This exposition for me is the letting go of a long period of grief, to let the spirits pass, and to start anew in peace.

'Spirit' by claudia222 Jewell, at Art Screamer. Photo by PJ Trenton.

If you’ve not yet heard of claudia222 Jewell, 1) you’ve been missing out, and 2) you are in luck. In just one year, she has become one of the most talked about – and beloved – artists on the grid. But it is only now that she has made her first full sim installation, which opens today at Art Screamer, 12pm (mesh viewer required)!

Claudia introduces the work this way:

spirit is a full sim installation by claudia jewell, inspired by bosch, created with mesh, and loved for all eternity

'Spirit' by claudia222 Jewell, at Art Screamer. Photo by PJ Trenton.

‘So Bosch is your inspiration?’ I asked her at last night’s press preview. ‘Is this your Garden of Earthly Delights?’

She answered in her delightful European accent (I love how these things come through in text):
Yes… maybe a whole life I admire the way he showed things around him… I dream one day to make big parts of it, but I am still in my own mind… I want to not copy him, more make a heap lot of avatars inspired by him in a more contemporary way… [she smiles] imagine all have to be a part of the installation as avatars. I would just make some avatars maybe get others that make mesh to make some also… it could be incredible… to be a part of a painting.

The artist wearing her 'Spirit' avatar, at Art Screamer. Photo by PJ Trenton.

Claudia has already made that kind of immersive experience possible by creating a stunning mesh avatar (see picture above) which she is giving away free to visitors, so that they may don it and become part of the work.

The place itself is indeed a Garden of Earthly Delights… as I told Claudia, her work fascinates me because she creates things which seems like they should be ugly, but are strangely beautiful (language she herself uses to describe and title her work, as in ‘Strange Plant… Ugliness and Beauty’, which took 4th place at the year’s UWA final). There is a darkness in her work, and a primordial sense of life dawning as well, as if we are looking at the most ancient history of our world… or perhaps the post-apocalyptic rise of new life.

'Spirit' by claudia222 Jewell, at Art Screamer. Photo by PJ Trenton.

Bosch drives her vision in the same manner it inspired the Surrealists, with contortions and reconfigurations of the human body that are as disturbing as they are sublime. There is also an aspect of her work which almost reminds me of Art Nouveau in the way in which it conflates the body with nature, as people and plants merge, butterfly wings grace the tops of reeds that stretch from the water, and faeries made from whiplash curves flit about.

At the same time, however, her work expresses the weighty substance of the Symbolists; like them, Claudia does not provide us with a detailed meaning or narrative, and yet her work begs us for thoughtful interpretation. I would not argue that there is any specific story here (although I’m sure a more creative writer than myself could easily craft one), only a general sense of life, death, and spirit which reflects the artist’s own psychological state.

'Spirit' by claudia222 Jewell, at Art Screamer. Photo by PJ Trenton.

Curator Zachh Cale describes the installation:

Several dramatic vignettes mark the landscape, with intense emotion, natural elements, and strong spiritual presence. Although technology plays a role in the composition, it does so quietly and with devotion to its purpose. However in production and technique, the technology is cutting edge. Claudia pushes the boundaries of the medium by making mesh work in extraordinary ways that few others have mastered in sl.

I agree, and in doing so she has managed to transcend all those bumps of figural construction via prims that so many other artists have struggled with (unsuccessfully in my opinion). Now the audience is freed from that awkwardness of construction, and her vision comes through strongly, which I think is particularly important for ‘Spirit’: ‘This is for me a maybe more personal build,’ she reflected. ‘I don’t intend to shock, I just don’t want to hide that there is sad or ugly things in life too.’

'Spirit' by claudia222 Jewell, at Art Screamer. Photo by PJ Trenton.

Claudia, who is a successful artist in the physical world (‘It’s in my blood to express with paint color ink’ she says), taught herself to render in 3D when she was faced with loss in her personal life. ‘Spirit’ is, in my opinion, that manifestation of her own strength of spirit, which turned her grief into a positive creative force, rather than a destructive one.

In fact, it is this positivity that helped her master mesh so early, as she actually left to the beta grid for a while after her early work was copy-botted, again, turning a negative situation into an opportunity to learn something new. Claudia has embraced mesh with enthusiasm, and feels it enables her to work in ways she couldn’t before: ‘It’s like this [way of] modeling and make avatars is what I always wanted… I always faked light and shadow to get it appear 3D, so this is the most near of what I want to do!’

She has certainly found success, judging by the exclamation of fellow mesh disciple (or possibly guru) Max Graf when he arrived at the preview last night: ‘omg claudia….its like HP Lovecraftian, in its brilliance….like the old gods have come to SL. Cthulu, shog sothoth, etc.’ This is high praise from such a master of fantasy!

'Spirit' by claudia222 Jewell, at Art Screamer. Photo by PJ Trenton.

I wanted to know a bit more about her creative process, whether she made sketches for her work first, or just threw herself into it.

‘All out of head… I dont use any pictures. I model them in a clay way in a 3d program then make a better [retouch] when I have time and make the textures by using lights materials and different ambient lights… just little colors added… rest drawn on, then many steps in photoshop extending textures to fix seams [she smiles] …rigs made it a lot harder, had to do custom weight paints so its different… but I managed a little and will sure learn more.’

She then pointed out one of the most amazing parts of ‘Spirit’ (seen above): ‘There is a bot a half sim size big – one mesh – and you will maybe not see it for ages… it looks like a gray kite [before it renders]… but is a huge huge ghost. It’s so huge its hard to render in some viewers… when we are near it will render more likely.’ She in fact thought a great deal about render costs, and I have to say everything rezzed for me fairly quickly – and I don’t have the greatest graphics. ‘I made sure it has not much rendercosts here and is not filled, should be able to hold much avatars [she grinned] with hair and all!’

Me & the Screamers: Chestnut Rau, Rowan Derryth, Zachh Cale, Claudia Jewell, and Amase Levasseur at 'Spirit'. Photo by PJ Trenton.

Art Screamer, by the way, is owned and sponsored by three people who, in my opinion, are amongst the greaters curators and arts patrons in SL: Zachh Cale, Amase Levasseur, and Chestnut Rau. Join their group to keep up on the fantastic installations they are hosting (I wrote about their inaugural exhibit with Glyph Graves back in August – an auspicious way to start!). Keep your eye on this place for the very best in virtual art!

‘Spirit’ opens TODAY (Saturday the 11th) at 12pm SLT. Not to be missed!

See all of PJ Trenton’s beautiful photos of this exhibit at his flickr set.

