XANADRuuL Dome still in development...

Here is a pic of the Orchestra's Architect Dethomas Dibou and instrument builder, Bingo Onomatopoeia overseeing the development from inside of the dome for my new composition, XANADRuuL.

Hey there Cutting-Edge Chrome-Domes!

For those who are regular readers of my blog, you were probably expecting me to post about Second Front's most recent performance already but I must say that I have like 20+ pix from that event so blogging it will take quite awhile since I spend time doing individual photo-captions and fine-tuned hyperlinks etc. etc.

For those who missed it, Second Front played a few days ago on Orange Island as part of the Dorkbot Paris event in Montmartre.

You will see the documentation on both this blog and the official Second Front blog very soon, I promise!

For now, I thought I would blog about something else that only needed a few pictures and text pre-made to post...

So, here are some more pictures about Dethomas Dibou's fabulous work on the dome that is being custom built for my upcoming composition with the Avatar Orchestra Metaverse called "XANADRuuL"....

Here is a closeup of Bingo inside of the dome checking out all the poseballs to make sure they are all in order.

Here is Bingo inside the dome again...I really like the architecture on the same property next door to the dome...Is this one of Dethomas' buildings? It looks like the major commission he made for Il Giornale.

Here is Bingo standing on one of the detailed beams. The patterns almost have an Islamic feel to them. AWESOME!

Once again, we have Dethomas working hard on the dome.... On closer inspection, I am thinking that maybe the dome is now hexagonal and not pentagonal as originally planned? Hmmm...I hope it is not too late..maybe I am hallucinating the number of sides...hmmmm...

Here is an extreme detail of one of the ornamented beams.

Gazira Babeli's 2nd Solo Show - 1st in RL!

Find more videos like this on Museo del Metaverso

This opening night video footage is by the Curator of the Museo del Metaverso, Roxelo Babenco. This opening was so fabulous, I wish all RL opening nights could be as surreally sublime and aesthetically pleasing as this!
Seriously, you just HAVE to check this video out! I can watch this over and over and over! This is one of the most fantastic documents I have EVER witnessed!

Here is the official exhibition poster. As you can see, it is Gazira's first show in RL. It looks like the curator Domenico Quaranta is making an official catalogue for this exhibition and I think that my Second Front colleague Man Michinaga (Patrick Lichty in RL) as well as performance art legend Alan Dojoji (Alan Sondheim in RL) . I hope I can read a copy in RL :-)

Hey there Gazophiles and Generation-Idol Idolaters!

My Second Front colleague-in-crime Gazira Babeli just had a legendary retrospective show in both Odyssey Island and in RL at the Fabio Paris Gallery in Italy.

Here is the official press release for this show:

OPENING
Saturday, March 15th 2008

'Real Life'
fabioparis artgallery, 6 PM
Catalog curated by Domenico Quaranta

'Second Life' - Locusolus 9 AM SLT

Gazira Babeli is an artist who lives and works in the virtual world of Second Life, where she was born on 31 March 2006. Like all inhabitants of virtual worlds she is an identity construction known as an avatar, but unlike them, she does not acknowledge the presence of a “human” controlling her. In this short space of time she has earned attention and respect with her provocative performances which explore the issues of the body, space and identity in virtual worlds. Babeli acts like a virus, unleashing earthquakes and showers of icons extrapolated from pop culture, or spreading epidemics which deform the bodies of other residents of Second Life. “Gaz” has become a multivalent term, and a household name in her virtual world. The aura of mystery that surrounds her has engendered a kind of legend, which quickly moved beyond the confines of Second Life.

Gazira Babeli is a “virtual” artist, but her work is “real”. She explores the body, space, identity. She compares her oeuvre with art history. She talks about us. She is closer than we think, with our multiple identities, our way of representing ourselves, our lives in front of the screen. To those who ask her if there is a point in living in a virtual world, she mockingly responds: “What about you? How’s life in Microsoft Office?”. Seen in this light her work acquires meaning and efficacy even outside the world which generated it, as her numerous appearances in shows and festivals demonstrates. Now, in this solo exhibition at the Fabio Paris Art Gallery, the artist presents a selection of works that reflect the two fundamental poles of her oeuvre: her world and her identity as a virtual artist. Babeli lives in a simulated world, a realistic, 3D universe generated by castles of computing code, yet “inhabited” and experienced on a daily basis by millions of people. Her work explores the conventions and contradictions of this world, addressing concepts like time, space and the body by simply manipulating language. Her work is ‘performance’ in the purest sense of the term: language which generates action. Bodies change shape and come alive; giant towers collapse and then rise from their ashes once more; mysterious forces and objects take possession of us. But Babeli’s main work is Gazira herself, and the knowing manipulation of her legend, as shown in the video triptych Saint Gaz' Stylite and the movie Gaz' of the Desert (March 2007), the first high definition film entirely shot in a virtual world. Babeli mixes hagiography and slapstick, surrealism and country music, to tell the story of her life behind the screen, midway between isolation and sociality, asceticism and temptation.

