The Linden Endowments for the Arts is hosting a series of 16 “interim” art projects through until the end of January 2013. I’ve already covered the Flash Mob event on LEA26 and LEA 27, and both The Wonderful World of Particles and Paper Observatory, which are displayed at LEA13 and LEA21 respectively, as well as the installations created by Frankx Lefavre and Thea Dee. In this item, I drop in to the regions provided to Fuschia Nightfire and Natascha Randt.

Fuschia Nightfire, “Fuschia’s Collection” – LEA22

“Since I first joined SL I have collected art from other SL artists, but never had a space to show these works,” Fuschia Nightfire says of her installation at LEA22, “So I decided to use my LEA sim to do this.”

The result is a chance to see SL art through the eyes of one of the platform’s foremost artists as Fuschia offers-up a display of some of her favourite piece of art she’s collected over the years, as well as pieces she’s collaborated upon with others. On display are sculptures, 2D art, paintings, static pieces, interactive pieces all from the likes of Rose Borchovski, Baron Grayson, Soror Nishi, Light Waves and more.

The design of the region is simple and elegant: to one side of the region sits a gallery featuring paintings, drawings and a number of 3D pieces, which stands alongside a couple of other buildings which are there to be explored. Paths from here wind out over the water to a large sculpture on one side and a floral garden on the other, on which is set-out further items for the visitor to admire. More art can be found out on the water itself, most close to the footpaths – but do keep an eye out for the scattering of Light Waves’ brilliant Greenies.

To ensure the eye isn’t too distracted by things going on around the region, Fuschia has erected a set of walls surrounding the installation which an image of the sky, forming the perfect backdrop to the exhibit and allowing the photographer to cleanly capture items on display.

This is a great way for those unfamiliar with the scope of SL art to dip a toe in the water without getting heavily into anything and gain a little familiarity with works by some well-known names.

Recommended.

Natascha Randt – LEA15

As well as being a noted machinima maker, Nataschia Randt is a keen aviator – so it should come as no surprise to anyone who knows her that the installation she’s built at LEA15 features a fair number of aircraft, fixed-wing, rotary, civilian and military.

Over the years, Natascha has collected a huge range of aircraft (especially Russian!) and other vehicles, and saw the opportunity presented by the “interim” project to display them for people to enjoy and appreciate – and perhaps, if not already into SL flying, be encouraged to try things out for themselves. As well as aircraft, the installation includes a far few land vehicles and boats, all of which are displayed on a airfield-like build, complete with roadways and which is cut in two by a channel of water.

However, this is more than just a “simple” collection of aircraft, boats and vehicles. She’s called the build the Walt Faulds Memorial Aerodrome. ” Walt was one of my best friends in SL,” Natascha explained to me as we talked about the installation. “In real life he flew a sailplane, but he showed me how cool it can be to fly in SL. Sometimes we flew together, planes and helicopters, and we saw the evolution from prim to sculpts to mesh.”

Sadly, Walt Faulds passed away in May 2013, and he is missed by his in-world friends. So in putting together the build, Natascha decided to dedicate it to his memory.

For those curious about vehicles and transport in SL – and particularly flying – LEA15 presents an opportunity to find out more about the many and varied types of aircraft (and some boats and land vehicles!) which can be obtained and used in-world. However, I confess that I can’t help feeling that this particular aim might have been enhanced through the provision of additional media – perhaps MOAP presentations of some of Natascha’s own videos and some additional info on SL flying – such as good locations people can visit to try things out.

Even so, the installation makes for an interesting visit – particularly for someone who isn’t familiar with the diverse range of boats, vehicles and – especially – planes which can be purchased in Second Life, and as such may well inspire those who are curious about flying in SL to dig a little deeper into the subject.

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