: The WALL V1 avatar design by Caravagio Bonetto

 metaverse art 85

Personally, I use the metaverse as a tool for building

virtual sets and locations that I can use in films. I am
interested in telling stories that make people laugh,
and will be trying to spend more of my time focussing
on that.

I think I did a particularly good job with http://www.

blip.tv/file/2503163 and it’s a work that gave me a lot

CodeWarrior of freedom in how it was presented. There is no ‘story’

that must be told and I was free to really just interpret

Carling
visually the impact of the performance art exhibit that
is shown in the piece.

Artist It’s hard to give one answer when I am still learning

and exploring what it is to be a filmmaker document-
ing the metaverse. Depending on the subject I’m film-
ing, different approaches may be called for. When film-
ing one of Vaneeesa Blaylocks performance art pieces
for example, and abstract and emotional approach is
almost neccessary to convey to the audience the ef-
fect the piece had on me. In many cases, I see my role
as simply a conduit that attempts to communicate my
impression of a performance art piece or a live the-
ater piece to the audience viewing my video. In other
Because it encompasses every prior form of artistic
cases where it’s a story of my own making, my role is
expression. In the metaverse, we can create written
much more open and I can then choose the approach
works.. read those works at live poetry readings, film
that I want to choose to give the kind of emotional
those poetry readings and create videos of the read-
impact I’m looking for to go with the story.
ings, put those videos onto surfaces in world and cre-
ate a visual art installation featuring the written and
My ultimate goal is to make people laugh by creating
spoken work. That is just one example using poetry,
humurous stories, but along the way there are many
but we can have live musicians in here, perform plays,
things about the metaverse that I can document and
we create sculptures routinely in that we build ‘places’
film and bring to the outside world as it were in the
in here.
form of video. I have been experimenting with 3D
I am still exploring, but as a film maker I have found
graphics for several decades, and it’s always been diffi-
subject matter in the metaverse ranging from tradi-
cult to explain to people without the proper computer
tional art such as live music performances, live theater,
skills what I do with 3D and why it appeals to me.
stand up comedy and art gallery/museum installa-
Now, through video recordings of what takes place in
tions to things that could only exist in the metaverse
the metaverse, I can provide a way for all of us who
that are difficult to describe in traditional terms.
86 metaverse art

spend time in here to show other people what it’s all I think that overpopulation, energy issues, pandemics,
about. transition to information based economy all point to-
I would probably be lying if I said it didn’t matter to me ward an increasing tendency to work from home and
at all, but I think I can honestly say that it doesn’t matter that means a future in which virtual worlds will play an
very much. Time and again I have read comments by art- increasingly important role.
ists who have reached the pinnacle of their fields and the
common thread seems to be that an artist should seek It depends on the particular piece of work, but speak-
to make art that pleases themself. To thine own self be ing logistically, I prefer smaller teams. The metaverse
true, right? has some scalability problems that make it much hard-
I try to make my films pleasing to me, and there are al- er to work with bigger numbers of people.
ways things about them that I wish were better, but each
time I learn how to avoid those things that displease me I suppose you could say that I specialize in metaverse
and the next film is better. only art. I don’t film things from real life as yet, and
have no plans to.
Well I am used to the reactions one gets from the public
about virtual reality and the metaverse, so it’s not that im-
portant to me to get their feedback.
I’d have to say that it is important to me what other artists
and colleagues think of my work.
Machinimatographers use special apps that can capture
video from what they see through the metaverse brows-
er. I have tried several different types of tools for record-
ing live video from the screen and I use a couple of them
depending on what I need to do. What is particularly ex-
citing recently are applications that allow what happens
in the metaverse to be streamed live out to other view-
ers on the internet. This opens up a lot of possibilities for
events in the metavers to be viewed by many thousands
of people.
As to skills I bring to the metaverse from real life, I’ve got
about thirty years experience programming real time
control systems and writing drivers for various kinds
of hardware such as video cards, sound cards, network
cards and the like.

I would say stress relief, but sometimes it can be quite

stressful trying to film events, particularly live events in
the metaverse. That’s what it started out to be though, an
enjoyable and relaxing hobby.
 metaverse art 87

Picture 2: virtual installation by Bryn Oh, arena 2008

Picture 3: virtual installation by Bryn Oh, arena 2008

88 metaverse art

Picture 1: virtual sculpture by Chen Pitney

 metaverse art 89

Picture 4: Dancoyote Antonelli aka. DC Spensley MdM arena 2008

90 metaverse art

Picture 10: Dancoyote Antonelli aka. DC Spensley MdM

 metaverse art 91

realize myself
i don’t know, i’m here only from few months
alone
only metaverse art.

Christian Rexie
Artist

here is very simple to open my creative, and realize

things impossible in reality , in 1st life
visual, imaging: i’m a photographer
same... probably a develop in photos, with moving im-
ages.
I think last photos, for image and afterwoek effects.
Some other artists in my circuits says that i’m a good
creator.
As photograpger, I represent what other peoples
builded. I try only to give my point of view.
to give to users another point of view of SL builds.
a lot
a lot
a lot, much than other
only photoshoot (see the best view is a skill, imho) and
postprocess
92 metaverse art