Gazira Babeli has taken part in festivals and exhibitions in Italy (Peam 2006 - The Diamond, Pescara 2006; V07, Venice) and abroad (Deaf 2007, Rotterdam 2007); and with the collective Second Front she took part in Performa 07 (New York). A year from her birth, the retrospective Gazira Babeli: [Collateral Damage] (10 April - 31 May 2007), put on in Second Life in a museum-sized venue, represented a definitive confirmation. In the space of two months the show attracted more than one thousand visitors. Her work has also elicited the attention of publications like El Pais, La Stampa, Liberazione, Exibart, Der Spiegel and Kunstzeitung. Gazira Babeli is her first solo exhibition in the “real” world.
http://gazirababeli.com

The exhibition will also see the publication of a book, Gazira Babeli (edited by Domenico Quaranta, with essays by Mario Gerosa, Patrick Lichty and Alan Sondheim).

And.... Here is the other press release for the show...

*GAZIRA BABELI*

Saturday, march 15, 18.00 pm

Fabio Paris Art Gallery
via Alessandro Monti 13 - 25121 Brescia
tel. 030 3756139 - Skype: fabioparisbs
www.fabioparisartgallery.com
From march 15, to april 30
15.00-19.00 pm everyday except holidays

Second Life, Locusolus simulator 9 AM SLT
Party<->Crasher<->Party
Second (Real) Audience vs. Real (Second) Audience
Anti-Invitation (No Invitation Needed)
Crash the party! Crash your car! Crash the Sim!
All Live!
Eat! Drink! Barf! Love! Hate! Sleep! Dance!
Do Art! Think! Fight!

Ok, I know you really only wanted to check out this blog to look at the photos from the opening day/night to see if your avatar appeared in one of the pix...it is all about "see and be seen" anyways so....here you go...lets hope/pray, you were visible enough to blogged about at Gaz's show...

Worship the Golden Gaz! Here I am with Gaz impersonator, Violette LeShelle. I must say though that she was not the only impersonator that evening. Not to be outdone at the opening, I realized that I also had to fit in to some degree and at least wear an official Gaz hat for solidarity ;-) I think the official golden Gaz bust set the tone for the whole evening and for her place in virtual history. Overall, I would say that Gaz has reached the point of absolute deification which is perfectly fine in my books since Second Front is also along for the ride ;-)

This is the closest I was able to get with showing the entire audience that managed to attend Gaz's show at its peak. Gaz herself guestimated that about 65 people were stuffed into this Black Cube Aquarium. Well, at least it was white inside enough for all the conversative art critics...heheheheheheh ;-) I am glad that Olga took pictures of the gallery cube itself because I had no idea what kind of space I was hanging out in...I was so strung out from the art strung onto the walls to notice...WHOA!

This pic shows the a special camera angle that I took that illustates the intermediary space between gallery-space and ummmmmm.... "art"-space....I mean, life is art and art is life especially in Second Life, right? SIGH! Well, on Locusolus the whole area is self-consciously arts-infested and that is a good thing, right? On another note, I hope you like the coloured orbs that people were playing with inside the gallery. All I had to bring to this event was my token Toyota Scion...ooops! I did not mean to make a product placement...if only I could invoice Toyota for this...SIGH! Yes it is true that my avatar was nodding off throughout the exhibition. This had nothing to do with my interest in the show, for the record. In fact, it even had nothing whatsoever to do with drug use (honest)!!! Rather, my RL duties happened to siphon off my attention span at the same time the peak of this opening occurred... TRIPLE SIGH!
Oh, I should also mention that another Second Front colleague was in attendance and this was none other than Bibbe Oh...Yaaay!

Here is a side view of the gallery crowd and (yes, of course) my Scion. Also featured in this gratuitious group photo is the curator Domenico Quaranta's new look and Olga's own Gaz impersonation.

Here are some great examples of Gaz's trademark deformed avatars that Second Front used for the Spawn of the Surreal Performance a year ago. I loved the highly detailed pictures that Gaz had produced. The detail was so high, we could just about see our own reflections and Great Art, of course is entirely based on the degree to which we can gaze at our own glamourous reflections, right? I also loved the gold SLeaf detailing on Gaz's bust statue... I guess Gaz has truly entered the lapdance of luxury this time and has rezzed at least one brass ring...woo hooo! I am truly happy for her as everyone knows in SL, wealth = total happiness :-)

Here is a picture of myself with Man Michinaga who is also a colleague with me in Second Front. Man is in his/her trademark incarnation of Ciccolina. Behind us, you can see more reflective paintings that Gaz had made. I love the Goth poses! The whole show was truly amazing...I was in awe of all of the images and this is coming from someone who usually only cares about Performance Art.