Detail of The Rabbicorn Story by Bryn Oh. Photo by PJ Trenton.

I’ve been stewing on this one a while, and had planned to make a lengthy, hopefully thought-provoking post, but lack of time and recent developments have prompted to make this short and sweet (which might be to the readers’ benefit).

Linden Lab needs to do more to support and preserve virtual art.

Detail of The Rabbicorn Story by Bryn Oh. Photo by PJ Trenton.

Now, before I explain, let me make the disclaimer that these are my views and not necessarily those of Prim Perfect’s. My views not as a writer about a virtual world some see as a game, but as a ‘real life’ (whatever that is) art historian, curator, and arts administrator.

I think the Lab has made an excellent start on this through the foundation of the Linden Endowment for the Arts (LEA), whereby they have turned over 20 sims to a community board for the purpose of art. This is great.

Detail of The Rabbicorn Story by Bryn Oh. Photo by PJ Trenton.

But I don’t think this is enough. We are losing some amazing work. We all know this. Bettina Tizzy wrote about this well before my time at her NPIRL blog. And I have for a very long time felt strongly that it would be in the best interest of everyone if Linden Lab created some kind of programme – a Foundation or something – to try and archive some of this work.

Don’t ask me exactly how this would work, though I have some ideas. Obviously it would be limited; should be decided by committee (like the LEA); and there should be some grant application process for getting in. It should NOT be for commercial sims, as lovely as some builds are. I wouldn’t exclude artists who sell work to try to support themselves; but rather businesses whose primary function is commercial. So, for example, NEMO would have been the kind of place eligible.

Detail of The Rabbicorn Story by Bryn Oh. Photo by PJ Trenton.

So I’ve been thinking about this, chatting about it with friends and colleagues, and thought I’d ultimately put together some more concrete ideas. But just this week, Bryn Oh made a post related to the recent closing of Immersiva, in which she announced that she and sim partner Kiana Writer (of Madpea) wrote a sponsorship request to Linden Lab after their patron, Dusan Writer vanished from the grid (my choice of words). I haven’t asked Bryn directly about this, but word on the virtual street is they logged in to find the sim gone, and their things returned. And this while Bryn was in the midst of crafting her machinima project on the Rabbicorn Cycle (I’ve posted pictures of one of the installations throughout this piece). What a panicked night that must have been! (And Bryn, please correct me if the rumourmill has this wrong).

The request for sponsorship was declined by Linden Lab… and this may surprise some, but I think that was the right decision. As Bryn herself said, it would have set a problematic precedent, and as well, I think it would have been unfair to the many other talented artists who pay for their studios and galleries.

Detail of The Rabbicorn Story by Bryn Oh. Photo by PJ Trenton.

Yet if Linden Lab had a programme like I suggest, artist could apply when unfortunate circumstances like these arise; or even be nominated by the community. I said as much in a comment on Bryn’s blog, to which she replied:

You are right Rowan and I think LL should give a lifetime achievement region each year to a deserving person with the first one being given to AM Radio. Considering that their own collect the crystals game thing uses a dozen sims that alone would be 12 years of awards. What I would be happy with is a public statement by Linden Labs saying that should Second Life ever need to close, they will allow residents to leave with our inventories so that we may go settle on another grid. I think just the peace of mind that would create for residents would spur both the economy and creativity.

Extremely crucial points, and part of why I am so concerned about the conservation of this work. Yes, I realise that a good and viable solution is to simply go to another grid. But there are two problems with that: there is still a very active arts community in Second Life (and I mean more than artists, but collectors and good ol’ fashioned art-lovers too); and moving to another grid doesn’t help the work that has already been crafted in SL.

Detail of The Rabbicorn Story by Bryn Oh. Photo by PJ Trenton.

Now, I would very much be in favour, as a temporary solution, of Bryn making use of one of those 20 LEA sims. However, those have already been promised to artists who made project proposals for them. And lest anyone think Bryn feels she is somehow outside of that, let me quote another comment: ‘Unfortunately I am part of the LEA committee so it would look pretty shady for me to get any LEA land.’

She is a fair and humble person, and I don’t think her asking the Lindens for support makes her any less so. It is what artists have to do in this day and age–ask, sometimes beg, for patronage. Especially the great ones. And I think Bryn’s work is tops, and I know I’m not alone in saying that. And I’m glad she made the request, even if I think having it granted would have been unfair, because it opens up this conversation in a way that is vital to so many.

Detail of The Rabbicorn Story by Bryn Oh. Photo by PJ Trenton.

What do you think? Should Linden Lab do more to not just support, but preserve art in Second Life? Should they work to create a foundation for it, make ‘gifts-in-kind’ grants to artists (a tax write off for them!) Should they create a ‘National Gallery’ of Second Life.

I mean, it’s just disc space, isn’t it?

The Dresden Gallery, closed 20 December 2011. Photo by PJ Trenton.

The Dresden Gallery is the reason I am here. One night, only a smidge over two years ago, I was bored. My old flatmate asked if I had ever tried Second Life, and I responded with the somewhat derisive declination that I now dread hearing. But that one night, being so dreadfully bored, with nothing on television, I thought I’d check it out. It’s no secret that I am an ‘actual’ art historian as well as a ‘virtual’ one, and I was intrigued by the art and academic possibilities. I knew some Universities were using it, and I knew there was an active art community, so after some strategic googling to make sure it would be worth my while (and yes, that it was free), I figured why not.

Long story short: from what I think was Help Island (though I wasn’t paying enough attention to be sure), and after sorting out my fantastic ‘Girl Next Door’ look, I took a tp to the Dresden Gallery.

Self-portrait: Rowan, Cetus, about 3 hours old. Eesh.

Looking back, I now know it was laggy as hell, that things weren’t rezzing, and that the build was already a bit dated. But to my new virtual eyes, it was simply stunning. A whole art gallery, based on a REAL art gallery. THIS must be what Second Life is for. How many other galleries were there? Was there a virtual Tate? A Met? (Sadly, we know the answer to this, but that night I held every hope).

I thought it was incredibly cool that I could get an audio guide, and wander to see the collection of this actual gallery in a city I’d never had the chance to visit. I admit, the textures look a bit dated to my eye now, but that first night, I marvelled at how it had all been done. And though I kept falling through the floor and got trapped behind walls, it didn’t stop my excitement as I wandered. After exploring a bit, I decided to check out the outside, which was incredibly impressive.

First picture, first friend.

And it was the first place I flew. Badly.