Picture 1: Alan Sondheim

metaverse art 93
94 metaverse art

Picture 2: Lucian Iwish

 metaverse art 95

Picture 4: Sca Shilova

96 metaverse art

Picture 3: virtual installation by Sca Shilova


Chrome
Underwood
Artist
As an artist who had become used to working in two
dimensions, I was taken aback when I entered Sec-
ond Life; I found it to be nothing less than an exten-
sion of my mind, my imagination and my body. I was
accustomed to wandering around the visual spaces,
objects, textures and colors within my own paintings,
but when I entered the virtual world for the first time
it was as though my paintings had come to life and I
was observing myself exploring my own imagination.
It not only brought me back to a fundamental child-
like state of wonderment, but it propelled me into an
entirely new dimension: living in a movie of my own
making; I was film director, actor and audience. I was
watching myself invent myself creating art.
In my avatar paintings I explore the human figure in a
metaverse art 97
classical sense, but also strive to find the person, the
soul, within the avatar. I am fascinated by the com-
plexity and plasticity of the virtual environment and
its relationship to the real world. I can create virtual
objects and figures, incorporate them into my digital
paintings, mix them with real world elements, and
hang them in a gallery in sl or in the real world; thus
fusing and confusing realities. In my comic strips, I
delve into some of the absurd and paradoxical aspects
of life in the Metaverse, as well as its sense of romantic
mystery, its shape-shifting beauty.
I’m planning a series of paintings called “Lost Cities of
the Future” which will focus on an imaginary civiliza-
tion deep in the future, which is then discovered by a
people of an even deeper future; in other words, cit-
ies of the future already in decay, Machu Picchus of
the distant future. I intend to mingle elements of my
current paintings into the images to keep the cycle
of recycling in motion. I’m also working on a graphic
novel, “Chromium and Juliette,” about a tragic love af-
fair among the avatars, loosely based on Pygmalion,
bits of Shakespeare (particularly Romeo and Juliette),
and Greek mythology - all set in a virtual world. This
satisfies both the artist and the writer within me.
My goal from the time I arrived in Second Life was to
create art that would work both in sl and in the real
world. I think my series of human figure paintings
based on the female avatar successfully merged the
ab-ex/pop style that I work in, using primarily sl im-
agery as the basis of the work. I also think my comic
strips, based on sl imagery, clearly express my ideas
about the virtual life. My team of alts, btw, are an im-
portant part of my art and have been created specifi-
cally for their roles in those works and as models for
my paintings. My hope is to eventually move from
comics to storyboards and then to machinima films.
98 metaverse art
In my digital paintings, I work by overlapping both
verbal and visual elements, constructing complex, lay-
ered abstractions which often contain familiar refer-
ences. It involves the sampling (or, recycling) of visual
elements from the world around me; things I find emo-
tionally stimulating. As a former musician, I’ve always
measured a piece by the pleasure I had in creating it,
which is very similar to the pleasure I found as a drum-
mer in a rock band. I should also add that I became
a digital artist early in the game and set out to prove
that you could actually squeeze your soul through the
keyboard and come out with something as passion-
ate, poetic, and profound as any physical work. I guess
you could say its pretty emotional.
This might be the toughest question of all, because I
tend not to think about my work; I make things that
excite me, things that explode with life. I have often
said that I am perhaps the last one to ask, because I’m
just the guy who makes the stuff; I leave the analysis
to others. In other words, it’s a lot more fun to make art
than it is to try to define it. I don’t really have an intel-
lectual agenda. But, to specifically answer your ques-
tion regarding the art I make in this environment, a big
part of my intention is to capture some of the magic of
the virtual and to bring it out into the physical world
for my fellow earthlings to marvel over. Or ignore.
I worked for years without getting much recognition,
as my early digital art was dismissed as “push but-
ton art”, and most digital art still is, I suppose. In fact,
I didn’t gain any recognition as a digital artist until I
entered Second Life and found others like me, who
could look beyond the fact that it was digitally cre-
ated, and see the beauty of it. The recognition I’ve re-
ceived in here has been extremely gratifying, and has
led to greater acceptance in the real world. It is all very
ironic to me, though, as my pre-digital work had been
shown nationally and internationally and won numer-
ous awards. Oil and canvas are still sacred in the real
world.
To be honest, I enjoy it when someone tells me direct-
ly that they love a particular work, and I can actually
have a meaningful dialog about it with them. We art-
ists too often work in solitude and don’t have much
contact with our audience except at openings and
other events, so the feedback means a lot.
It is very gratifying when artists whose work I admire
give me positive feedback on my work. I also enjoy
the sense of community in the Second Life arts scene,
which is a lot more open and friendly, and less com-
petitive as well. Of course, I’m comparing it to the New
York art scene, where you can actually be eaten alive.
There is a real cross-pollenation going on in here be-
cause of the openness and the willingness to advise,
consult, critique, and even teach. Hard to find that in
the real world.
I am a traditional painter who chose the computer
as my primary medium a dozen years ago, and have
worked almost entirely in Adobe Photoshop. I’m still
trying to figure out how I might apply this skill to the
three-dimensional environment in Second Life. One of
these days a little light bulb will go on over my head
when I’m least expecting it, I suppose.
I believe that the Metaverse environment has renewed
my sense of wonder, which has directly effected my
work, and as the world becomes more tech-savvy and
familiar with the concepts of virtual life, I believe my
work will find a home in the real world as well.
Like all works of art, I think it will be refined, improved
and blend more naturally with the real world, and then
the distinction between the two will slowly disappear.
Then we will have almost infinite creative freedom.
I have worked with other artists, but like marriage, I
 metaverse art 99
suppose, it only works if it is the right person. Other-
wise, I work alone. Of course, alone often means that I
become at least three or four people in order to create
my art. I don’t know if that counts as collaboration. :)

My work is all digital, and it now goes both ways: sl

ingredients and rl ingredients are often merged, and
shown in both worlds. I should also add that all of the
work shown in real life is under the name Chrome
Underwood, and not my name in real life. It’s my little
joke on the art world; since my work was dismissed
when I went digital, I decided to become digital myself
to make the circle complete.

My Links:

My website, which contains links to my gallery, my

webcomic, mojozone, and to my blog, Chrome Never
Sleeps: http://chromeunderwood.com
A recent interview I did for Prim Perfect magazine:
http://bit.ly/b14iup
Please feel free to contact me regarding this or any ad-
ditional info which might be helpful.

Picture 1: SL comics byChrome Underwood

100 metaverse art

Picture 2: SL graphics by Chrome Underwood

 metaverse art 101

Picture 3: SL graphics by Chrome Underwood

Picture 4: The RINGS 4d cinema production by CARP
102 metaverse art

Picture 4: SL comics byChrome Underwood

 metaverse art 103

I would make works that would surprise me with their

behaviors.

I’m still very pleased by the Time and Motion series of

dynamic sculptures; various of them have been shown
at various venues in Second Life, and the basic idea is
rich enough that I can always sit down and tweak the
algorithms a bit and get something new.In an entirely

Dale Innis different direction, I’ve started to be pleased enough

with some of my inworld photographs to put them up

Artist
for public display and even sale. We’ll see how that
goes. :)

Again I don’t consider my art to be necessarily about

communication of thought. My style, in most of my
work, is abstract and rational, perhaps iconic, relative-
ly simple forms and textures shaped and controlled,
to one extent or another, by mathematics. But since
in some sense the whole universe around us is shaped
by mathematics, such abstract forms can resonate
with human senses, and even emotion.

Primarily I do it because it is fun. :) I want the objects

that I create to surprise people, to intrigue them, or
As a medium, it offers incredible flexibility and free-
make them think or feel in ways that might not oth-
dom from constraints; the ability to bring ideas into
erwise have. Or to make them go out and try to build
being almost directly, without the limitations of at-
something like that themselves!
oms, gravity, and materials costs. As a platform, Sec-
ond Life in particular is a creative space that is seam-
I work primarily for my own delight, and sometimes
lessly embedded in a social, and even a commercial
for my friends. It is validating and gratifying when
space, and that’s really marvelous.
the larger public appreciates things, but that isn’t the
main motivation.
I don’t think of my artworks as communicating specific
It is validating and gratifying, but it isn’t the main mo-
things in topics or areas. They are small structurings
tivation. :)
of time and space, which touch the viewer, or not, in
It is probably even more validating and gratifying, but
whatever way they do. I try not to presuppose.
it isn’t (you know) the main motivation.
I would like to work more with interactivity; works that
Primarily simple non-scuplted prims, simple textures,
respond to the audience and to each other. I have
and scripts. I am a computer programmer IRL, so
done some of this, and I would like to do more. Ideally
104 metaverse art
scripting comes naturally. My photographs are unpro-
cessed or very lightly processed SL snapshots, with liberal
use of the environment editor (which rocks).
It’s a great escape from daily RL concerns, and a source of
happiness and energy, so I can go back into RL invigorat-
ed in mind and spirit, with all those little creative atoms
still bouncing around in my brain.
interviewed a number of prominent SL artists for the
weblog, goofed around at VAA events, scripted ob-
jects for the Photohunts and the Haiku Speedbuilds,
and generally tried to be useful in between shopping
and dancing and building and scripting and explor-
ing and having long talks until the wee small hours
of the morning. Various random works by various SL
artists, including me, can be found in my public park
in Hughes Rise:

Wow. Well, I expect we will get more powerful scripting

languages, more advanced object models (meshes, the
ability to import from high-function external modeling
tools, and so on), and even fancier rendering pipelines.
Less technically and more socially, I think interoperability
between virtual worlds, in one form or another, is pretty
much inevitable, and should make things even more
complex and rich and surprising than they are now.