Here I am with a deformed incarnation of Odyssey's curator, Sugar Seville as well as another Second Front colleague Fau Ferdinand who sported her own golden avvie. Also included in this scene is a piece of holographic sirloin steak...well, it is a hologram of some kind of meat offering...hmmmm.... Maybe it was the meat-confusion or perhaps the proliferation of biohazard signs but Sugar Seville seemed to remark, "I cant see anything with this mega prim twirling around".

Once again, we have a richly detailed (but necessarily gilded) group portrait with the understated and unrezzed Gazira Babeli herself with our favourite videographer nearby - Evo Szuyuan.

Congrats to Gaz on yet another mindblowing and overflowing retrospective show!

Please stay tuned for Second Front's next performance at Dorkbot Paris this friday at 12:30 PM SLT....

More developments for XANADRuuL...

From Left-Right: Liz Solo, Wirxli Flimflam (me), Fernsing Llewellyn and Bingo Onomatopoeia. This pic shows you Saturday's Choir sessional and receiver HUD test for the Avatar Orchestra Metaverse. All these tests and building sessions will be part of the Premiere on May 10th of my 3rd Orchestral Opus, XANADRuuL... In this pic, you can see a halo over my head. This halo is part of the Reciever HUD interface designed by the Orchestra's in-house instrument builder, Bingo Onomatopoeia. Since this session, Bingo has also developed a similar halo HUD for the angelic choir...Woooo Hooo! I cannot wait to see this! On another note, I took this pic right after the Curator, Humming Pera left....ooops! Sigh!

Greetings XANADRuuLERS!

Many of you probably thought tonight's blog posting was going to be about Gazira Babeli's newest Solo Show on Odyssey Island but that posting is still under development as I have a few pictures to prepare before posting. So, I thought I would post a "quickie" update for you first...

In addition to the above pic where you can see that Bingo has been working hard on developing the Orchestral performance HUDs, our Architect Dethomas Dibou has been working equally as hard building the dome where the Orchestra will premiere my newest Magnum Opus, XANADRuuL....

Check out and see how the dome looks so far....

Here is the most recent assembly of the dome that the Avatar Orchestra Metaverse's Architect Dethomas Dibou is building for my newest composition, XANADRuuL If you look carefully, you can see Dethomas working inside the dome.

This picture shows the underlying purple poseball "flying" buttress structure underneath the pentagonal (and occasionally hexagonal) walls that will eventually wrap around this dynamic exoskeleton when it is time for the Orchestra's Dress Rehearsals. Once again, you can see Dethomas hovering inside the dome. Unlike Architects working around the clock in RL, Dethomas can assemble the entire Modernist structure by himself in realtime.

This pic shows Dethomas' first attempts at building the dome. Here was what he emailed me when sent me this very first pic...


hi jeremy
i started building your dome
its very difficult
but i will do my best
:-)
colors and more we can made later
first i need the shape
nice day

detlef

It reads kinda like a Haiku, doesn't it? :-D

XANADRuuL's First Rehearsals...

Here is my official promo-photo for that May 10th Voice++ concert at Open Space gallery in Victoria. I will not actually be using these speakers but I thought I would look good next to them in the promo photo since I want to at least portray the same glamourous aura of Modern Genius that Karlheinz Stockhausen himself possessed....



...I am composing an elegy for him, since he died just last year...

Hey there Karlheinz 57s, Serial(ist) Killers, Iron Kürtens and choir-caseloads of angelic audiophiles!

I may as well post all the early archives of my first reheasals for my new Stockhausen tribute composition now since it is starting to roll into full swing dress-rehearsal mode very soon and this primitive process will soon be forgotten lest I archive it straight away!

For this Voice ++ concert on May 10th (a Saturday), I will be premiering my 3rd major opus called "XANADRuuL" and is dedicated entirely to the immortal memory of our favourite alien ambassador, Karlheinz Stockhausen (yes, I like to namedrop him as much as possible). For all those who are not yet in the know about Stockhausen and his work, my advice is to not bother trying to understand what he was all about since he was from another star-system anyway... Lets just say that mere Earthly humanoids with some minor exceptions never quite understood him nor his musical output. Since I am also an alien (and a SLemale), I fully understand where he is coming from and I actually like some of his compositions (especially Kontakte, for example).

Anyways, I am not sure what Stockhausen's ghost will think about my tribute from beyond the grave but regardless of his opinion, I am very excited about this gig because I am being double billed with an eqaully important Modernist Genius Composer (MGC is the acronym if you are ever in an office administration job) named Pauline Oliveros (Free Noyes in SL). This is her very first SL composition for the Avatar Orchestra Metaverse, and is an adaptation of a composition she wrote for Trombones and Oscillator in 1999 called "The Heart of Tones (THoT)". Well, you will hear more about Oliveros' composition very shortly since I will also be hyping that one to death but in the meantime, I already have prepared some hype for you about my newest large-scale music composition to date:

XANADRuuL = Stockhausen's Pleasuredome 4 Sirius Business" (2007/2008)
Composed by Wirxli Flimflam aka. Jeremy Owen Turner.

