Vitruvian Shapes
Tired of being freakishly tall?
Try a Free Vitruvian Shape from the master of proportion in SL, Penny Patton!!!
Try a Free Vitruvian Shape from the master of proportion in SL, Penny Patton!!!
M E D I C I U N I V E R S I T Y
Office of The Provost
Dear Campus Community,
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One thought I had in reading through this is that you’re expressing a covenant. Many estate sims have covenants that the inhabitants are expected to work from. Adapting to these can bring out creativity – like being handed a green crayon. Where does the covenant start and end?
Scarlett and I were talking about about doing a campus stroll to sort of look at individual areas closely in terms of the “urban” landscaping. I like the idea of Medici being 1100 years old, a bit further east than Florence, with layers of old and new. Maybe urban trees in “new” sections are never more than two times the height of an avatar. Maybe Camille, where the commons has settled, is older so those trees are a bit larger? Which sections do we consider to be newer?
One idea is to pass out a basic kit for the standard street or walking path, to give that to everyone and have them create the streets and walking paths in their sections, but with the caveat that they can depart using those materials (for example, if the covenant said “use this flagstone,” then in some areas that flagstone might be texturally worn, or a different color, or graffiti’d, potholed, deliberately routed and stacked up by the side of the road, etc). “Reinterpreted consistency.”
Is it even possible to suggest that sort of meta-consistency to people moving in? What about the SL Art School city and fantastical things that defy the laws of physics? Where does that fit?
Of course, the message here was one of scale. I won’t forget that!
These are wonderful ideas rmarie, care to implement them? 😀
Re: laws of physics — once again I turn to the sage Penny Patton, in fact it’s right on her profile page if you want to look her up:
My minotaur avatar is over 7′ tall! Not exactly human sized. In RP sims where you’re playing a character, it just makes sense to make your avatar the size of the character you intend to be playing. Why claim to be a 6′ human or orc then make your avatar 8′ tall? A 12′ tall werewolf isn’t a werewolf, it’s a fuzzy giant.
Just like writing good fiction, I can accept anything that is consistent unto itself. If you want to do “Impossible IRL” work, well, I don’t expect it to follow the “laws” of RL physics! But, whatever framework it exists in, it should be consistent to that.
We hate deus ex machina endings because they cheat the narrative contract the storytellers have made with the audience. The audience was willing to “suspend disbelief,” or to use the term Robert Pratten prefers, “active co-creation of belief.” As Pratten says,
They know it’s fiction, but they want to believe.
They want to believe, if only you’ll do enough work to let them. So deus ex machina endings suck.
When I see Impossible IRL work by an artist like Betty Tureaud, it’s great! It doesn’t pretend to be about the laws of RL physics and it shouldn’t have to. But it does “feel” right. It is designed in a way that feels consistent unto itself. That’s really all we can ask of Architecture, Cities, Artists, Avatars, Fiction, or anything else.
They are just ideas – probings into how real consistency could really maybe be achieved. Nothing can be done without the participation / feedback / discussion / logistical commitment of others. At least, it’s not as fun.
As far as deus ex machina, don’t tell Spielberg those endings suck. There’s something about the human psyche that loves them, or maybe it’s cultural. I’m glad the pushing of the envelope is another matter entirely!
Well said brother. Now get to work. 😉
I found another thing that makes a good neighborhood–back doors. I am already planning to remodel my office at MU. The way it is now, if I want to go visit my neighbor Agnes, I have to go out the front door and run all the way around my house. I do have myself set on “always run”, but still, it’s a bother.
That’s so great Veyot!
IRL Laneways, the small service roads in-between buildings have become popular places either to build small houses or to create things like restaurants that face tiny pedestrian-only streets. These too-small-to-do-anything-with spaces have become sites of civic renewal and social interaction.
Sadly we didn’t really leave any laneway space between studios, but it’s great that you’ve envisioned a way to create that sort of connection anyway! 😀
paypabak writer 19:43 on 22/03/2015 Permalink |
Wonderful! I will check this out soon. Thanks.
Neeva 00:22 on 23/03/2015 Permalink |
I like me some free shapes!
Vanessa 07:30 on 23/03/2015 Permalink |
Awesome Neeva. You’ve kind of mastered the art of the prim. Perhaps avatar shape is the undiscovered country? What would an Avatar Shape Public Art Activity look like? Modify your sliders by winning lottery numbers? Pass your shape to the next person? Collaboratively create/share a clone shape with someone?
Here’s a couple of shape based performance works:
VB08 – Two Wear My Skin
VB26 – Average
VBFM #3 – Starlight Flashmob