I tend to work alone, and I enjoy that, but I have also had
some very rewarding collaborations, writing scripts for
Sabrina Nightfire and for Juria Yoshikawa for instance.
Collaborations between very visual artists and those of
us who are more scripty can be very effective.

I don’t import RL pieces to any extent at all, really. Some

of my photographs (like the Blake Sea Ferry series) are
quite “realistic”, but it’s the realism of the virtual world,
not of RL. The most I will take from RL is the occasional
heavily processed RL image to use as an abstract texture,
but even that is rare.

Random facts about me: I will be celebrating my third

rezday anniversary shortly; 22 November 2009. A pro-
fessional programmer in RL, I’ve created a number of
scripted artworks in SL, which have been displayed in the
Virtual Artists Alliance and Oyster Bay galleries, as well as
a few other places whose names I don’t currently recall,
and in various friends’ homes. I’m a charter member of
the VAA itself, being more or less active at various times,
 metaverse art 105

Picture 1: virtual installation by Sca Shilova

106 metaverse art

Picture 4: cinetic installation by Selavy Oh

metaverse art 107
108 metaverse art

Picture 10: metaverse sculpture by shellina Winkler

 metaverse art 109

As I worked on Paris 1900, I think building historical

monuments was a very instructing matter. I liked to
re-build “Moulin de la Galette, “Chez Maxim’s”, “Les
Halles” and the French Academy??

As I told you, I’m a professional painter in RL since

many years. I used to work in Theater and shows mak-
ing Decors, lightings, scenographies and costumes.

Darcy Mokeev Posters too.

Now I have a school of art in Paris.

Artist
I can communicate in many ways in SL. Running a Art
Gallery to expose RL and SL artists, for example.??,
produce a show with singers, historical exhibition??or
discovering new forms of art, like the “Matte Painters”.
Personnaly I do prefer hyperrealism, but open to any-
thing new.

I just want people to think.

Life is a mystery.
Who am I really ? In the metaverse, it’s obvious.
Who is behind the avatar really ?
I am a memory. Without this memory, I just can’t be
anymore. I want to interest people that they can think
abour themselves.
Mostly because it only depends on me. In RL you al-
I choose this environnement because I could make a
ways need someone, that means lots of money, lots of
big gallery for my studients. So they could show their
explanations, lots of diplomatie : publishers, galerists,
work to their families in the USA or Israel, in England
producers and so. In metaverse you just need to un-
or Canada.
derstand and learn how to do it yourself, and décide
I also created several male and female avatar they can
for youself. (Just try to build a tower in RL, you’ll see
use to visit easely this new world....and they do !!!
what I mean. Lol)
It’s better for them to like it. If they don’t, they will like
Anything I want : paintings,(I am a painter in RL) build-
something else. No problem.
ings, lightings.(I am a lighter for theater in RL) I can
I just do what I have to do.
even sing, create a planet, play piano, explore, wear
(Il RL, a good theater decor is the decor that fits. No-
any suit from any period of history, be beautiful, talk to
body sees it. So I’m used to be ignored as much as to
people, listen to people....and do things with people....
be seen)
will try to make a skin, and clothes.
When I was an actor it was very very important of
110 metaverse art
Picture 1: sculpture by shellina Winkler
Picture 2: sculpture by shellina Winkler
course. But now It is not, really.
It is important for anyone to love and understand
more and more each day.
Not loving something is less pleasure. It’s a pity.
But people never talk of YOUR work. Everyone speaks
always of himslef thru what they see. It’s always inter-
sting, but not really your matter.
I prefer they like it, of course. If they don’t, we will
speak of something else.
I found I loved to build palaces (witch you can’t really
know in RL). I enjoy making textures. I surely will learn
how to create in Maya to import in SL ( or any other
metaverse like Blue Mars or openGrids).
Just like RL. Metaverses are RL. (They are not material.
A film is virtual, a theater show too)
Making a website is it RL ? Painting on a canvas is it RL
? The RL of a RL painting is nothing more than wood,
canvas, oil and pigments. The reality of Art il not in the
RL but in our mind and heart. Creating IS creating, any-
where anytime.
Not creating is just being dead. No ?
Importing inventair from Grid to Grid, Easy relations
between metaverses. I think metaverses will, one day
or another, replace the net as we see it today.
Used to collaboration, but it is quite different. I like
both. One I give myself to others, two I get from others
what I give to myself. Sort of spiritual bisexuality. Lol.
Picture 3: cinetic sculpture by shellina Winkler
metaverse art 111
112 metaverse art

Picture 4: sculpture byshellina Winkler

metaverse art 113
114 metaverse art

Picture 5: Solkide Auer

metaverse art 115
116 metaverse art

Picture 6: Solkide Auer


Debbie Trilling
creative director
performer
In some respects it is more accurate to say that the
Metaverse chose me, rather than the other way
around.
I did not enter the Metaverse with any conscious in-
tentions of using it as a medium to express creativity;
it just happened and evolved over time.
I was immediately drawn into the Metaverse; its cul-
ture, its ethos, its sense of glimpsing into the future
and seemingly unlimited potential.
This interest has remained with me since the very be-
ginning.
I’m not sure I have a particular topic that I am trying to
communicate. If I did, then ‘The Wall’ series of perfor-
mances would be the nearest; anti-political and, hope-
fully, somewhat subversive. But I am not motivated to
metaverse art 117
communicate any particular message and am as hap-
py for someone to watch the performance and see it
simply in terms of a good night’s entertainment as I
am for them to interpret it at some deeper level.
I mostly work with particles, lights and scripted ob-
jects.
I’d like to employ the lessons learnt and knowledge
gained over the last 2 years working on ‘The Wall’, ‘The
Rings’ and ‘Metropolis’ and other intense high-profile
productions, and work with a talented team of con-
tent creators to direct another ground-breaking and
stunning production.
Velazquez Bonetto and I have already started this pro-
cess with the recent development of the “NEXUS-9
Master Controller” (named in homage to Philip K Dick).
This controller is five times faster than the controller
used in ‘Metropolis’ and ten times faster than the one
used in the original ‘The Wall’ production. It is stun-
ningly accurate in four-dimensions. Its first use will
be for ‘The Wall V-3’ and it will form the bedrock of all
CARP’s future productions. Vela and I are very happy
with it and its performance.
One day I’ll find time to write a ‘History of the Master
Controller’ blog; from the first version developed for
‘The Particle Garden 2007’ (CARP 2) right through to
the present day NEXUS-9 (CARP 10).
‘The Wall’ is particularly significant as it was CARP’s
first major production, was technically ground-break-
ing and aesthetically pleasing. It set the benchmark
for all future productions. As CARP have evolved as
a team of Metaverse artists, so has ‘The Wall’ evolved.
Each version reflects our continual development as a
team and as individual Metaverse artists. Version 3 will
be technically and aesthetically the best version yet.
The burning of ‘The Man’ installation for Burning Life
2009 was a very challenging project. How to create an
impressive build, particle display and piece of theatre,
118 metaverse art
 metaverse art 119
with heavy physics, while having an audience of 200
to 300 avatars per performance?
This challenge had Elfod Nemeth, Gypsy Paz and I por-
ing over scripts for many hours making sure each and
every line of code was efficient as it could possibly be.
That all three performances were successful is testa-
ment to the experience gained from previously work-
ing on big productions with CARP.
Both versions of ‘The Particle Garden’ (2007 and 2009)
exhibition are significant, I think, because, as well as
being aesthetically pleasing, it demonstrates the
amount of control and direction that can be imposed
upon particles. Each effect is precisely directed in time
and space, and is repeatable. The underlying prin-
ciples can be taken to bigger productions where an
effect can be reliably reproduced every performance.
It was also my first solo public exhibition and so holds
a special place in my heart and personal Metaverse
history. Picture 2: The WALL virtual theatre production by CARP
‘The Random Profile Projector’ was a toy I scripted
for fun one cold, rainy Sunday morning in Novem-
ber 2007. I released it open source and since then it
has taken on a life of its own! The script has had over
23,000 hits on my LLab wiki page and is the scripting
basis of those annoying gadgets that display your pro-
file picture when you walk into a mall or a club. Sorry
about that.