I wobbled about, getting a feel for it, then I saw another avatar standing by the welcome sign. I dropped out of the sky, and met my first friend, Stephen Petrovic. He was a lovely gentleman who is still a good friend. From him, I learned of Cetus (where I went and met my second friend, Ragamuffin Kips, and the rest as they say is history). Stephen and Raga offered me a kind and helpful welcome (and it was certainly not due to my looks that night, as you can see), and introduced me to art in the virtual world. I was taken.

Dresden Courtyard, tonight.

I also remember seeing the lecture theatre at the Dresden that night, and wondering if I might give a talk in there some day. I never did, though I’ve been privileged to do so in other wonderful places. I knew I’d like to be involved in virtual museums, and ultimately was part of the roller coaster that was the (now sadly defunct) Frank Lloyd Wright Virtual Museum. But in the process of learning the ropes, meeting new people, and beginning to write for Prim Perfect, I was seduced by the cutting edge aspect of virtual art. I turned away from these traditional manifestations of ‘real’ art, to focus my writing on what I saw to be an incredible – and overlooked – creative medium.

In the process, I turned my back on the Dresden.

Reminscing at the Lecture Theatre tonight.

Now, I do not mean to suggest that we avatars failed the Dresden. Their closure is simply more of a completion of a project (you can read the details in Saffia’s post on the closure.) And yes, this post could be a more journalistic endeavour which talked about the history of the project, the people involved, etc. But I wanted to share something personal here, because my Dresden is someone else’s Alien Isles or NEMO (and let’s not even get started on AM Radio’s sims). We can feel the loss of this beauty, this art, keenly, but often not until after it is gone.

In fact, when Saffia told me the Dresden news last week, I’m not even sure in my busyness it even registered very much. I think I commented that it was sad, but I can see that it might be time for them to move on, then very quickly got on to other things. It wasn’t until tonight, when I happened to be online for a moment, that a message came through ArchVirtual that the gallery was closing today.

I rushed over.

The majestic Dresden, already coming apart.

Already, it seemed, the place was being dismantled, judging from a hole in the front façade. I went inside to see if the exhibits were up, and was pleased to see I hadn’t missed them. I saw a sign for their special exhibit on Canaletto, which I had come to see not too long ago with PJ Trenton. I remember he had impressed me by saying Canaletto was his favourite painter when we first met almost two years ago; and then more recently, I went to see the Canaletto exhibit at the National Gallery, London, and wished the whole time he could have been there to see it. So we came the Dresden together, to share the experience of looking at this painter we both loved… an example of one of the more magic aspects of Second Life for me.

The Canaletto Exhibit. Photo by PJ Trenton.

As I wandered tonight and gazed upon the old masters, I was reminded that copies of them could be purchased. Possibly the only place in Second Life I approve of such a practice, since it is tantamount to selling a postcard in the museum shop. I then thought, what a perfect (if a bit silly) Christmas gift for PJ, to get him a Canaletto on the night the Dresden closed. I’m such a sap. (Wait, did that message say the region was restarting?) Now if only I could find my way back to the special exhibitions gallery…

The region will restart in 3 minutes…

Aha! Better hurry… of COURSE the lag is kicking in too. Must be the reason for the restart. I wade through the treacle, and pause to take a picture of the lovely green gallery I am in.

Last call in the Green Galleries.

The region will restart in 2 minutes…

Hmm, I’m pretty sure I’m headed the wrong direction, but I think I can loop back around and head to the Canaletto gallery. What lag!

The region will restart in 1 minute…

Ugh, I can’t tp closer to the destination? Oh well, I’ll just come back after reboot.

Wait. What if there is no after reboot? It dawns on me that perhaps, just perhaps, this is it. This is the Dresden closing. I feel surprisingly panicked, and truly unexpectedly upset. Wait!! I want to finish seeing it just one more time!

The region will restart in 45 seconds…

Is the exhibit around this corner?

The Dresden Gallery. Photo by PJ Trenton.

The region will restart in 30 seconds…

Even if I get there, I won’t have time to buy anything…

The region will restart in 15 seconds…

Ok, I should tp home and hope it is still there when I come back. Surely I’m overreacting.

You have been logged out of Second Life… etc. I never was fast enough.

I wait 10 minutes, then log back in. I am home, in the loft.

I teleport to the Dresden. I try 5 times…

Teleport failed.
Unable to find teleport destination. The destination may be temporarily unavailable or no longer exists. Please try again in a few minutes.

The Dresden Gallery is closed.

Logged out. 4.33 pm SLT.

If you missed seeing the Dresden one last time, or at all, please visit PJ’s beautiful Dresden Gallery flickr set. One of PJ’s passions is documenting some of Second Life’s best builds, and he will often rush out to capture a place he hears is about to close. Make sure to look at the rest of his sets to see some amazing places that are now sadly gone… and others that are luckily still around.

Misprint Thursday's multimedia work Digital Glove won the day! Photo by PJ Trenton.

I am not the best builder, the best with textures, the best video editor, certainly not the best singer; but I am inspired by the medium. It is a fantastic opportunity to extend one’s creativity and connect with a world of forward thinking people.

-Misprint Thursday, on winning the UWA

Misprint Thursday’s incredible work Digital Glove has taken the top award at the 2011 Grand Finale of the UWA 3D Open Art Challenge, a prize worth $100,000L! Not only that, she took 5th place as well with her work Paranormal Frottage, tying with Glyph Graves’ Excerpts from Reality, bringing Misprint’s prize pool to an impressive $107,500!

Paranormal Frottage by Misprint Thursday. Photo by PJ Trenton.

Misprint was of course thrilled at her win, but also humbly added, “Basically I want to say that the medium is so underused as a whole to it’s full capacity, and I can’t wait for someone way better than me to blow it all out of the water, actually.”

You can learn more about Misprint and her work when I interview her live, this Friday at the Christmas Expo, 3SLT! She is always great fun to chat with!

Second Place went to In Dreams by Blue Tsuki. Photo by PJ Trenton.

The rest of the top ten represented some of the very best of virtual art. The second prize of $75,000L went to Blue Tsuki for his work In Dreams, while third ($40,000L) went to Oberon Onmura for The Chasm. The stunning Strange Plant… Ugliness & Beauty by Claudia222 Jewell took fourth place ($30,000L).

Strange Planet...Uglyness and Beauty by claudia222 Jewell. Photo by PJ Trenton.

There was also a specific category for unscripted entries, and Gingered Alsop’s Shattered took the top prize here (it was as well the only unscripted entry in the overall top ten).