XANADRuuL is a Second Life composition in 3 sections created for the Avatar Orchestra Metaverse. One can see this composition as an official elegy/tribute to the Modernist music pioneer, Karlheinz Stockhausen. XANADRuuL was created from samples that were solely derived from the Composer's (Wirxli's) own digitally manipulated voice. This composition was inspired by Stockhausen's claim of being an alien from Sirius and so the 3 sections of this composition correspond to Sirius A, B and C stars. In addition, there are also many references to Xanadu (including the movie with Olivia Newton John). The Opening Ceremonies take place on Sirius A where angels sing along with the selected voice samples from heavenly heights on the ceiling of a pentagonal geodesic dome and also on Sirius B where meandering avatars vainly attempt to communicate with these alien angelic muses using only pre-recorded samples. Sirius C is a "meta-composition" and is perfomed by the public throughout Second Life.

Anyways, I hope this hype will make the program notes for this RL Voice Festival.

In the meantime, check out these photos from some of the earliest days of performing XANADRuuL (including earlier today)...

This is the only pic I have that was taken earlier this morning and was the Orchestra's very first "full ensemble" rehearsal...This is also the first rehearsal to take place on a Saturday in order to accomodate the North American members of the Orchestra. I hope there will at least be a couple more of these saturday rehearsals before the big day on May 10th. For this cross-continental breakfast, you will see that I had to use a temporary rehearsal dome while waiting for the official one to be built by the Orchestra's Architect, Dethomas Dibou. Considering I have full VIP access as a SLebrity, I managed to score the Avastar's Star Lounge Dome which was good enough since it came with a swimming pool and some couches. Since the swimming pool was about the same size as the performance area I had in mind for the HUD performers, I had them walk around waist deep in that pool while the angelic choir had to compromise a little bit by singing beside the pool rather than being suspended from the dome's ceiling. Once the official dome has been built, the angelic choir should be able to hover from the dome's celing without any hassle or throbbing back pain. I am glad this was not a dress rehearsal, because everyone forgot to wear white (including me) and one of the choir members named Fernsing Llewellyn seemed more comfortable singing in the pool than keeping her critical (and divine) distance... sigh! Oh, before I forget, the HUD was designed once again by Bingo Onomatopoeia. You can see the HUD interface on the screen. The HUD has 23 differently coloured pentagonal buttons which makes perfect sense since the official dome will also be pentagonal. Bingo is also working on the halos for the HUD performers but I will blog about that feature when the performers have tested it out during the next rehearsal...

This slightly earlier picture shows the very first time that I managed to score the Avastar's Star Lounge dome. In this case, just the two of us were able to rehearse. Humming (the curator) is playing the part of the singing angel whereas I was playing the Devil...er...I mean the HUD performer ;-) Humming tried to approximate the angelic suspension by hovering near the ceiling. I recommended that until we get proper places for the angelic choirmembers to be suspended from, they might have to resort to sitting on the couches during our rehearsals.... OH, THE HARDSHIP OF A STRUGGLING SLEBRITY MUSICIAN!!!! ;-)

A little later that evening, my colleague in Second Front, Bibbe Oh popped by the Star Lounge to hang out for a bit. I really like her Terrorist T-Shirt...She told me it is part of an art-series she is working on...VERY KEWL! I forgot to mention that in that large-scale rehearsal shown above, other co-performers in Second Front are also moonlighting as Orchestra performers. Liz Solo is going to be singer, Tran Spire offered to be the camera-avatar and Fau Ferdinand was also there for (im)moral support :-D

This pic was taken quite some time ago...Like, maybe a month ago (gasp!). SL Historians, please take note that one month ago does not qualify as being Pre-History, ok?? Anyways, we were on top of a gallery on Odyssey Island. The whole gang included Weave Noyes and Fernsing Llewellyn. As you can see from the text, we were talking about Pauline's piece but we also had a choir pre-sectional rehearsal meet'n'greet for XANADRuuL. For example, this was the first time, I had actually met Fernsing and Weave for the first time in the SLesh.

Ok, this is probably the very first pic relating directly to XANADRuuL in any way. This pic is so old, it was taken sometime in the Winter (it is Spring now, right? So, it is old now, right?). This pic was also taken on Odyssey Island and illustrated the very first choir tests for XANADRuuL. Humming was even dressed up for the occasion but I think she forgot that it was no longer Remembrance Day as her Poppy Dress looked slightly out of context...heheheheh... Just kidding, Humming! Anyways, Aurel Miles was testing her voice with us and her GF Yvette Tzara was akso hanging out...it was a very nice time!