I tend to use visual images synchronised to a

soundtrack. It is important to me that the visuals pre-
cisely correspond to the beat, rhythm and tone of the
soundtrack, and that all changes synchronise.
This is a challenge under any VW circumstances, but,
the more avatars in the audience the harder it is to ac-
complish. It requires all objects to be tightly scripted;
uncompromisingly so. It is not unusual for a set of
scripts to go through 10, 20 or even 30 versions of de-

Picture 1: The WALL virtual theatre production by CARP Picture 3: Debbie Trilling creative dictator
120 metaverse art

velopment before I am satisfied that that set of scripts

is as efficient as they are going to get.
Ensuring the synchronised visuals and sounds requires
watching the performance over and over - tweaking,
refining and adjusting for weeks or months before the
public even get to see it. The consequence of this is
that my work tends not to be spontaneous but is in-
stead heavily directed, controlled and repeatable.
My works tends not to have an overt message or recur-
rent the theme and I approach each on a project-by-
project basis.

Ultimately I consider the work to be about creativity

for its own sake; the pursuit of the ever elusive perfec-
tion; about fun and entertainment.
I do not seem to have a need to endow a project with
“meaning” so long as the above criteria are being ful-
filled.
If I enjoy the creation process and the team with whom
I am working also enjoy, and if also the audience enjoy
the completed product then I think that that is impact
enough.

Pretty important, actually.

I often tell myself that I should try and be cool, that
it shouldn’t matter what the public thinks. But sadly,
I have not managed to scale to those dizzy heights of
coolness and the fact is, it does matter to me.

Receiving IM’s and notecards from the pubic is always

pleasant. Often time-consuming but nevertheless
pleasant.
It is not “important” to me in the sense that I could not
live without it but it is important in the sense it allows
for open communication, rather than appearing aloof.

Picture 4: Metropolis 4d cinema production by CARP

metaverse art 121
122 metaverse art

and compatible team members allows for social inter-

I have a small circle of trusted content creator friends
whom I bounce ideas off and receive feedback from.
These individuals are quite capable of telling me if a
particular experiment is actually a disaster or con-
versely, if something I am unsure of actually works.
These friends are time-proven to be able to give ac-
curate feedback; not unnecessarily or patronisingly
laudatory nor harshly or jealously critical. Their pres-
ence and friendship has proven valuable time and
time again.
It is important to me what these individuals think of
my work; less so others.
action, skill development, sharing and a host of other
benefits.
I like to create in the Metaverse, for the Metaverse. I
use external software simply as a means to this end.
The work itself is not necessarily “NPIRL”; it may or it
may not be. That is not particularly a criterion that mo-
tivates me. But neither do I import into the Metaverse
work made in RL for RL.

Within the VW environment itself, I use the standard

supplied tools.
Outside of that environment I use ‘Photoshop’ for tex-
tures, ‘Premiere Pro’ and ‘After Effects’ for machinima,
‘LSL Editor’ for scripting.
I have always worked in technical environments in-
cluding a number of years as a programmer with ex-
tensive experience of a range of computer languages.
I seem to have a knack for picking up any software and
being able to produce high quality work with it within
a short period of time.

I haven’t watched TV, read a newspaper or drunk alco-

hol in over three years. The mental and physical health
benefits are palpable.

I haven’t any new or unique insights into this.

VW stability has improved many-fold in the recent
past but we need now to get a fix on lag in all its forms
and be able to increase the number of agents on a re-
gion without that region turning to syrup.

I enjoy working in a team with talented content cre-

ators who themselves enjoy and are capable of work-
ing harmoniously within a team.
Due to the nature of VW content creation, a lot of time
is spent alone anyway. Working with well-selected
 metaverse art 123

Picture 5: Metropolis 4d cinema production by CARP

Picture 6: Metropolis 4d cinema production by CARP Picture 7: Metropolis 4d cinema production by CARP
124 metaverse art

Picture 8: WALL V3 Dirty Woman

 metaverse art 125

Picture 9: WALL V3 Run like Hell

126 metaverse art

Picture 10: The WALL after show party

 metaverse art 127

and fashion also play a big role in inspiring my work....

and I love pushing boundaries in this sense, creating
new looks with my avatar. On another scale, I like to
work with a concept. For example with my show ‘Cy-
ber Iconic’, the only intention was to evoke recogni-
tion in the viewer, as to which image I had chosen to
represent... but to make it different enough, so as to
have it’s own identity and to question what it is about

Del May an image that makes it iconic. I chose cyberpunk as

the theme and each image evolved as I worked on it.

Artist
As a result, a mixture of topics emerged.... aesthetics,
beauty, the human condition, excentricity...... all of
which I feel are reoccurent subjects in my work.

I want to continue to work with my instincts as this

is what I enjoy most, and what works for me.... and I
hope that my work will continue to evolve in terms of
what I can achieve technically. I would like to expand
my horizons and work with animation and machinima.

This is a difficult question, because I am not one to rate

myself. I am very critical of my own work and always
think about improvement, rather than looking back
and applauding myself. Having said that, I would say
I didn’t so much choose the Metaverse as a medium.
that the most significant thing I do, is to create poses.
My reasons for joining SL were not for the creative as-
These are the backbone of my work..... and I now sell
pect, but out of curiosity for what this world was. I had
them too, and I hope that this inspires others also :)
no idea before joining, what I would do here. Using
the Metaverse as a platform for my expression is some-
My style is a combination of things. I would say that
thing that happened over time. I did not set out to do
my signature work, is minimal and emotional some-
it, but I am a naturally creative person, and will always
times quirky, sometimes soulful. I work with beauty,
find a creative angle on everything I do. I began tak-
but not in a traditional sense.... I explore beauty as a
ing photographs when I learned of Flickr, and once I
concept and like to challenge the norm. I am told that
became familiar with the possibilities inworld, I began
I have an amazing sense of style..... I communicate my
then to push myself artistically here.
thoughts through the forms that I create and through
my avatar’s appearance.... skin, shape, dress.... The
I am a very expressive person in terms of my emotions,
combination of these things is what makes an image
and this is what I tend to communicate with a lot of my
work for me. There is no particular recipe for it and
work. I also focus on the human form, but not with the
often I go off on tangents.
emphasis on the flesh... more in the sense of line. Style
128 metaverse art
 metaverse art 129

The intention of my work is to communicate. I am a

visual artist because I get frustrated with words and
find it easier to communicate visually and physically.....
and I do this in every enviornment that I am a part of.
Sometimes as humans, we are speechless.... at times
like this only actions or art can truly express how we
feel.