Shattered by Gingered Alsop. Photo by PJ Trenton.

The Machinima winners were also announced, and the top prize was taken by Tutsy Navarantha for Welcome to the Other Side.

As well, Curator FreeWee Ling shared the following video in which she highlighted some of the artists whose work profoundly affected her this year, and she also includes an important announcement about the future of the UWA challenges:

The year-long University of Western Australia (UWA) 3D Open Art Challenge, with its $4,000 USD (L$1,400,000) prize pool, attracted 858 entries by artists from 24 nations around the globe, with every continent but Antarctica being represented. The companion MachinimUWA IV: Art of the Artists, with entries relating to the artworks that have formed part of the UWA 3D Open Art Challenge, has seen 83 machinimas submitted by artists from Pondicherry (India) to Gdansk (Poland) to Kentucky (USA) to Buenos Aires (Argentina) and many more. Both these challenges came to a finale at 6AM SLT  Sunday the 11th of December at the 200-seat UWA-BOSL Grand Amphitheatre, hosted by UWA founder Jayjay Zifanwe (Jay Jay Jegathesan, Manager of the School of Physics, University of Western Australia).

For the Grand Finale, 59 artworks were shortlisted for the overall 1st prize of L$100,000, along with a further 24 for the non-scripted category. The 35-member international judging panel for the challenge was led by Professor Ted Snell, Director of UWA’s Cultural Precinct, and Chair of the Visual Arts Board of the Australia Council for the Arts. Click here for a full list of the members of the judging panel as well as the artworks in contention for the Grand Finale.

Here is the complete list of winners, including the winning machinimas. Congratulations to all of the winners, and a special congrats to Jayjay Zifanwe and FreeWee Ling for doing an outstanding job this year; and as well to Lapiscean Liberty at AView TV for all the hard work supporting the Machinima Challenge! The 3D will continue to be on display at the UWA for the rest of the month. Don’t miss seeing these incredible works!

UWA 3D OPEN ART CHALLENGE (OVERALL)
1st Prize (L$100,000): DIGITAL GLOVE by Misprint Thursday – 70 points
2nd Prize (L$75,000): IN DREAMS by Blue Tsuki – 69 points
3rd Prize (L$40,000): THE CHASM by Oberon Onmura – 44 points
4th Prize (L$30,000): STRANGE PLANT…UGLYNESS & BEAUTY by Claudia222 Jewel – 43 points
5th Prize (L$7,500): PARANORMAL FROTTAGE by Misprint Thursday – 39 points:
5th Prize (L$7,500): EXCERPTS FROM REALITIES by Glyph Graves – 39 points
7th Prize (L$5,000): NOT EVERYTHING IS PLAIN BLACK & WHITE by Fuschia Nightfire   – 34 points
8th Prize (L$5,000): FANTASIA EN LA SOMBRA by Romy Nayar – 29 points
8th Prize (L$5,000): IL PLEUT SUR MON COEUR COMME IL PLEUT SUR LA VILLE (“It’s raining in my heart, as it’s raining in the town”) by Cherry Manga  – 29 points
10th Prize JOINT (L$1,000): HARMONIES IN C GREAT(+) by Artistide Despres – 28 points
10th Prize JOINT (L$1,000): TROIS PETITS TOURS ET PUIS S’EN VA (Three little turns and it goes away) by  Josiane Sorciere  – 28 points
10th Prize JOINT (L$1,000): THE DOCK SPIRIT by Scottius Polke – 28 points
10th Prize JOINT (L$1,000): VENUSTRAP by Claudia222 Jewell – 28 points
10th Prize JOINT (L$1,000): SHATTERED by Ginger Also – 28 points

UWA 3D OPEN ART CHALLENGE (NON-SCRIPTED)
1st Prize (L$15,000): SHATTERED by Ginger Alsop – 105 points
2nd Prize (L$10,000): YOU CAN’T TOUCH HEAVEN by paleillusion – 102 points
3rd Prize (L$5,000): 99% by Harter Fall – 82 points
4th Prize (L$3,000): THE REVOLT OF THE MANNEQUINS by Silene Christen – 63 points
5th Prize (L$2,000): MARIONETTE by Haveit Neox – 62 points:
6th Prize (L$1,000): SMALL PIECE OF HELL: The Suicide Forest Infested by Harpias by Rebeca Bashly – 61 points
7th Prize (L$1,000): SPRING BOX by Cherry Manga – 58 points
8th Prize (L$1,000): DAUGHTER OF THE WIND by Fae Varriale – 51 points
9th Prize (L$1,000): MISS N by Suzanne Graves – 45 points
9th Prize (L$1,000): BIRDSONG by Cherry Manga – 45 points

UWA 3D Art People’s Choice Award, (Overall)
1st Prize (L$15,000): THE MATTER OF IDEAS by Gleman Jun – 64 points
2nd Prize JOINT (@L$6,500): VENUSTRAP by Claudia222 Jewell – 62 points
2nd Prize JOINT (@L$6,500): IN DREAMS by Blue Tsuki – 62 points

UWA 3D Art People’s Choice Award, (Non-Scripted)
1st Prize (L$8,000): SMALL PIECE OF HELL: The Suicide Forest Infested by Harpias by Rebeca Bashly – 112 points
2nd Prize (L$5,000): SHATTERED by Ginger Alsop – 92 points
3rd Prize JOINT (@L$1,500): YOU CAN’T TOUCH HEAVEN by paleillusion – 67 points
3rd Prize JOINT (@L$1,500): SPRING BOX by Cherry Manga – 67 points

MachinimUWA IV: 1st Prize (L$60,000) – 63 Points
WELCOME TO THE OTHER SIDE by Tutsy Navarathna
(see above)

MachinimUWA IV: 2nd Prize (L$40,000) – 47 Points
ARTWASHERS by FRIDAY SIAMENDES of California

MachinimUWA IV: 3rd Prize (L$30,000) – 42 Points
ART OF THE ARTISTS by Fuschia Nightfire of Dorset, England

MACHINIMUWA IV:  JOINT 4th Prize (@L$22,500) – 35 Points
QUBIT: COGNITIVE DISTORTION by spyVspy of Lisbon, Portugal:

VIRTUAL LOVE by Iono Allen, from the land of Amore, France:

MachinimUWA IV Special Award for  EMOTION (L$19,000)
YEAH by Hypatia Pickens of the Unites States

MachinimUWA IV Special Award for BREAKING THE BARRIERS (L$19,000)
TRANSFORMATION VIRTUAL ART ON THE BRINK by L1aura Loire / Dr Lori Landay, from the College of Music, Berkeley, USA

MachinimUWA IV Special Award for THE SOUL (L$19,000)
DUAL by Veruca Vandyke of Arkansas, USA

MachinimUWA IV ANTON MESMER Special Award (L$19,000)
A PLACID OCEAN OF UNCERTAIN LIBERTIES by Cecil Hirvi, Citizen of the Universe.

