Sayonara Second Life

I hate loose ends so I'm posting this to make my departure from Second Life official. I haven't created anything in SL for nearly a year now, the last work being a live collaborative performance for Odyssey back in July 2011. That experience was very exhausting, and although I was happy with the result, it contributed to draining me of all my enthusiasm for the medium. Of course SL is still relevant to many people, just not any longer to me.

I look back on all the years spent there and definitely can say I had some amazing adventures, met some wonderful people (some not so wonderful people), made many friends (and a few enemies), and as an artist was able to explore and create work previously unimaginable. But, after a year's absence I've got to the point where I feel such a distance from the medium there is no longer any desire to return.

Keep in touch through my Facebook page.

Sayonara Second Life, it's been (un)real.

-Arahan-

EXHIBITIONS & PROJECTS (2005-2012):

Rotating Brains / Beating Heart (2012)
A machinima of a virtual reality performance collaboration featuring 
Pauline Oliveros, Stelarc and the Avatar Orchestra Metaverse

http://youtu.be/m36PRHsX57w?hd=1

ArthOle Presents ORIENTATION (2011)
Live performance for Odyssey Performance Art Festival.
http://artholeblog.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/orientation-2011-documentation.html

Soup Radio (2010-2011)
Non-profit radio station focused around arts and culture.
http://soupradio.blogspot.com

Changing Room (2010)
Queen's University, Belfast
Live mixed reality collaboration with Selavy Oh as part of Michael Takeo Magruder's Changing Room project. This live event was watched by attendees at Queen's University Belfast over the course of the three day symposium.
http://www.takeo.org/nspace/sl004

DRHA (2010)
Brunel University, Uxbridge, Middlesex
Presentation to the Sensual Technologies: Collaborative Practices of Interdisciplinarity conference at Brunel University via Second Life alongside performance artist Stelarc.
http://arahanclaveau.blogspot.com/2010/09/drha-2010-report.html

ROTATING BRAINS / BEATING HEART (2010)
Brunel University, Uxbridge, Middlesex
Live camera operator for a networked collaboration between performance artist Stelarc and virtual reality ensemble Avatar Orchestra Metaverse.
http://arahanclaveau.blogspot.com/2010/10/rotating-brains-beating-heart-drha-2010.html

Adrift (2009)
Second Life
Installation as part of Selavy Oh's curated space The Final Show, one of the five finalists of the Brooklyn is Watching Best of Year 1 Festival.
http://arahanclaveau.blogspot.com/2009/08/adrift.html

Brooklyn is Watching Best of Year 1 Festival (2009)
Second Life
Two works on display, Injustice and Beyond Human; a collaboration with Ichibot Nishi.
http://brooklyniswatching.com/best-of-biw-year-1-festival

Empire (2009)
Second Life
Homage to Warhol’s groundbreaking Exploding Plastic Inevitable events and the Factory Superstars, and a commentary on the impact of technology and the cult of personality.
http://artholeblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/season-3-july-18th-full-details.html

Virtual Worlds Mash Up (2009)
Medialab Enschede Tetem II in Enschede, the Netherlands
A selection of films, interviews and performances.
Presented by PLANETART.
http://metalive.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/voorkant_medialab_virtualworlds.jpg

ArthOle (2008 - 2009)
Second Life
Collaborative gallery hosting a collection of work by Arahan Claveau & Nebulosus Severine.
http://artholeblog.blogspot.com/

ArthOle Radio (2008 - 2009)
Non-profit radio station focused around arts and culture.
http://itunes.apple.com/podcast/arthole-radio/id397681415

Avatar (2008)
Australian Centre For Photography, Paddington, New South Wales, Australia.
Exhibition of Second Life avatar images.
http://www.acp.org.au/

PICNIC 08 (2008)
Video of the live performance ORIENTATION by Arthole.
“PICNIC is Amsterdam’s leading annual international event, highlighting creativity and innovation, particularly in media, entertainment and technology.”
http://www.picnicnetwork.org/