I think any true artist works primarily for themselves.....

there is a drive, a need to create, to explore and to
understand oneself and the world. Having said that,
I think being able to communicate this to others, is
the ultimate goal. Otherwise we would not show our
work and wouldn’t not care if it was understood or not.
In this sense, it’s very important to me that I commu-
nicate to others and if I reach people, inspire people,
give pleasure to people, this gives me enourmous sat-
isfaction :) Having said that, I am my biggest critic and Picture 2: metaverse foto by Del May
so if I really believe in a piece I created, this is enough
for me ;)

I think I just answered this in the previous question, in

terms of positive reactions. It’s great to get feedback
in any form though, and constructive criticism can
help us to learn and grow as artists.

Well, there’s nothing better than a genuine appre-

ciation of my work, from somebody who’s own work
I respect. This holds a lot of weight and value for me.
Having said that, I do not expect everybody to like
what I do, and do not take offence if it doesn’t work for
some people. As I said before, if I believe in what I’m
doing myself, that is enough for me.

I am not very advanced technically. I work creatively

with the tools and creations that are provided by oth-

Picture 1: metaverse foto by Del May Picture 3: Del May

130 metaverse art
ers inworld.... with the environment editor, with props,
locations, textures and attire that others have created.
I play with things.... use my imagination and edit ob-
jects where necessary and possible. Sometimes I cre-
ate textures. I create the poses I need. I studied sculp-
ture in rl and I have recently come to realise, that this
is a fundamental part of my work with poses... it’s my
instinct to work with shape and form. I do whatever is
necessary in terms of post processing, but I prefer this
to be minimal. I don’t consider myself to be a skilled
person. I just find my way ;)

It fills a gap. I need a creative outlet and for the mo-

ment, this is it.

Oh this is a biggy. I really have no clue in terms of

technical trends ;p Anything which will serve to make
the Metaverse more flexible in terms of what we can
achieve, has got to be a good thing. I think it’s just im-
portant that we all strive to continue to improve and
create. Creation is the key to this Metaverse.

I prefer to work alone, because I am not so good at

delegating and also, my head space is very limited
when I’m working. I get into the zone with it, and this
is when I am my most creative. Having said that, if an
idea requires more than one avatar, I will ask some-
body to assist me in this. I will then take advice and
suggestions from them with regards to the work, but I
wouldn’t call this so much a collaboration ;) Similarly,
when I have been asked to assist others... it’s remained
very much their work. Maybe collaboration is a pos-
sibility for the future however ;)

I work only with NPIRL

Picture 4: metaverse foto by Del May

metaverse art 131
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Picture 5: metaverse foto by Del May

 metaverse art 133

Picture 6: metaverse foto by Del May

134 metaverse art

Picture 8: metaverse foto by Del May

 metaverse art 135

I strongly believe in free culture where professional art

dont exist annymore, since we all have the tools to ex-
press and create, copy, remix and manipulate.

Deruub Pastorelli
aka. Ruben Haan
artist

I am interested in the combination of using te inter-

net/metaverse for my creations together with non
digital things.

The way people present themselves on platforms such

as secondlife interests me.
But I cant say that I clearly can communicate an opin-
ion about them in my work. Its more an inspiration
and a fascination.

In Secondlife I made some 3D paintings; sculpted

shapes textured with acrylpaintings.

Its a way of working I use a lot and even more on my

own server run on OpenSim software.
136 metaverse art

Picture 1: virtual environment by Deruub Pastorelli

metaverse art 137
138 metaverse art

Picture 2: virtual environment by Deruub Pastorelli

metaverse art 139
140 metaverse art

Picture 3-4: virtual environment by Deruub Pastorelli

metaverse art 141
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Picture 5: Deruub Pastorelli exhibition opening in artspace diabolus

 metaverse art 143

While it is very, very simple, this creation is the one I’m

currently proudest of; exploring the concept of the
avatar as “captivating” art, the tension between being
a person and being objectified - but objectified in the
way we choose, it the ways we permit. ????

It really depends. My works tend to play with the ar-

cheotypes found in classic bondage illustration and

DelNovo Brome pornography, although my intent is not to create

porn, per se. Rather, I’m trying to explore and illumi-

Artist
nate the ideas, mindsets, taboos and cultural assump-
tions behind them. Like all art, it’s an attempt to hold
up a mirror, and what it shows a person is ultimately
something I cannot predict.
That is, I think, what makes what I do something other
than precisely pornography or erotica - because to
me, those ideas are about what’s in my head, and
while they have their own value, I’m much more inter-
ested in the infinite variety of how people see them-
selves, when prompted to express that.

I’m afraid that I don’t really have any concious impe-

tus. My work arises from my subconcious and then I
try to make sense of it afterward. If people get it, when
My artwork moved into the realm of electronica years
they resonate with it, I feel it’s a success - which is how
ago and it generally ends up looking best on a com-
I judge my “frame” to be a success.
puter screen, so displaying it in world was a logical
step. The idea of using SL to compose and create static
WEll, since I try to fund my SL habits by selling my
and interactive artworks was a natural step.
work - it’s quite important. But of course there’s the
emotional fulfillment of feeling that I’ve touched
My work is always about people, their ethics and the
hearts and minds. :)
tensions (for good and ill) between who we are and
what we think we ought to be. More specifically, I do
Very important to my process. I often design, build
adult and erotic art.
and create art in reaction to or in co-operation with
friends and strangers.
Right now I’m exploring the use of the Restrained Life
suite of applications to create interactive experiences.
Hm. It depends on who it is. I can tell by the art wheth-
So far, I’ve created a number of small devices that are
er they would understand what I’m trying to do. :)
intended to explore the idea of the avatar as art.
There are many “Painters of Light” in SL - and while I
144 metaverse art
admire the skill, I’m not interested in what they have
to say about those of us who render in shades of ran-
domness, uncertainty and darkness.

I use photoshop, RLV tools for posing and quick

switching and I seem to have a talent for visualizing
things in SL in 3D - though it doesn’t translate to regu-
lar 3D design tools that I’ve tried.

Hm. How does any art help? Funny, it’s the same ques-
tion my parents asked when I was ten or twelve. I’ve
never come up with an answer - and never been able
to be anything else. It’s what I am. :)

Richer and more intuitive interactivity. More natural

presentations. And that is why I consider the “Adult”
Picture 1: Cynega Soon areas and themes to be absolutely critical to the future
of SL - just as it was the foundation for the Internet.
(And the printing press, and probably written lan-
guage. ) There is nothing more physical and intuitive
than sex and violence, and when both are satisfactory
to the absolute limits of the medium - it will be satis-
factory as an enviornment for doing anything that is
human. It will be a reality, rather than a simulation of
reality.