Anyways, the piece is coming along just...er... Swimmingly...and unless I get some ghostly advice from Stockhausen before the next Saturday rehearsal (might be next week), things should go along the same linear path that I had originally put into place...phew! Please scroll down for some more blogging (including more composer gossip)...

En Route to Upgrade Paris...

It did not take me long to get dressed for the occasion: Dr. Seuss hat, Senegalese flag-abstraction jacket and French flag-abstraction pants....I was good to go and was looking forward to meeting up with some other Second Front-ers, the curators and Gawlab from Dakar (Senegal) who were giving an artist talk before us.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM...that Banana Dacquiri was yummy! I felt like drinking one at my PR Office a few minutes before meeting the rest of the Second Front crew for our artist talk at Upgrade Paris. I needed a stiff drink as I wanted to feel more relaxed and tropical - Senegal is a pleasant and well-weathered French colony, right? ;-)

But, all was not as it seemed as I found out a little bit later...

To read more about today's artist talk, please go to the Second Front blog posting about it here....

Second Wall-ker and the AOM on ZKM Island...

Here I am wearing my wall in front of my PR office. Yes, that is a portrait of Phil Spector that I have decided to hang on my wall...Separated at birth, you ask? Yes, quite possibly so :-)

Hey there Wirxli loving Wallflowers, Bloated Berliners and ZKM-o-philes!

Phew! What a week! Well, what a LAST week, that is! Last week, I had 2 gigs on one day. The pic above gives you a sneak peek into my new performance with Second Front called "Second Wall-ker Center - Dancing About Architecture"....Please check out our official blog and read all about it here. Basically, it was hosted by the Director's Lounge in Berlin and the ZKM as part of the Berlinale festival.

Normally, I would summarize what happened on this blog too but I am just too SLeepy to do any more writing...I have literally just posted the Second Front blog posting a few minutes ago... I now have a full time office job in RL and so I only have weekends to practice art in SL these days. Geez, I only have like 16 hours from now before I have to appear again for Upgrade Paris....yikes!

I have barely recovered from my Valentine's Day festivities and already it is back to virtual work....sigh!

Ok, so before Second Front's performance, I also performed yet again with the Avatar Orchestra Metaverse and yes, we performed the classics as usual but this time we performed on the exciting and high-profile ZKM Island...here are a couple of pix from this event...

AVATAR ORCHESTRA METAVERSE ON ZKM ISLAND...

Here we all are on a packed oil rig playing Miulew Takahe's classic composition, Rue Blanche.


Here is a close-up of me playing Takahe's other classic called Fragula inside a special Tron-inspired mountain located on ZKM Island. We would play Fragula inside the mountain and we would suddently leap outside the box...er...mountain...er...grid...er...whatever...ummm...I think I need to SLeep in RL now....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

p.s. I did not take a pic of Bingo Onomatopoeia's WNK performance because the space was so laggy at the time, I could barely even hear my own sounds in realtime let alone take any photos without crashing the world...sigh!

Happy Belated New Year!

As I am still technically in rehab, I am not really allowed to indulge in the real "bubbly". To celebrate Belated New Years Day, I have decided to spend some time inside a bubble instead...In this case, it is the sonically enhanced bubble vehicle belonging to my Orchestral colleague, Goodwind Seiling.

Hey there Post-Party Poopers, Belated Bubbles and Rehab Addicts!

HAPPY BELATED NEW YEAR!

Yaaay! It is Feb 1st and I am exactly one month behind schedule! I guess this would officially make it a Belated New Year worth celebrating, eh?

Sadly, the last time I posted on my blog was technically last year...Is anyone counting? SIGH!

The end of 2007 was a major burn-out for me because of all the SL Coke I was doing...it kinda got to my head and I am sure the entire Second Front group also went a little snowblind since our most recent debaucherous fiasco in Miami was a dayglo green blizzard out of nowhere!

Anyway, I have been spending the first part of this year in Rehab which is probably a good thing since I have an upcoming full time job in RL. This job will be 9-5 PM from Monday-Friday so I probably will not be active in SL nor on my blog until the weekends....

However, I have not totally faded from the scene. I consider 2008 to be the year of being "Born Again" although in my case, that does not really mean all that much...heheheheh....

I still have some life left in me in the form of:

1) A top-secret performance with Blued Food at an undisclosed location (I cannot show you the rehearsal documentation until later).

2) Feb 10th - Upcoming Second Front and Avatar Orchestra Metaverse performances curated by Olga Wunderlich will be taking place on the ZKM Island that is part of the Director's Lounge in Berlin.

3) Feb 16th - A talk with Second Front following a bunch of Senegalese artists and theorists as part of Upgrade Paris. This event will be organized by Toto Donat.