MachinimUWA IV Special Award for THE HUMAN HEART (L$19,000)
LOVE PRAYER by Hypatia Pickens

UWA 3D Open Art Challenge – Audience Participation
1st Prize (@L5,000): LILIA ARTIS – 47 points
2nd Prize (@L3,000): ARROW INGLEWOOD – 39 points
3rd Prize JOINT (@L1,000): LOQUACIA LOON – 36 points
3rd Prize JOINT (@L1,000): NUBDIEST RESIDENT – 36 points

MachinimUWA IV – Audience Participation
1st Prize (L$10,000): LALA LARIX – 66 points
2nd Prize (L$6,000): PIXIE RAIN – 58 points
3rd Prize (L$4,000): LALIE SORBET – 54 points.

Revolt of the Mannequins by Silene Christensen. Photo by PJ Trenton.

The notorious British art dealer/patron Charles Saatchi wrote a piece for Saturday’s Guardian entitled The Hideousness of the Art World. Aside from the disturbing conclusion that I think I may have just become a fan of Saatchi (the man who launched Damien Hirst on the world; my love/hate affair with Hirst’s work is long-standing), I found the article to be revealing, by way of contrast, as to one of the reasons I am a fan of virtual art.

I miss writing about art in SL, the business of ‘first’ life has taken me away, I hope only temporarily. But Saatchi’s article has moved me to break my needful silence, and as well gave me an excuse to share some of my favourite selections from the UWA 3D Art Challenge finale, which I am privileged to judge (along with many others including our intrepid editor Saffia).

Venustrap by claudia222 Jewel. Photo by PJ Trenton.

Saatchi’s article begins “Even a show-off like me finds this new, super-rich art-buying crowd vulgar and depressingly shallow,” an observation born not just out of his years of being at the centre of the contemporary art market, but specifically out of his recent experience attending this year’s Venice Biennale. Venice’s biannual ‘world’s fair of art’ has a special place in my own heart, as it is where I first learned to love contemporary art back in 1990, at a tender young age, after I was blown away by Jenny Holzer‘s display in the American pavilion (the first woman to show there). I’ve only experienced it one other time since (1993, in which another favourite, Nam Jun Paik, represented America, and I saw an incredible installation by Peter Greenaway, who as we know has been so wise as to recognise the machinima as a cutting edge New Media artform, and is himself a fellow UWA judge). If I had the means, I’d certainly go every chance I had.

However I’m certainly not in Saatchi’s league, and could probably stumble through guileless of the tragic display he witnesses there:

Being an art buyer these days is comprehensively and indisputably vulgar. It is the sport of the Eurotrashy, Hedge-fundy, Hamptonites; of trendy oligarchs and oiligarchs; and of art dealers with masturbatory levels of self-regard… Venice is now firmly on the calendar of this new art world, alongside St Barts at Christmas and St Tropez in August, in a giddy round of glamour-filled socialising, from one swanky party to another…

Do any of these people actually enjoy looking at art? Or do they simply enjoy having easily recognised, big-brand name pictures, bought ostentatiously in auction rooms at eye-catching prices, to decorate their several homes, floating and otherwise, in an instant demonstration of drop-dead coolth and wealth.

Without deconstructing the inherent irony in his rant (as he has certainly played his part in crafting that scene), it made me think about the virtual art world, and our own version of the Biennale: the UWA 3D Art Challenge. Well, ok, that might be a stretch, but it IS the place where we may see the widest range of virtual art, and, in my opinion, some of the very best. In fact, with perhaps the exception of AM Radio, all of the greatest virtual artists who come to mind have participated, some of them regularly. I’ve had the pleasure of being a judge for the final award these past two years, and it was NOT an easy task.

Paranormal Frottage by Misprint Thursday. Photo by PJ Trenton.

Like Venice, one can wander the UWA and see some of the freshest and most innovative contemporary art – in fact, art which would be very difficult if not impossible to display at the Biennale. Art so cutting-edge that most of those vulgar art buyers wouldn’t even know of its existence. They wouldn’t deign to. Forget about the taboo of Second Life: the art at the UWA isn’t for sale. And even if it was, the reproductive nature of virtual art (not to mention the economic system of SL) makes the market for it ‘virtually’ non-existent. And I say this as an avid collector of it myself. How would these people display this work? How would it hold it’s financial value, particularly when it lacks both potential rarity and physical accessibility?

One + Four Timeboards by L1aura Loire. Photo by PJ Trenton.

This has a bang on affect for virtual artists, of course, for whom creation can only ever be a labour of love, and if they are very lucky, might pay tier. Some have tried to tackle this via selling limited edition versions, usually of rezzed repros of their physical world work (something which for me isn’t actually virtual art anyway), or creating books of their work to be sold (often at too high cost). The only artists I know who are actually self-supporting in SL are those who have commercial sides to their businesses, or those who have external funding for their work. And here lies one of the key problems in giving credibility to virtual art: what market there is for it is unstable at best. Because the sad truth is, to quote a Jenny Holzer Truism, ‘Money creates taste.’ Or rather, perhaps, it drives it.

Believe me, I HATE what I’m saying here. I do, in fact, have a lofty dreamy goal that I will some day curate a very serious exhibit on virtual art in a very serious institution. I’ve thought long and hard about how to do it, and had conversations with some of my readers, no doubt. And I’m certainly not the first to try it, we know it’s already been done.

In Dreams by Blue Tsuki. Photo by PJ Trenton.

But to get back to the original point, the failed art market of Second Life actually has a wonderful byproduct: a space in which art is created and enjoyed truly for its own sake. We immerse ourselves in the beauty and strangeness of these creations not for investment purposes, but because we derive pleasure from it, whether that is sensual or intellectual. The UWA is by no means the only place to see this; it exists across the grid in every beautiful build (really labours of love) from landscapes like Alirium (who of course also sell their fantastical plants) to cities like New Babbage.

The Superheroes Breakfast by Typote Beck. Photo by PJ Trenton.