Alone, in general, but sometimes collaboration. It de-

pends on who and what.

I do both, actually. In many cases I create images from

SL, work them with the intent of both in-world and
out-world print production. (Nothing to show at the
moment.)

Picture 2: Cynega Soon

Picture 3 Cynega Soon

metaverse art 145
146 metaverse art

Picture 4: Faethers Boa in camera obscura

 metaverse art 147

Picture 4:
148 metaverse art

Picture 5: Faether Boa

 metaverse art 149

I was inspired by the RL “fake Brillo-box scandal” that

was all over the news at the time.
So I filled a large SL gallery with these copies and pas-
tishes and sold identical items at varying and random
prizes.
The big idea was, of course, to discuss what mecha-
nisms define “authenticity” in a world where every-
thing is derivative to some degree, when at the same

Eeyore Ogg time everything can be infinatly duplicated.

This exhibit was, in some ways, a failure (see question

Artist
7) but it taught me a lot about how other people think
about their percieved worlds. So it was significant for
me personally, anyway.
I deliberatly try to confuse my audience. I want peo-
ple to ask themselves “Just what am I looking at here?”
So I try to create images or objects that are pleasing to
the eye, very formal paintings or sculptures, and then
place them in a context where they may not belong.
Or I make them interactive, so that you have to click
on them to really understand them.
I cover this pretty much in my answers to question 1
and 2. Ulltimatly I want people to question themselves
and to question the world, to re-examine their role in
society and culture.
The (virtual) third dimension is what intrerests me. The
Barring that, I like to keep people entertained .
ability to use my computer to create objects, rather
Audience participation and audience reaction is all
than just images. And to place those objects within a
that matters. There is no reason to display your art un-
greater context, in a shared, explorable space. All this
less you want other people to experince it.
without having to get off my ass and actually build
If i can’t get my message across, I have failed.
something in RL, wich would demand much more
Then again, interesting side effects may arise from a
time and resources.
percieved failure. The “Authentic Fake Warhols”-exhib-
I like to challenge my audience’s field of perception,
it was a failure in the sense that most visiting avatars
hoping to make them open their minds a little and try
simply did not “get it”. The absurdity of a virtual copy
on new ideas.
of a RL copy went straight over most peoples heads
I don’t really know. Usually I´m inspired by current
and all they could see were a lot of pretty pictures.
events, wich I then want to comment on in some way.
So the exhibition taught me a lot of invaluable lessons
Last year, I has a big exhibit where I created and sold
about how other people view the metaverse - inter-
“Authentic Fake Warhols”. Some of those artworks
estingly, most people do not seem to want any meta-
were straight copies, other were Warhol-inspired pas-
physical side to their metaverse. They want things to
tishes. A few were modified copies of known RL fakes.
150 metaverse art
be “hands on” and “face value”.
I don´t care much. It´s nice if artists I admire like what
i do, but like I said before, the audience is all that mat-
ters.
I´m rather skilled in Photoshop and InDesign, so I’m
able to create textures that don´t neccesarily look like
“textures”.
So far, my SL and my RL are compleatly seperate.
I think people must lern to be more prim-savvy. Think
things through in advance.
Don’t use 15 prims if you can acieve the same thing
with two. Don´t upload larger textures than what is
neccessary. Because everbody does not have the same
hardware capacities as you do. So the more intricate
and complex your art gets, the less people will view it.
Make a concious effort to keep things simple.
Picture 2: Cablebiotops by Velazquez Bonetto I havn’t found anyone that has been interrested in col-
laboration so far. I´m open for suggestions though.
So far, my SL and my RL are compleatly seperate.
Don’t hesitate to contact me if there is anything else
you want to know.

Picture 3: Cablebiotops by Velazquez Bonetto

Picture 1: MANAX by Josina Burgess

metaverse art 151
152 metaverse art

Picture 4: MANAX particle theatre by Vealzquez Bonetto

 metaverse art 153

but not with SL. So that’s the main reason I choose to

start with 3D at this point and not earlier. Also because
I have support of my friends here, it’s a constant flow
of communicating … very fast.

I am interested in cultures and human behavior. My

main influences are the theater plays and the TV news.
I combine the two … more the big things, not details.

Eifachfilm Like my 444 piece. It showed people want to grow big

and forget the essence, things like this or my money

Vacirca
grave yard, for all the money that died in late2008.

The topics will show up them selves. I do art when I

Artist must do it. I cannot predict future, so I cannot plan it.
For me its like a chess game, I wait for moves, then I
decide what my move will be.

The money graveyard. I was lucky, it has money as ele-

ment. Not much art with money around. I did it within
a day … it is part of my art. I am fast, like a news sta-
tion … so I eat the soup while it’s hot … don’t know
if you say this in English (Strike while the iron is hot).
I made a installation in theater once I called it ants.
http://d-oo-b.net/blipTV.php?movie=AYGf6QMC … it
I am a video professional. I worked in TV stations and i
was projected on a 10m screen as visual for a opening
am a master of video installations in theater plays. I lead
party. They spent a lot of money … tax money there. I
for 4 years the video department of Schauspielhaus in
wanted to point to it. It made me big problems. They
Zürich, the main city theater of Zürich. The metaverse
said if you make art, you don’t talk about money, you
is just a logic follow up to my work in visual media.
just take it … money should not be the issue for art.
As an artist I focus on new tools, SL is perfect for me
The artist must be protected from all money issues. So
easy access. My media is screens and projectors and
there was the seed for money graveyard.
soon RID (Virtual Retinal Display), http://en.wikipedia.
org/wiki/Virtual_retinal_display. So I am a professional
It is highly emotional I DJ also … it should be fun, par-
for all it needs to feed these tools … video is just one
ty, dancing, iconic … but they also have rational as-
way to do it. These days computers make it, as I started
pect, you can look at it both ways. I try to make things
we used beta cam SP mostly, VHS, Hi8. I worked in the
that have several faces, its influenced by string theory
news on TV. I am used to work fast. 3D was always to
… where they found out. That’s the five theories they
must work for me, to much time between idea and re-
had are the same thing … just looked at it from differ-
sult. If I want to make a news clip it takes me 1 day …
ent point of views. Your own attitude influences what
if I want to make a 3D artwork, I work on it for weeks,
154 metaverse art
 metaverse art 155
you see … or you own history, education, and morals.
I learned this in news station where you have to meet
all needs. I try to implement this in my art so the mes-
sage comes through to all.