ArthOle Presents ORIENTATION (2008)
Second Life / De Balie cinema, Amsterdam.
Live performance for Club Goodbye Dollar.
http://www.debalie.nl/artikel.jsp?articleid=258551&podiumid=cinema

Machinima Love at art.xxXtenxion (2008)
Filmgalerie Kino im Leerern Beutel, Regensburg, Germany.
Various machinima screenings.
http://xxxtenxion.blogspot.com/2008/07/machinima-love.html

The love that dare not speak its name (2008)
Installation for PLANETART at the KunstVlaai (ArtPie) Festival. The event took place simultaneously in Second Life and at the real-life Kunstvlaai Festival and PLANETART gallery in Amsterdam.
http://www.kunstvlaai.nl/2008/?page_id=23

The RED ROOM Presents. KunstVlaai (ArtPie) Festival (2008)
d/Art/07. Australian Centre For Photography, Paddington, New South Wales (2007)
Small Story (2007)
Faith in the Frame. Strong Visions Gallery (2007)
Salon du Disruptif. Heldscalla Foundation (2007)
super fun happy club (2006 - 2007)
Sick Cat Special Edition. Burning Life (2006)
Artists on the Green. NMC Campus (2006)
Sick Cat v2 (2006)
Sick Cat v1 (2006)
Uzumaki (2005)
Interzone (2005)
Judy's Box (2005)

Rotating Brains / Beating Heart

Rotating Brains / Beating Heart
A virtual reality performance collaboration featuring 
Pauline Oliveros, Stelarc and the Avatar Orchestra Metaverse

Fifteen performers, two timekeepers, one conductor 
Separated by geography, connected in virtual space

Avatars, objects, sounds, images and lights
Synchronized in real time

Recorded live at the RMIT Melbourne simulator in Second Life
during a networked performance for New Adventures in Sound Art Sound Play Festival, November 2010, OCAD University, Toronto, Canada

Machinima by Steve Millar
__________

Created by

Stelarc, Pauline Oliveros, Franziska Schroeder, Tina Pearson, Norman Lowrey, Andreas Müller

and the Avatar Orchestra Metaverse

Scored and conducted by
Tina Pearson

Performed by
Stelarc

Rotating avatar (Stelarc Luik), Stelarc automatons, voice

Daniel Mounsey

Rotating Stelarc automatons, floating texts

Pauline Oliveros

Flying avatar (Free Noyes) and drones

Norman Lowrey

Giant brain sound and images

Avatar Orchestra Metaverse

Floating avatars and virtual audio-visual instruments

Andreas Müller (Bingo Onomatopoeia, Regensburg, Germany)

Biagio Francia (BlaiseDeLaFrance Voom, Agropoli, Italy)

Carolyn Oakley (Carolhyn Wijaya, Boulder, Colorado, USA)

Tim Risher, (Flivelwitz Alsop, Durham, North Carolina, USA)

Peter Wong (Gargamel Frequency, San Francisco/Oakland, CA, USA)

Tina M. Pearson (Humming Pera, Victoria, BC, Canada)

Norman Lowrey (North Zipper, New Jersey, USA)

Chris Wittkowsky (Paco Mariani, Regensburg, Germany)

Ryan Ross Smith (Pow Zero, Berkeley, CA, USA)

Seidi Palonen (Saara Edring, Helsinki, Finland)

Viv Corringham (Zonzo Spyker, Minneapolis, MN, USA / London, UK)

with

Leif Inge and Brenda Hutchinson (Timekeeping)

and

Ze Moo (Additional automatons)