I don’t mean to suggest that we have crafted some kind of artistic utopia; SL is plagued with galleries of very poor ‘art’, run by owners who don’t know the first thing about curation or the art world (sadly, we seem to get group notices from these folks ALL THE TIME). But there is a way in which we avoid one of the key problems Saatchi points out:

Few people in contemporary art demonstrate much curiosity. The majority spend their days blathering on, rather than trying to work out why one artist is more interesting than another, or why one picture works and another doesn’t.

Now it could be argued that I am, in fact, blathering on. But I can tell you I do spend a lot of my time considering why some artists are more interesting than others, and why some virtual art ‘works’ and other is utter crap. Close friends can verify this, but I often don’t discuss what I think is crap in print. I’m not a brave enough critic. Instead, I choose to write about what moves me and what I see to be important work.

Theatre of War by Miso Susanowa. Photo by PJ Trenton.

But in SL, curiosity drives us. We explore these worlds as a pastime, and the artists who build immersive installations provide spaces for our curiosity to frolic. For me, the very best virtual art engages multiple senses (smell and taste are of course not yet possible, which in some ways might be a blessing!). I do include touch here because, although we often think of this work as being non-physical, we in fact must interact with our computers to access it, and in some cases our dexterity is engaged to experience work.

The Suicide Forest Infested by Harpias by Rebeca Bashly. Photo by PJ Trenton.

In many ways, though, this works the same way as visiting a gallery or museum. The work is physical, but we do not usually smell or taste it; and we usually don’t touch it either. In fact, virtual art is even MORE interactive–we can ‘touch’ is and be part of the work. And we don’t have to worry about caretaking and conservation in the same manner as physical work (although virtual works opens whole new problems in these areas). One of the machinima from the UWA challenge that I absolutely loved played upon these ideas was ‘Artwashers’ by 2sense Productions.

By introducing us to the fictive cleaners at the UWA, the parody cleverly highlights how such a space is so much less complicated that a real museum, allowing the administrative energy to be focused on creativity and education. And that freedom to focus on the creative work has created a wonderful, happy accident. When I interviewed Jayjay Zifanwe at last year’s SL8B Prim Perfect stage, I asked him, ‘Do you realise the amazing collection of virtual art you are building? Have you thought about what you will do with it?’ He replied that it hadn’t at all been his goal to create a collection, but rather to simply drive creativity; that he wasn’t a curator. However, I could see FreeWee Ling, the UWA curator (and winner of last year’s challenge), nodding her head along. Jayjay’s wonderful idea and lofty goals have this incredible byproduct of an unintentional but incredible collection of virtual art. What’s to be done with it? We’ve got some ideas… watch this space. As well, I’ll be interviewing Jayjay at the Christmas Expo this coming Friday, so do come along as I’m sure we’ll chat about this!

Shattered by Gingered Alsop. Photo by PJ Trenton.

There is so much more I could say on this, but I’d rather bring this oversimplified ramble to a close by simply stating that the final awards ceremony for this year’s UWA Challenge will be a week from today (Sunday the 11th) at 6am SLT. Meanwhile, you can visit the finale exhibition and see the winners from this year’s monthly competitions, direct slurls can be found here. The images in this post are of some of the works that I have selected for my top 10 in the overall and unscripted categories. But I’ll close with a slideshow that includes some others, taken by the talented PJ Trenton (you can see the full set more clearly at his flickr.)

But I thought I’d share one nice piece of my journeys here… one of the friends I met up with was the fantastic Eva Bellambi, who I kidnapped for a day out in Manchester. We enjoyed the Ford Madox Brown exhibit at the City Gallery and feasted on a lovely Korean lunch. At the Gallery, we were able to leave a relic of our time together: the interactive gallery has a cool sculpture of stacked vintage luggage, which visitors are invited to tie a tag upon with their own thoughts. Here is ours:

Who says virtual friends aren’t real?

The Inventor, created by Colin Fizgig.

Last night I took a journey with a group of rather extraordinary people, following the trail of a rather odd inventor who seemed rather uncertain about the direction he was headed. You see, it seems that while working in his lab, he discovered a glowing hole, and, like a white rabbit, it beckoned him through… we followed…

But in fact, it wasn’t this fictional inventor leading us, but a virtual one… The Path we followed was one begun by Bryn Oh.

Bryn Oh leads us down 'The Path': (in background, left to right) Maya Paris, Scottius Polke, PJ Trenton, Marcus Inkpen, Quan Lavender, Rose Borchovski, Rowan Derryth, and Desdemona Enfield.

The Path is an unique new exhibit opening today (14 October) at 2pm SLT and sponsored by the Linden Endowment for the Arts (LEA). Curated by Bryn, the series of installations is based on the concept of “The Exquisite Corpse”, a creative game played amongst the Surrealists in the 1920s and 30s in which one person starts a narrative text (or drawing), then passes it along to the next only partially revealed, for their continuation. In its text form, the game was originally called “Consequences”, however the Surrealists adopted the new name for it based on a phrase from their first game: Le cadavre exquis boira le vin nouveau. (The exquisite corpse will drink the new wine.)

'Cadavre Exquis' by Man Ray, Joan Miró, Max Morise and Yves Tanguy

The Path narrative was crafted in this fashion, as Bryn explains:

I invited eight artists whose work I admire, some have worked in SL for ages and are well known, while others less so but equally talented. Each artist was invited to stand on a coloured box and once all were ready I rezzed a chart which listed the sequence of scenes in a narrative by colour. Not sure if the Surrealists cared about the random start but it seemed like a good idea.

In fact, ideas of chance and randomness were at the very heart of Surrealism as well as Dada, roughly the precedent movement in which many Surrealists such as André Breton (who was amongst the first to play “The Exquisite Corpse”), Marcel Duchamp, and Tristan Tzara also participated.

Bryn’s experiment was slightly more controlled in that each artist was able to read the entirety of the previous contributor’s idea. As well, random chance turned to fate: the first artist in the sequence was in fact Bryn herself. As such, she began the tale of the strange Inventor (created by Colin Fizgig and, one cannot help notice, remarkably resembling Dalí) and his unusual journey.

Experiments go awry in Scottius Polke's contribution to the tale.

Joining her in crafting the tale are some of the very best narrative artists on the grid (or anywhere, in my opinion). In their random order, they fell:

Beginning with Bryn, and ending with Rose – is that enough to let your imagination run wild?

Rose Borchovski's surreal conclusion would make Dalí proud.