4) May 10th - My new composition called "XANADRuuL: Stockhausen's Pleasuredome 4 Sirius Business" (2008) will be premiered at the Open Space's Voice festival. This 3rd musical opus of mine will be performed by the Avatar Orchestra Metaverse accompanied by additional choir members and will be curated by Humming Pera (Tina Pearson).

5) A whole slew of top-secret collaborations in SL and the World of Warcraft which I am not at liberty to disclose yet.

Well, enough about the future...here are some more photos from the blast from the slightly earlier past...well, earlier today anyway... All these photos were taken from my Orchestral colleague Goodwind Seiling's (Sachiko Hayashi's) installation at the HUMlab in Sweden... Basically, you enter a floating bubble vehicle and ram into the various spokes inside the geodesic dome...the experience is kinda like musical bumper cars except one might guess that Eno was the engineering guide rather than some demented fair-ride operator.

Ok..here they are...

Here is a zoomed-out pic showing the entire geodesic dome... If you look closer, you can see me inside the dome (and inside a bubble as well)...It seems that the "dome" is a common architectural theme for Orchestra members these days since I will also be using a custom geodesic dome for my upcoming Stockhausen tribute piece for mixed Orchestra and Choir called "XANADRuuL: Stockhausen's Pleasuredome 4 Sirius Business".


Here is proof that I actually attended Goodwind Seiling's show at the HUMlab. Although this was the first image I documented, I am posting it as if it was a closing image as I am treating it like end-credits....hee hee!

My Second Second Snow Crash with Second Front...

Here I am after snorting probably L$300 of coke which was probably most if not all of our budget from Zones Contemporary Artfair in Miami that was designated for that night's Second Front performance, now that I think about it. I had what was probably the virtual equivalent of mild and temporary form of pixellated heart failure. Fortunately, I could wade in the hot tub to revive myself if I wanted to or maybe just snort back some more lines to get myself back on track. Hmmm... Maybe I will have to consult Eno's Oblique Strategies book one more time as it seems to contain many LINES of wisdom... I must have left the snow tray just at the moment the book chimed in with the words, "you seriously need to check into rehab!" Sigh!

Hey there...uh.....SNORT!....uh....Hey....SNIFF!

Phew! I am stil recovering from my performance with Second Front called "Art Basel Miami Vice" that was part of the Zonal Contemporary Artfair in Miami! This show was also part of the TELECULTURE exhibition sponsored via Pace Gallery and many others...

Well, this posting is really only meant to be a pointer to check out the official blog posting at the Second Front blog.

Before I either:
1) Collapse in my tracks...
...or...
2) Call my dealer ASAP...

I should at least show you some more exclusive and scandalous photos from that event before I do either (and/or) some (or all) of the above...

Here I am doing some more lines of coke on the upstairs roof-top patio of our Snow Crash pad in Miami (Locusolus in SL). It at this point that my limo driver Blued Food (the bald dude in this pic) joined me to receive the "payment" for his limo driving services...all we had left to pay him was usage of some of the cocaine itself...sigh!

Here I am doing more lines of coke while heeding the equally coked-out advice of Oblique Strategies. I mean, this deck of cards must seriously be high on its own lines because with each snort that I made, its wisdom was becoming gradually less contextually related to the act of snorting. By the time this pic was taken, the book no longer focused on the task at hand but lazily reclined and spouted what it knew about best - ambient music...sigh! I think it was starting to believe its own zen-fortified ego.

As mentioned in the Second Front blog posting about this event, Blued did a great job of hovering the limo Blade-Runner style up to the rooftop patio of our villa. I just figured I should post an extra pic of it on my blog since I had taken a pic of this from a slightly different angle.

This pic was taken in the orgy room where we temporarily dogpiled onto the coke-tray while waiting for more to rez. This was when things kinda got outta hand (understatement of the month). Olga Wunderlich's question as to whether or not we were doing a performance is actually a very good one - Second Front will wait to see whether or not the critics considered this winter snowfall excessfest to be an innovative form of Performance Art or perhaps even a Social Sculpture Installation or my personal favourite, a Happening...Well, at any rate, the event was indeed "happening" while it lasted... Maybe it is time I check into rehab now that the party of 2007 has come to close...Oh wait, there may be more lines ready for me at some New Years party in SL....hmmmm....SNIFF! SNORT!

My first Second SnowCrash...

This pic was taken on a nice corner of Sugar Mountain (Odyssey Island) just as the interview with Sunnie Beaumont from Krystal Epic was about to start...It seemed contemplative to begin with but I knew that Fau Ferdinand would be arriving shortly with the chance that she might also bring along some lines of snow...things can only go up/down-hill from there, right?

Hey there Snow FLakes, coke fiendz, powder people and SLutbunny SLopecones!