Set Design

Stelarc and Daniel Mounsey

Composition and Sound Design

Norman Lowrey, Andreas Mueller, Pauline Oliveros, Tina Pearson, Stelarc

Stelarc Luik Automatons and Animations

Designed by Stelarc, scripting and construction by Daniel Mounsey

Stelarc Luik / Automaton Choreography

Stelarc

Flying avatar (Free Noyes) Choreography

Pauline Oliveros, Norman Lowrey

Avatar Orchestra Choreography

Tina Pearson, Tim Risher and Avatar Orchestra Metaverse

Virtual giant brain 5-Channel Audiovisual Mixer

Designed and Built by Norman Lowrey

Sound samples from the human nervous system and outer space

Images of the human nervous and circulatory systems

Virtual 9-Channel Audio Drone Mixer

Conceived by Pauline Oliveros

Designed and built by Norman Lowrey

Sounds from Alvin Lucier, Pauline Oliveros, Franziska Schroeder, Tina Pearson,

Viv Corringham and Stelarc

Avatar Orchestra Virtual Instruments

Designed by Tina Pearson and Andreas Müller

Built by Andreas Müller

Sounds of the human circulatory system from Tim Risher,

in-womb heartbeats from Lilith and Doris,

mechanical processes from Andreas Müller,

tuned sine tones from Tina Pearson

Avatar Orchestra animations

Built by Tim Risher

Second Life performance filmed and edited by Steve Millar

Audio recording from Second Life by Andreas Müller

Rotating Brains / Beating Heart was originally created as a mixed reality collaboration

Premiered at the 2010 Digital Resources for the Humanities and the Arts Conference at 
Brunel University, UK

By Stelarc, Pauline Oliveros, Avatar Orchestra Metaverse,

Franziska Schroeder (saxophone) and Martin Parker (electronics)

THANKS TO

RMIT University (Melbourne), OCAD University, New Adventures in Sound Art, Nadine Thériault-Copeland, Darren Copeland, Hector Centeno, Hannah Dean, Bentley Jarvis in Toronto, Canada, Franziska Schroeder at Sonic Arts Research Centre in Belfast, Ireland, Yael Gilks (Fau Ferdinand), Ze Moo, Dennis Moser, Sachiko Hayashi, Max D Well, Steve Millar (Arahan Claveau).

New Adventures in Sound Art Residency funding for Tina Pearson provided by the SOCAN Foundation, Canada

http://avatarorchestra.blogspot.ca

Rotating Brains / Beating Heart

Rotating Brains / Beating Heart

Featuring Pauline Oliveros, Stelarc and the Avatar Orchestra Metaverse

Machimima by Arahan Claveau

Coming May 2012

More info here.

I created a new Facebook page for the 'other' me. Please pop by and 'Like' me sometime (or simply avoid if you prefer).
http://www.facebook.com/SteveMillarUK

AFK

I thought I should give an update as I've been absent from Second Life for several weeks now. The main reason is that I've become very captivated and inspired by the Occupy movement, friends have heard me talk about little else since I first became aware of the murmurings in NYC last month. Consequently, I've had no reason or motivation to login to SL, and it seems more than a little negligent to spend time in a virtual world when the real world is experiencing such momentous changes with a movement that is in need of our support.

The 99%, a truly global movement, has been forced to take action in response to the economic crisis, the ruthless greed of the banks, and increasingly severe cuts and austerity measures imposed by our governments. We're seeing the very beginnings of a revolution that is too powerful to subdue or ignore, a fact which has been proven time and time again, particularly in the States, where the unprovoked police brutality has been witnessed all over the world. Despite the violence, misleading press reports and vilification, the protesters remain strong, and even more determined that what they're doing is right and justified.

My own involvement with Occupy London has been small but I think worthwhile. I filmed on the first day of the occupation on October 15th and subsequently made a music video from the footage, which I've been promoting and distributing. In addition I took many still shots, some of which were selected by this blog, and also printed on the front cover and inside issue 7781 of The Inquirer magazine. I've also been contacted by a Canadian academic who wants to use the photos in a presentation "to show the power of social media through grassroots movements like Occupy WallStreet/London."

I want to continue documenting this movement and I'm planning more visits to the camp/s soon. I'll probably still login to Second Life to attend certain performances or exhibitions, but for the foreseeable future I'll definitely not be blogging or creating my own art there.

Please do check out my video below, and you can see more footage here. But more importantly, if you're affected by the issues then get involved yourself, add your own voice, be a part of history.

Steve / Arahan x