I couldn’t wait to see the results, and Bryn very kindly allowed me, PJ Trenton, and fellow blogger Quan Lavender to tag along on last night’s artist walkthrough (you can read Quan’s account and see her lovely pics here). It was, as expected, a rather hallucinogenic adventure with many fun twists, turns, and surprises… and I do not wish to spoil those here! But as Bryn has stated on her blog: “We did a walk through last night and the variety was wonderful. I really think this may be something people talk about for a long time. I personally couldn’t pick my favourite scene last night as each excelled in some area or another. And that to me is a very good sign.”

Detail of the Inventor's lab by Bryn Oh, which kicks off the tale.

I wondered if the other artists felt pleased or daunted that Bryn was up first, and so asked them…

“Some of us are grateful she went first,” smiled the otterific Scottius Polke.

I laughed, “She is a master of narrative…”

“Oh no I am not really,” said Bryn with her usual humility.

Marcus Inkpen chimed in, “She’s a great way to set the mood and tone and all. Yeah- me likes.” Then, Rose Borchovski added, “I think what was great was that she chose such a great variety of artists and brought us all to a happy and constructive end, it was a very nice and good experience.”

Marcus Inkpen's dizzying corridor shows his usual mastery in fantastical building.

One of the things I MUST comment on, however, is that these installations are not merely visual: one of the most impressive aspects of The Path is the sound. Each work has an auditory component, many of which were designed by the artists themselves, such as the eerie tones in Marcus Inkpen’s maze-like corridor. As well, Douglas Story and Desdemona Enfield have again joined forces to make an interactive media piece, which includes a track from an excellent voice actor which really enriches the effect. Make certain to have your sounds on for a truly immersive experience.

Our motley crew wanders through Douglas Story & Desdemona Enfield's installation.

The artists have done a wonderful job with the continuity of the tale, while at the same time each build bears their own unique artistic signature, complete with references to their more familiar work. Rose has included a Susa in her piece, while Scottius’ chemicals and purple goo harken to his builds like mushROOM and Lunamaruna. Maya’s is full of quirky surprises as usual, and claudia222′s is made from the rich golden organic textures seen in recent works like her Burn2 piece Sacrifice.

claudia222 Jewel added a more primitive-looking scene that is full of secrets to explore.

Outside of the sheer fantastic builds, I was just as impressed listening to these artists, who obviously have a great deal of admiration for each other, collaborate. As they were putting on the finishing touches, they were asking each other for objects/details which would make the overall story more cohesive; sharing feedback, ideas, praise, and the excitement was infectious.

While wandering The Path with those that created it, it didn’t escape me that for all my past wishes that I could have been at the gatherings of this or that group of dead artists, that I was perhaps walking amidst the new greats… certainly not dead, and yet… living? Yes, even if pixellated.

Swinging with Rose, Scottius, and claudia222 in Maya Paris' subconscious trip.

This is an exhibition not to be missed, and amongst the first of many to be sponsored by the LEA (for more on their exciting plans, see this post). Try to make the 2pm opening Friday to catch the artists and chat with them yourself. This is contemporary art at its best – taking a seed from the past, and reinventing it in a medium so cutting edge, the art world isn’t even aware of its importance yet.

Which is of course what Dada and Surrealism did as well. Go see The Path and enjoy art history in the making.

Curator and mastermind Bryn Oh.

Special thanks to PJ Trenton for the photographs.

Ash takes over the Town Exhibition Hall this month!

It’s Second Sunday, so please join us today at 4pm for another opening of a local collection at the Avalon Town Exhibition Hall!

Our own manager Tricia Aferdita kicked off this new project last month by sharing some of her favourite work from her private collection. This month, Aisling Sinclair has taken over and not only curated a selection of her collection, but completely (and beautifully) remodeled the interior to suit her purposes!

“I was incredibly excited to take over the town hall,” said Ash. “I have such a huge collection of art sitting in my inventory, and it is wonderful to get it out and share it with others!”

Ash's eye for good design makes for a beautifully arranged exhibit.

She took to her curatorial duties with gusto, and the result is incredibly professional, and, in my opinion, a great example of how work of this nature should be displayed on the ‘virtual wall’.

This is perhaps unsurprising considering Ash’s background. The former Curator of the Museum of Virtual Photography (now sadly closed), she is fairly non-stop with her virtual projects: she is the Advertising Manager for Prim Perfect; the Director of Designing Worlds; plays a key character in the virtual graphic novel The Quest for the Golden Prim; and has long been involved in the management of successful design businesses such as Gwen Carillon’s Elements in Design.

Ash's elegant design for a second level.

Her show includes the work of several residents such as PJ Trenton and Winter Nightfire, but also some incredibly unique pieces by artists such as Fuschia Nightfire, Eliza Wierwight, Martini Discovalante, Callypigian Christensen, and even Brian Eno! She has also set up two works at the entrance: an incredible floating projection by Glyph Graves which perfectly complements a new, rare piece by the very ‘now’ artist claudia222 Jewell entitled Beegoddess, for which Ash was the high bidder at the recent BoobieThon art auction at RoHaus in Avalon Magna Carta (which raised $126,000 for the Susan G. Komen Foundation and breast cancer awareness!)

Works by Glyph Graves and claudia222 Jewell grace the courtyard.

So please do join us today to see these incredible works. DJ Frequency Picnic will be spinning tunes with us from 4pm. And if you can’t make it today, make sure to stop in before the end of the month!

And if YOU would like to take over the Avalon exhibition hall for a month to show work from your private collection (and are a town resident!) please IM me (Rowan Derryth). The schedule is starting to fill up, but there are still plenty of slots left!

Claudia222 Jewell's 'Beegoddess' would make an extraordinary, one-of-a-kind piece of garden art!

I have been privileged to organise and host this year’s SL BoobieThon Art Auction alongside PJ Trenton (always a joy!), and if I may be so bold, we have done a stellar job in getting work donated from 37 of the finest virtual artists on the grid! The auction, opening tonight at RoHaus, is comprised of 40 works; half of which are one-of-a-kind. Most of the remaining selection are limited edition, and we’ve set a very low reserve of $1000L for the unique works, $500L for the limited edition, and $100L for the rest!

The 4th Annual BoobieThon in Second Life starts today, October 1st (and in real life, so does the 10th Annual Blogger BoobieThon), both aimed at raising funds for the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Over the years thousands of dollars have been raised in both worlds. In Second Life, the event is spearheaded by Eva Bellambi, who works closely with Winterfell owner Serra Anansi to run a week of educational and charity events. The complete list can be found at Eva’s blog, and I’ve pasted a brief outline of the schedule below as well.

A burst of colour in the upstairs gallery, including an incredible bouquet by Soror Nishi at left.