Basically I want people have fun and feel alive … give

them brain food. I do this here because in SL I have
audience from all over the world. Within one day, and
hear their comments instantly all around the globe. I
am not aiming to reach millions .. at the same time , I
feel like a part of a global “brain”, as one synapses. If my
input is valuable for the community it will be handed
to next and it spreads within three days … the connec-
tivity that the metaverse provides around the globe
to millions. If not it reaches my ten best friends and
they not hand it further. I don’t intend impact, I see my
self a source of ideas … like an experiment maybe …
something useful come up, but I do research. I am not
interested in winning concepts and redo them. Picture 2: rez performance by Eifachfilm Vacirca

I would be happy if they love it, but I wont stop. I do

my research, if they ignore it today they might find it
useful tomorrow. You never know, Van Gogh no one
liked, but he could not stop doing his art. Same with
me, I tried many times to stop but suddenly I must do
my next move and if Ii am lucky it is a good one. I am
enslaved by my art today, if I see a move … I must do
mine. It overcomes me like an addiction … I work four
days in a row … sleep not much, work twenty eight
hours, no break, no food. I like it, but I need rest after
such a thing. Actually its because, I don’t like scripting
so I don’t stop and script till its finished, but also the
textures … it’s work. I like more to have it than to make
it

Well it depends but I need no work time in between to

chat with people … just be and feel how they feel …

Picture 1: rez performance by Eifachfilm Vacirca Picture 3: rez performance by Eifachfilm Vacirca
156 metaverse art
read the news and the blogs, like sensing to detect a
move I must reply on … this can take time

Very important, I see myself as part of it, if they say its

rubbish it must be rubbish … but if only one say it rub-
bish and ten say it is cool … I usually mute the guy that
tells me its rubbish. It does not help me … sometimes
they are just jealous. Good thing in SL is no one knows
how many and who you know … you can ask people
from all over the world. They don’t even know about
them self’s. Like this i can detect ignorant comments
very quick.

I use scripting and graphics design. I bought my first

computer in 1983. I can deal with media any kind, it
was major part of my activities all my life.

There is not much in SL I cannot do … I spent in here

more than 10,000 hours here.

Music and RID (Virtual Retinal Display) … it’s not easy

to say in the music business, they hunt the audience
right now. The metaverse will be the pot where people
choose their favorite music. I think in near future this
is the most important … the leading art form as I see
music as the mother of language. It is a basic need. The
DJ and live music scene here exchanges a lot of ideas.
The art I do, fine arts is marginal … but also part of
the music as the music need a space to live in. But the
main reason why people stay here will not be the fine
arts … they just come along.

I like to do collaboration, but the organization of it is

very important for me. If I don’t agree … I am not part
of it. I would never accept a bad way to do it, so I often

Picture 4: rez performance by Eifachfilm Vacirca

metaverse art 157
158 metaverse art
work alone or in small groups. I don’t want to loose
time for selfish reasons. Also I want everyone get his or
her respect. I am tried of wasting time.

I specialize, but if i make RL art I always make it both

worlds. The next move demands maybe a RL action …
you never know. I cannot really predict. I made a per-
formance where i was the remote city guide, people
saw me on webcam talking and walking in town. They
gave me suggestions what to do next … http://d-oo-
b.net/blipTV.php?movie=AYGZ51gC.
 metaverse art 159

Picture 5: rez performance by Eifachfilm Vacirca

160 metaverse art

Picture 6: rez performance by Eifachfilm Vacirca

 metaverse art 161

see my work. I could not mange to have a gallery in RL,

but I have several here.
I appreciate the recognition I receive from others in SL.
Feedback and reaction are important to me because
they can help me improve my work. Many people
have helped me along the way.
It is vitally important. I am not a formally trained artist.
My colleagues have a lot to teach me and I can learn a

Em Larsson lot by listening carefully to their remarks.

RL photography -- I bring RL images into SL

Artist
writing - writing transfers easily between the two
It got me working more seriously in photograph in RL.
I credit SL with that. I will have a show in a local gal-
lery in the spring. This would never have happened
but for SL.
I don’t know
Mostly alone.
the latter, but considering the former

A I came into SL expecting a game and discovered

something much more real. When I discovered art in
SL, I knew right away that I would be an artist here.
photography writing
same
I guess that is for others to determine.
I started out making very concrete images but have
migrated to doing abstract images too. I love to ex-
periment, but feel relatively conservative compared to
others in SL. I don’t tend to script my objects or make
immersive environments, so my experimentation
takes place with my camera or with photoshop. I may
try some SL photography again.. I have played iwth it
only a bit. New learning takes time.
I create art here because it satisfies my need to be cre-
ative. I want to share what I create; I love that others
162 metaverse art

Picture 4: Juria Yoshikawa

 metaverse art 163

Picture 4: Juria Yoshikawa

164 metaverse art

Picture 4: seeing spOts, being dOts virtual performance by Juria Yoshikawa, soundtrack: nnoiz Papp
 metaverse art 165

Picture 4:
166 metaverse art

Picture 4: seeing spOts, being dOts by Juria Yoshikawa, soundtrack: nnoiz Papp
 metaverse art 167

and want to learn

Very important...to work again. Always.
i have always to learn from people!!
Graphic software for enviroment and avatar
i can live one more time!!
We need help from media, SL is a competitor very
strong for internet and tv..they hate us.
Collaborate with other people is very interesting...but

eros Boa my ideas very hard to change, lol

Only Metaverse and few photos.

Artist

Have no limit of material, sound action

learn real art and teach or create interest to other
people , like me, are not artist.
In italy we live of art in tourism but only few people
know and appreciate it.
To continue to copy real art, but with new impression,
my art is in the avatar who live the scene. IMMERSIVE
ART.
Andy Away Again, a my personal copy of Andy War-
hol...we are all icon in this world and have our quarter
of hour of fame
I like to amaze people with easy message, copy to real
event, not abstract.
Interest, interest and interest in art...create feeling whit
an abstract thing (art) totally useless but so “warm”
i like people say always the true, who want to know
168 metaverse art
 metaverse art 169

Picture 2: eros Boa aging, Imagine festival diabolus-CARP

Picture 3: eros Boa aging, Imagine festival diabolus-CARP

Picture 1: eros Boa aging, Imagine festival diabolus-CARP

170 metaverse art

eros Boa aging, Imagine festival diabolus-CARP

metaverse art 171
172 metaverse art

Picture 4: eros Boa aging, Imagine festival diabolus-CARP

metaverse art 173
174 metaverse art

Picture 10: eros Boa aging, Imagine festival diabolus-CARP

 metaverse art 175

other time in my life.

- I tend to make art for art’s sake. I am not usually inter-
ested in conveying a message so much as in express-
ing an idea. My ideas are generally about juxtaposition
and exaggeration. But may also be about silliness or
about beauty. About questions rather than answers.
- I’m interested in identity and interaction. Given un-
limited options, how does the way we present our-

