10 posts tagged “machinima”
SECOR GALLERY PRESENTS EXHIBITION OF DIGITAL & INSTALLATION ART
Exhibition Features Toledo Area Artists: Fred Leighton and Fontana
February 7th marked the opening of an exhibit of new artworks at The Secor Gallery located at 425 Jefferson Avenue Toledo, Ohio, 43604, across from the newly constructed Lucas County Arena. The exhibition features the artworks of artists Fred Leighton and the collaborative husband-wife team of Anthony and Sandra Fontana, simply called Fontana. The opening reception was held on Saturday, February 7th from 6-9pm. On display until Saturday, February 21st, this show features installation art, machinima animation, and digital prints. (Check this blog again for the full machinima).
The Secret of Bigfoot Pass
In The Secret of Bigfoot Pass, Fred Leighton has created a large cube comprised of plexiglass, fiber and computer-controlled LED lights along with several digital 3D analygraphic printed images. The title of the work refers to the 1976 TV show and paperback of the same name featuring the Six Million Dollar Man character, Steve Austin. In the story, the legend of Sasquatch is explained as a cyborg created by Alien explorers. Half-man, half-machine himself, Steve Austin confronts Bigfoot and the extra-terrestrials. In this group of works, the artists explores the significance of these characters and the popularity of the themes and subject matter in mid 1970s America, a fascination that continues to today.
Fred Leighton was born in Columbus, Ohio in 1965. He holds a BA from The University of Michigan where he majored in History of Art and an MFA from Savannah College of Art and Design where he studied Interactive Design and Game Development. As Developer and Producer, Leighton has been recognized by HOW, PRINT, WIRED, and Mac Art & Design for his creativity in developing interactive media projects for subjects including artists Rev. Howard Finster and Joe Coleman. Leighton uses physical computing, interactive installation, digital images and sound, online interactivity, and game design to create interactive artworks. Fred Leighton is currently an Instructor in Visual Communications Technology at Bowling Green State University.
We Are Avatars
Since 2005, Fontana has been investigating virtual identities in online social platforms, their economies, and the ways in which relationships are represented in digital forms. In this body of work the Fontana's collaborative search for distinct ways of documenting their avatar's experiences and memories can be seen through blended reality installations, altered avatar representations, and machinima animations. Through their artworks, Fontana's search begins with their digital documentation of their daily lives on social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter, extends through their alternate, imagined, and "real" personas in virtual worlds such as Second Life, and burgeons forth into a space where viewers are able to question the paradox: "Is the virtual real?"
Anthony Fontana has been exhibiting artworks in and about online virtual worlds since 2005 and began creating machinima animaitons using the virtual world of Second Life in 2007 as a way to tell stories connected to humans, yet beyond the experiences of one's own body. He earned an MFA in Painting from Northern Illinois University in 2004 and a BFA in painting from the Columbus College of Art and Design in 2001. Sandra Fontana has worked as a professional photographer and homemaker for the last 7 years. She has toured the country shooting beauty pageants, school portraits, and often using her own children as subjects. Her favorite subject has always been herself, shooting several hundred self-portraits over the last decade. In 2001, Sandra earned a BFA in Photography from the Columbus College of Art and Design.
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If you would like to schedule a visit to the gallery or need more information about the exhibition or artists please contact Fred Leighton at fred@artsdigital.com, visit www.ArtsDigital.com, or www.AnthonyFontana.com.
This work is the first by the collaborative husband and wife team known as Fontana. By reflecting on individual personalities and real world identities, similarities between virtual world persona's are expressed through emotive animations common to the Second Life avatar, yet intriguingly unique. These works begin to examine the emerging language of machinima (machine-made-cinema) and its role in the continuum of traditional cinema language; machinima that documents and expresses the memories and experiences of avatars. Through a large aggregation of images, videos, and installations based on the accumulated inventory of the Fontana avatars, Anthony and Sandra supply the viewer with information that is both identifiable and indifferent; bridging connections with those who understand the virtual world phenomenon and those who have not yet begun to understand its impact on society at large.
Some Flickr pics:
This machinima debuted last weekend at The Fuse Factory in Columbus, Ohio for their inaugural exhibition: "Ignition".
Check out CrazyTalk here. I really like how she used it... talking to the camera. I'd like to see if it can be used in a more subtle way. Most of the time when an avatar is speaking and their lips are not moving, I feel like I cannot suspend disbelief in order to be immersed. It's one of the reasons I think Red vs. Blue was such a flagship for machinima... They are wearing helmets and sound like they are talking through helmets. It gives a sense of realism I can buy into.
I have created a machinima group on Vox... well... because there wasn't one. If anyone else is making machinima please join this group and share your vids, favorite works, tips, tricks, and stories.
Also, if anyone wants to make a logo for the group, go ahead and post it here. Then leave comments on which one we should use.
I am Anthony Fontana and I make machinima in Second Life. You can find my videos posted here. My latest work, Machinima Paradiso, is currently on exhibition at The Gallery Project in Ann Arbor Michigan. Find out more about me and my work at my blog or on my website.
For anyone interested in Second Life Education (SLED) I urge you to join their respective listserve mailing lists. The SLED community has been thriving for several years and can provide a great bit of knowledge. Have a question about Second Life? Search the archives!
SLED listserve: https://lists.secondlife.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/educators
SLED Archives: http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=001010425210852223575%3Ajldmgpuier0
SLED Wiki: http://www.simteach.com/wiki/index.php?title=Second_Life_Education_Wiki
Machinima listserve
SL has recently started a listserve for anyone making or interested in machinima.
Machinima listserve: https://lists.secondlife.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/machinima
I know I've been quiet lately... I've been busy! Here's a few shots of the Machinima I am making for a show at The Gallery Project in September.