While raising awareness about a serious subject, the Boobiethon itself strives to celebrate life through events which are fun, joyous, and even a little bit saucy! As such, some events are for mature audiences. Luckily, we in the artworld are used to nudity, and many of the artists have embraced the theme to create works that range from whimsical to beautiful. I can’t possibly discuss them all, but I’d like to highlight a few so you can see the range.

First, I must share how generous these artists are – every single one expressed how much they wanted to be part of this. Callipygian Christensen, last year’s highest hammer price, had her work waiting for us when we ask – she’d made it months ago for the purpose. Many went out of their way to make bespoke work – even while some were getting ready for Burn2! Such was the case with Claudia222 Jewell, whose ‘Beegoddess’ (seen above) is a stunning, glowing work of virtual sculpture for your artful garden. Likewise, Maya Paris’ ‘Nipple Trees’ evoke the serenity of Cherry Blossoms, with a surprise touch of whimsy to be found when you lie beneath them.

Maya Paris' 'Nipple Trees' provide a fun surprise.

Speaking of whimsical, it might be unsurprising to know that both Misprint Thursday and Miso Susinowa have made their boobie-inspired work with more than a touch of fun. Miso’s perhaps needs a bit of explanation here – she made her Boobie Chair as a nod to Jeff Koons, an artist we both love to loathe! Hers is not the only art history inspired work though. Trill Zapatero’s ‘venus Bodhisattva’ combines the famous Venus of Willendorf (often the first sculpture found in a classic art history text) with swirling colourful patterns similar to those found on Hindu icons.

Works by Eliza Wierwight, GM Nikolaidis, and Trill Zapatero

Another Venus sits serenely across the way, and it is one of the works I am incredibly excited about for it is a special commission by the talented Pumpkin Tripsa. I’m a huge fan of Pumpkin as, in my snotty opinion, he is one of the only people I’ve seen truly master making a ‘realistic’ prim figure. Now, regular readers know I don’t usually get excited about virtual art that is based heavily on RL work (especially famous ones), but Pumpkin is an exception for me because virtually reproducing a sculpture is a whole other ball of wax, forgive the pun. It takes incredible skill, and is certainly worked and made manifest in the virtual, vs. simply being uploaded as a texture. And he does this with mastery.

He’s now gone to the next level, in my opinion, with his work at the September UWA, a stunningly beautiful sculpture made with mesh! After seeing this, I sent him an IM asking if he would contribute, and I mentioned that I had visions of something like the Medici Venus. Just as a suggestion. He eagerly agreed, and I was delighted when, last night, he dropped just that on me – a mesh Medici Venus!

Pumpkin Tripsa's mesh artwork 'Medici Venus' combines antiquity with cutting edge tech. Also seen here are two other Venuses: Fuschia Nightfire's 'Strike a Pose' and a detail of Eliza Wierwight's moving 'One in Nine Before Eighty-Five (I)'

The original (properly called a Venus Pudica, or a Venus concealing herself, ‘prude’) is a famous and important work from antiquity, once owned by the powerful Medici family and now in the collection of the  Uffizi Gallery, Florence. It was particularly celebrated in the 19th century as the ideal of feminine beauty – and interestingly was often cited as a positive example of this in the debate against tight-lacing corsets!

Pumpkin’s is a lovely virtual reproduction of a darker cast marble… but remember, you’ll need a mesh enabled viewer to see it! If you are the lucky winner, you’ll not only have a beautiful artwork (the ONLY one rezzed on the grid, by the way), but you will also have one of the first great works of mesh art as well! Good luck outbidding me on this one!

Poignant and moving: PJ Trenton's 'Time of Hope' (left) and Callipygian Christensen's 'Serenity and Grief' (right)

Again, these are just a few of the incredible works on display, and I do hope you’ll join us tonight. The bidding will be on all week, with a closing event on Thursday the 6th from 6-8pm SLT. Last bid at 8! Will you be a winner?

Thanks to PJ Trenton for the photos, as always!

Complete list of artists:

Alexx Fenstalker • AutopilotPatty Poppy • Bobbi Laval • Callipygian Christensen
Cat Boccaccio • Cee Edman • Chrome Underwood • Claudia222 Jewel
Douglas Story • Elin Egoyan • Eliza Wierwight • Floraclayflower Beeswing
Fuschia Nightfire • Glyph Graves • GM Nikolaidis • Gracie Kendal
LadyDawn Starbrook • Maya Paris • Miso Susanowa • Misprint Thursday
Monty Streusel • Nino Vichan • PJ Trenton • Pumpkin Tripsa • Ragamuffin Kips
Rowan Derryth • Sledge Roffo • soror Nishi • Starlash Sweetwater
Stephen Venkman • T.S. Carson (RL) • Texanna Schumann • Tricia Aferdita
Trill Zapatero • Wildstar Beaumont • Winter Nightfire • Ziki Questi

The current schedule of events follows:

October 1, 2011

• Opening Night Party – 6:30pm SLT, Cliffs of Skye, Magna Carta
• Art Auction Opening – travel next door to RoHaus for the opening of the bidding (7:30pm SLT)
• Designer Vendors open – 6pm SLT, Winterfell BoobieBall Garden

October 2, 2011

• Touche for Boobies – 12pm SLT, Winterfell En Garden
  An en garde tournament: 16 openings – entry fee is 1000L
  The winner will receive 1500L and a special trophy to commemorate the event!
• Educational Salon – TBA (PG-13)
• Art Auction and Designer Vendors continue

October 3, 2011

• Burlesque for Breasts – 8pm SLT, La Casbah, Steelhead (Mature)
• Art Auction and Designer Vendors continue

October 4, 2011

• Shape Shifter Competition – 4pm SLT, The Hobo Theatre, Hobo Island (This should be a PG-13 event, but as with all things BoobieThon, it could become mature!)
• Art Auction and Designer Vendors continue

October 5, 2011

• Victoria’s Secret – 7pm SLT at the Blue Mermaid, Caledon On Sea (Mature)
• Art Auction and Designer Vendors continue

October 6, 2011

• Poetry Slam for Boobies – 5pm SLT, der Hut, Winterfell Absinthe (PG-13)
• Art Auction and Designer Vendors continue
• Art Auction closing party 6-8pm SLT at RoHaus
• LAST BID for art auction will be taken at 8pm SLT

October 7, 2011

• BoobieBall (I) – 12pm SLT, BoobieBall Garden, Winterfell (Mature)
• BoobieBall (II) – 7pm SLT, BoobieBall Garden, Winterfell (Mature)
• Designer Vendors continue
• Final Donation will be made at 8:50 SLT.