FreeWee Ling selves in virtual space express something about who

we really are? I think there’s a lot to be learned by ex-

Artist
ploring this question.
- Well done and significant are to different topics. I’ve
made some really nice objects of absolutely no con-
sequence. A mason jar full of firefly cubes fluttering
about, for example. I’m rather proud of a lily I made.
I’ve also built large complex buildings that are well
made, but are not that interesting. Honestly, I think
of my avatar -- my whole existence in this world -- as
my greatest creation. Not just the avatar itself, but the
life I’ve createde here that is so separate from the one
in rl. I’m proud of this being that I have molded from
nothing. She surprises me and teaches me every day.
- I have no style. It’s something I’ve been thinking
about a lot. With most artists, I can tell their work
- Virtual worlds like SL provide a platform for experi-
immediately because they tend to rework the same
mentation in the fundamental issues of reality, identi-
ideas -- often in highly creative ways, but still the
ty, and consciousness. They provide the means for rap-
same ideas and this makes their work recognizable.
idly developing ideas without being greatly restricted
My work is not like that. I crave novelty. Everything I
by cost, gravity, scale, or rationality, though they come
do is new. Once I’ve done something, it doesn’t often
with other restrictions peculiar to this medium. I am
interest me to do it again. This is not to say I don’t use
able to create a massive playground with all kinds of
the same skills or materials over again. But only when
buildings and devices in a matter of a few hours. This
they apply to a new idea. My work is not often visually
creation is immediately sharable on a global scale.
compelling. Its strength lies in surprise. I try to make
And because there is little in the way of materials cost,
it do something unexpected. People often don’t get
it can easily be deleted and the space cleared for new
my work immediately. It takes a moment to look at it,
projects. I have always believed that anyone can ex-
touch it, try to figure out why I made it. Then there’s
press themselves artistically if they have the right me-
often an “ah hah!” moment.
dium. For some the ideal medium in paint and canvas
- I’m not interested in impact. I don’t really care if my
or clay or a violin. For me it’s prims and scripts. I have
work is widely seen or admired. I do it to work out
been more creative since coming to SL than at any
176 metaverse art
pecially web development and photo manipulation.
Working with a PHP web environment has helped me
ideas. The creative process is an end in itself. The prod-
a lot in understanding LSL.
uct is less interesting. I don’t make art; I work on ideas.
- There are specific skills in world that have significant-
And this sometimes projects itself into an object. I find
ly enhanced my rl work. Just as knowing PHP web en-
objects useful to record the process is all. A gallery is
vironments has helped me in LSL scripting, woriking a
for finished work. I call my workshop a laboratory be-
lot in LSL has made me much more confident in PHP.
cause my work often goes unfinished.
My touch typing has improved enormously since com-
- My work is not ego driven. If someone doesn’t re-
ing to SL, but that’s not an art skill per se.
spond to it, that’s fine. There’s a lot of art I don’t re-
- Not sure what you’re aksing with this. I think the tech-
spond to, even if I can see that it’s well done. Creat-
nology promises to become more and more complex
ing art is about working out ideas. I like to share that
in the future. At this time, almost anyone can create
and I love it when someone responds to it. But the joy
metaverse content. It’s very easy to do prim building
comes from sharing the wonder. I can stand back from
and texturing. But as we’ve seen with sculpted prims,
something I’ve made and really see it as though it was
the advanced outworld skills required to make qual-
made by someone else. If I can see that it’s good, that’s
ity content will become more important. It’s good that
all that matters. And if I see that it isn’t good, I don’t
the technology advances, but there will be something
beat myself up about it.
lost if the egalitarian tools are lost and content is left
- I really like to get feedback if it’s sincere and consid-
only to those with advanced skills. The in world experi-
ered. If someone says “that’s crap” or even “that’s great,”
ence will be fundamentally different when that hap-
I feel very free to ignore them. But if they say it seems
pens.
out of balance or the color is too dark, that’s a useful
- I definitely prefer collaboration, but I also don;t mind
opinion and worth condidering. Much of my work
working alone. Most of my work is done as the result of
is subtle and often does not provoke the reactions I
an idle mind gone amok.
hope forl. I’m a little disappointed when that happens.
- I don’t do much art in rl. I have built some musical
But when someone gets it, it’s very nice. When they
instruments in rl and have worked with a colleague
don’t get it, I sometimes change it to make it more
to build replicas in world. But most of what I make is
obvious. I wouldn’t say it’s critical to my process. But,
original to this world and would never have occured
for example, a collaborative work can be enormously
to me otherwise.
satisfying. I enjoy creating things for other people with
their input.
- The opinions of my peers and colleague can be very
useful, but I don’t think they’re necessarily better in-
formed than the opinions of anyone else.
- I use the usual tools: The in world editor, Photoshop,
Qavimator, LSLEditor, Rokuro. I’ve used a few sculpt
makers, but I’m not proficient in any of them. I often
use in world gadgets for making prim arrays or align-
ing textures, etc. I have a large collection of specialty
tools for different purposes. In rl I have a solid back-
ground with many years working in technology, es-
 metaverse art 177

Picture 2: Emoticon 2 by Josina Burgess & Velazquez

Bonetto

Picture 1: Christ from Abu Graib by Igor Ballyhoo Picture 3: Emoticon 2 by Josina Burgess & Velazquez
Bonetto
178 metaverse art

Picture 4: Emoticon 2 by Josina Burgess & Velazquez Bonetto

metaverse art 179
180 metaverse art

Picture 5: Emoticon 2 by Josina Burgess & Velazquez Bonetto

 metaverse art 181

I’m fascinated by everything that is in transformation.

One of my favorite pieces is ‘Spirit of Vulcan’ morphing
a work that is defined at random. Every time I watch I
know that that combination will be repeated perhaps
for several years or maybe never. It ‘a feeling beautiful
and terrible at the same time because I know that the
past will never come back.

Gleman Jun I tend to create only one that is lightweight, dynamic,

full of energy. The performance is always different and

Artist
the style is not a stable element. And ‘all inverse alto-
gether.

I am a creative and having insights is a natural thing.

In RL I worked out things in different contexts, many
of which are in common use and do not have specific
names. In SL my intuitions are called: art.

The artwork comes from a creative act of the artist,

who craftsmanship or genius for excellence, across
ages, places and cultures. This has defined the cre-
ative, as one who possesses the uncanny ability to
generate form the single cube of wood, an “object”
that there is now and not before, the result of an idea
In SL we are composed of the same matter of our work
born in a dark, mysterious, place in his mind and that
and this creates a natural continuity between us, the
always involves the subversive notion of “creativity”.
thought and the work itself. Nowhere is possible.In SL
The word creativity always includes the nature of un-
we are of the same subject of our work and this creates
predictability, that is a thought process that totally
a natural continuity between ourselves, our thoughts
escapes the influence of deterministic laws and the
and the work itself. In nessn else is possible.
concept of “beauty” modern: beauty is that which
is spontaneous, original and generates individual
I think we always tend to say how sometimes it is im-
responses. When the fruit of this creative act are as-
possible to do with words. A painting or a sculpture
cribed to value judgments, it becomes art. If there isn’t
works are always incomplete because it is the viewer
reaction, there isn’t art.
to fill with meaning. I look at the effect of color and
light and I see freedom, others see us joy, others see us
Sometimes using software like Photoshop or Gimp
illusion. The arguments then are all and none.
but I try to limit their use.
The same point 2.
I do not have much patience and often abandon a job
182 metaverse art
Picture 1: Global players by Vealzquez Bonetto
Picture 2: Global players by Vealzquez Bonetto
because I got another idea or are bored. This is frus-
trating at times. I create everything in a few minutes in
SL so I can now enjoy the results of my creativity. I feel
a better person since I know SL.
For our purposes, SL will become more and more like
the RL for which the three-dimensional modeling and
interaction will be very important.
Alone, in front myself.
I think the Art SL has to become part of the visual arts
at the same level of Painting, Drawing, Illustration,
Comics, Graphic Design, Textile art, digital art, art pho-
tography, film, plastic arts. I created an art group on
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/
group.php?gid=39860773935&ref=share just to try to
define this thing.
Picture 3: Camera Obscura exhibition by Frieda Korda &
Maxxo Klaar
metaverse art 183
184 metaverse art

Picture 4: Camera Obscura Exhibition by Frieda Korda &

Maxxo Klaar
metaverse art 185
186 metaverse art

Picture 5: virtual environment by Juria Yoshikawa