I admit that this blog posting is a couple of days old which in Second Life Time (SLT) makes it seem like I wrote this sometime in the 1980s ;-)

The title of this posting is a tribute to the famous in-world Italian photographer, Marco Manray who has a website called My First Second Life. He was at Second Front's performance today in Miami but I should save the details of what actually happened for my next blog posting...

In the meantime, here is a little recap as to what happened directly after the Avatar Orchestra Metaverse's landmark concert at Wien Modern in Vienna...

Sunnie Beaumont (the reporter from Krystal Epic) requested an interview with both myself and my colleague Fau Ferdinand since we were both nominated for being the "Best Performing Artists in Second Life". Originally, she wanted to interview us on seperate occasions but since Fau offered to bring along some of her new supply of nose candy, I just HAD to be interviewed simultaneously with Fau :-)

Here are some more photos....


Sunnie did not realize that her next interviewee that was also nominated for the Best Performing Artist was also in Second Front with me...I quickly made that point clear to her as I prefer to be interviewed alongside one of my colleagues and great friends...and besides, she confirmed that some powder was on its way to sugar-coat this little side of the mountaintop...yaaay!

Sure enough, Fau delivered on her promise of supplying us with some party treats and next thing you know, my fragile ego was off the hook and my nimble body was floored flat! And to think that moments ago, I was performing with the Avatar Orchestra Metaverse at a civil concert at Wien Modern in Vienna! This was starting to feel more like a backstage event for a rock (emphasis on "rock") concert.... The question from Sunnie was "how do you create" but I think the real answer on my mind was "how many lines can I have for free from Fau before I have to buy some more for myself?" Admittedly, my mind (and nose) was no longer focused on the interview questions...sorry about that, Sunnie! SNIFF! SNORT!

Here is a close-up of one of the rare moments where I actually looked away from the cocaine tray to try and focus on the interview questions... Yes, I was pathetic, I know but what could I do? I could not resist the offer! Isn't this how interviews usually go right after a grueling academic concert?

I left some of the chat-window open for you to read the content of the interview...I had no idea how I was able to appear coherant throughout the interview....When this pic was taken, I was starting to have a very serious snow crash. Fau was very civil, she let me have most of her coke....now THAT is serious willpower! :-)

I think Sunnie's quote here was pretty much right on target. By the time that another Second Front colleague Man Michinaga arrived for some lines, I think I had gotten a little...er... over-passionate ;-) So first off, I apologize to my colleagues for getting a little out of hand and now that I am sober enough to blog about this event, I should also add for the record that I do not ALWAYS think that I am best SL Performing Artist to have ever existed! ;-)

Anyways, that particular Snow Crash had gotten me well-primed and pumped for Second Front's Miami Vice performance that happened for the Teleculture show at the Zonal Contemporary Artfair in Miami (RL) earlier today. All I remember at the moment was that it was also projected at the Atlantic Basin Project launch in St. Johns, Newfoundland. When I finally come down from that blurry party blizzard (probably a only few seconds from now...sigh!) I will recollect my best memories from it and blog it in the next posting. :-)

STAY TUNED...

Avatar Orchestra Metaverse at Wien Modern!

Hey there Graphic Scorekeepers, Electronic Conductors and Wagnerian Wienerphiles!

Yes! Finally, the Avatar Orchestra Metaverse have played perhaps their highest profile blockbuster show in RL so far by scoring a gig (pardon the pun) at none other than the ultimate showcase for all those "Modernist" yet still "Contemporary Classical" composers, Wien Modern. I am sure you know that Vienna is musically speaking, the cultural capital of the Western World (not to be confused with merely the Westcoast World). So to be a historical part of this city's most important contemporary music festival is sure a treat...it even beats Darmstadt!

The Orchestra's founder, Maximillian Nakamura was there in Vienna in RL to ensure that everything went along smoothly and on time. Thanks Max! :-)

Here is the official history and mandate of the festival that occurs throughout various cultured sites in Vienna:

"Following an initiative of Claudio Abbado, since 1988 international composers, artists, interpreters and ensembles have been invited to present the wide variety and artistic creativity in the world of sound. Wien Modern is a festival of contemporary music - and also provides a platform for Modern Dance, new visuals, texts and film.

Since 1988 international composers, artists, interpreters and ensembles have been invited here so that all the different artistic facets connected to the world of sound can be experienced. Wien Modern is a festival of contemporary music - and also provides a platform for Modern Dance, new visuals, texts and film."

Oooops! I noticed that Wien Modern quoted itself at least once in that body of official text...oh well, more excuses for me to place some hyperlinks in there but maybe they should rename themselves, Wien Postmodern? ;-)

Anyway, instead of an overture, the Orchestra played full-length versions of 4 original compositions (well 5 if you include the Birthday Encore..ummm..I guess that does not qualify as "original"...does it?). Two of the 4 compositions were World (both SL and RL) Premieres! Here is a quick summary of all them in chronological order...

