Monday, January 18, 2010

Virtual Worlds - Sculptures for the Treeline Project

These 3D modeled sculptures were created for the virtual Treeline Project, an Australian nonprofit connecting, people, art, science and nature to bring awareness to conservation issues. Each image is an environment that an avatar can physically enter and experience an immersive virtual space. Two events have been scheduled in world, an opening for all the current virtual Treeline artists Thursday, January 21st at 2pm Pacific time. I will also be giving an artist talk for the University of Western Australia's Design Challenge Showcase Saturday, January 23rd at 3pm Pacific Time. I exist in world as an avatar Araminta Kroitschov, artist and owner of Viviblack Galleries.

Flutter Trees, my art and design and scripted so butterflies float around the viewer. This piece was done in collaboration with virtual artist Ed Vespucciano, who was wonderful about taking my butterfly photographs and making them in to little moving swarms to go inside the sculpture.


Moon Forest is a piece that can be entered and experienced from different camera view points to gaze at the moon and feel a spiritual connection to nature.

 
Virtual Forest is a massive box filled with transparency and light that gives the viewer an experience of getting lost in the woods. Moving an avatar passes through the space layers and layers of tree images and stumbles around until they find the door.

 
A picture of part of the Treeline Project's installation space with the Virtual Forest on the top left of the image gives an idea of space.

For a transcript of the artist talk visit the UWA blog.