I - MIULEW TAKAHE - FRAGULA...

Photo by Evo Szuyuan.Just have a look at the pattern on the floor! Wow! Just looking at that pattern reminds me of being at Wien Modern!

Takahe's composition is part of the AOM's standard repetoire and is still extremely fun to play. For this performance, we interacted with Second Front co-member Gazira Babeli's installation called Come Together. After sticking together, we branched out across Virtual Haidplatz like pollen snagged by bees strung out on Viagara!

It really was an epic and sublime sight to see and unless there is a forthcoming video and audio document of it...well...I guess you just HAD to have been there ;-)

II - MAXIMILLIAN NAKAMURA - URSONATA...

Click here to listen to the live audio recording of Ursonata.


The composer Maximillian had two very special HUD interfaces designed. The stripey horizontal bar on the bottom of the screen allowed me to change the fricative sound effects that was triggered by my gun. The tiny square buttons on the right of the screen corresponded to different fricative syllables and drone samples that I could also improvise with.

As I mentioned earlier, Maxi (not to be confused with Maxxo) is the founder of the Avatar Orchestra Metaverse. Without him, we are nothing ;-) Maxi (as his alter-ego Shintaro Miyazaki) lives in Berlin in RL these days so fortunately he was local enough to check out the Wien Modern performance first hand. He was even able to share a coffee break or two with Wien Modern's curator, Berno Odo Polzer. I think it was Berno himself who invited the Orchestra to play. He was also the one who mentioned that the Production Coordinator named Barbara Lebitsch was having her birthday so Maxi and Berno planned a special surprise birthday encore...well, more on that later but lets focus for now on Maxi's 2nd AOM composition and its World(s) premiere.

This piece Ursonata is both an ode to Kurt Schwitter's classic Merz era equivalent to slam poetry and Gazira Babeli's installation of the same name which Second Front (my other group) used for our performance of The Gate at iMAL in Brussels a couple of months ago. Hmmm...now that I think of it, Maxi also used Gaz's mutation script which was used in Second Front's Spawn of the Surreal performance that took place almost a year ago...wow! I guess I was serious when I said that the festival should have really been called Wien Postmodern!

At any rate, it was a very fun piece and it reminds me of the days in RL when I was a music composition student at Uvic. My teacher at the time, Christopher Butterfield is quite well known around the globe for his performance of Ursonate ("Ursonata" in English).

III - WIRXLI FLIMFLAM - RIESENRAD...

Photo by Evo Szuyuan.Here is an overture...er..overview of the ferris wheel.

Click here to listen to the live audio recording of Riesenrad.

Ok, my own composition also had a World(s) Premiere at Wien Modern. I have already blogged about it in the post below this one so you may as well just go there. To summarize, it was a Maximinimalist (cross between Maximalist and Minimalist) ode to all the classic and modern Vienna-based composers and is probably currently getting derided by the critics as being more Fantasia than Fantasia.

Speaking of Vienna-based composers, I sure wish our Orchestral colleague Gumnosphistai Nurmi had his own composition called "Avatars Brew" ready because he certainly has had direct experience with channeling the Greatest Composer Ever To Live in Vienna (well, until Falco).

IV - BINGO ONOMATOPOEIA - WEE NO KRESH (WNK)...

Click here to listen to the live audio recording of Wee No Kresh.

Photo by Digital Randt.

It was Bingo who designed all the custom instruments and HUD interfaces for the Orchestra and it was also Bingo who recorded each composition in realtime while performing, coordinating, giving tech support and yes, even showcasing his own composition.... ALL HAIL TO BINGO!

Bingo's piece WNK is also a classic repetoire piece like Miulew's (Takahe's) Fragula.

Bingo's composition is unique in that it is the only one that you can DANCE to.

Hmmmm...did I mention Wien Postmodern a bit earlier on? ;-) Maybe it is time for a parallel festival.

My buddy Digital Randt (who is also an instrument interface designer) took some kewl photos so I figured I had better at least show another one he took of WNK....

Photo by Digital Randt.

V- HUMMING PERRA AND THE AOM - FRAGGY BIRTHDAY CELLO CONCERTO Op. 1 "Barbara"...

Click here to listen to the live audio recording of the Birthday Concerto.

Click here to download and watch the video of this Birthday Surprise in Vienna (RL).



Well, Humming Perra did an awesome job playing Happy Birthday on the laggy Hypercello designed by Robbie Dingo (not to be confused with Bingo). As a Modern form of accompaniment, Miulew conducted the Orchestra players and instructed us to improvise using the gear that Bingo designed for Fragula. All in all, it was a great time where the red wine was flowing the snow was blowing...er....maybe I should save all this talk about the snow blowing that occured during an backstage interview with me for the next blog... SNIFF! SNORT!