Tear down the wall!!!!

Here ya go… the walls coming down!!!

Closing party!!! Today noon-3pm slt!!!

Well today is the day!! The 1000 Avatars installation in Second Life will be coming down.

To celebrate it’s success and long run we are having a closing party from noon-3pm slt. My great friend Kaj will be DJing some wicked tunes and we will be hanging out with some fabulous friends!

Click here for SLURL!

Please stop by when you can and hang out with us.

It’s been a great run these past couple years. The 1000 Avatars project has been a wonderful experience for me. I am so lucky to have met all the people and made so many new friends. Online identity is still very important to me and I definitely continue to work on other art projects relating to it.

Take care and have a wonderful week!!!

Hope to see you soon!!!

Would you like a print from the 1000+ Avatars project?

So I wanted to let you know I do have autographed unframed prints for sale as well as some catalogs from the show, “And one man in his time plays many parts” that opened May 5, 2012 and a couple more books from the project.

Catalogs are $40 USD plus $5 shipping in the US/$13 shipping outside the US

Preview the catalog and both volumes of the 1000+ Avatars books here.

You can purchase a catalog of the show by paying through my Paypal account at krisartlvr@verizon.net. (Please click gift if you can to save on paypal charges.. thank you for this.)

1000+ Avatars installation will be closing June 3rd

Hi my friends,

I want to thank you all so much for your love and support in following and being part of the 1000+ Avatar Project. I am so very proud of the work I have created here and I am glad I have been able to share it with the Second Life community. I think the work speaks for itself in showing the wonderful diversity that we all share here. The lives we create and live and the imagination that you all have shared shows that Second Life is much more than… well the media makes it out to be. I am proud to be a member of the Second Life community and I will continue to pass on its wonders, its capabilities and I will continue to forge ahead as one of the pioneers of this new media art form.

The project has gone through so much since it started in October 2010. I have published 2 books, the installation itself has moved several times and most recently I created a mixed reality installation/performance using a selection from the project in an exhibit in Los Angeles and Second Life.

The whole experience of shooting the portraits, working with my great friend Nikki on publishing the books, putting together the RL/SL art installation and standing back to see what I have done is something I will never forget. I have met so many amazing people along the way. more then 2000 of them :))

Some people have asked me, why I don’t go for 3000 or 10,000 avatars now. At first I kind of laughed it off and said… we’ll see. But as with my paintings, I know when I am finished. It is just a feeling you get. You look at the work you have created and you just know. It is done.

The 1000+ Avatars project has had an amazing journey the last couple years.
On June 3rd  from 12-3pm slt we will have one  last grand party in which you are all invited… then I will be taking down the installations at Coyote and Seraph City and they will go in my inventory. It is time.

Thank you again so much for your love and support!!
Gracie Kendal/Kristine Schomaker
http://www.1000avatars.wordpress.com

If you would like to come check out the installations before they come down…

1000+ Avatars installation-

And one man in his time plays many parts (RL/SL installation)

You can still purchase autographed copies of the books and prints too. Contact Gracie for  details.

From the original notecard on the project:

“Think for a minute about what makes you fabulous and how you can celebrate it.”
– Laura Mercier

****Dedicated to Delinda Dyrssen who passed away much too soon!!!!!****

Come celebrate your ‘fabulousness!’
I would love for you to be part of my project on online identity/anonymity.

How to contact me:
IM Gracie Kendal
email krisartlvr@verizon.net
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/KrisSchomaker
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/GracieKendal
Plurk: http://www.plurk.com/GracieKendal#
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/kristine-schomaker/5/180/925

If you want to keep up on where this project is going, where I’ll be showing it in SL and what I’ll be doing with it in RL. Please click on the Kiosk at my studio and join my mailing list :))

Process/What to do:
Wear or be whatever represents you in SL. Favorite outfit, or avatar etc.
You can use any AO, or pose or dance you’d like and any props you can wear. (Poses are easier and faster if you have a good pose you want to use.)
Please turn off all face lights.

When I am shooting the high rez pictures sometimes my system pauses for a few secs because of my graphics being up higher so it may take a longer to get the right pose and I may not respond right away.
Also depending on the AO or dance, it may take a little longer as I am watching for good angles and good poses.
Otherwise it normally takes 10-15ish minutes.

“What started out as a set of 100 portraits to help illustrate the idea of online anonymity, has turned into a sort of documentation of avatars in SL. There are so many questions I have been asking myself and ideas I’ve been pondering throughout this whole process, especially on the idea of online identity.”

“Like many of my other projects, I started out with one idea: to take portraits of avatars facing away from me. That was it, pure and simple. I had the idea that I wanted them to be unrecognizable, their faces hidden, just another level of anonymity in SL vs. RL. I plan on printing some if not all of these portraits out in RL for an eventual show in a gallery as well as publishing a book.”

“Our online identity has become a way of life for millions of people around the world. Not just in Second Life, but on many internet sites you go to. When you look on Facebook, or Twitter, how many post pictures of their children or pets? Pictures of places they have visited, cartoon characters they love, logos of their business, landscapes, art, and anything else they find from their lives that they want to represent their identity online.”

This is our avatar. I write about the avatar in my thesis…

reposting here…

I think it’s important to begin with an explanation of what avatars and Second Life are. Sean Egen explains that “‘Avatar’ derives from the Sanskrit word Avatara, which literally translates as ‘descent,’ specifically, a deliberate descent by a god into the land of mortals. In Hinduism, an avatar is the bodily manifestation of immortal beings… Many who use avatars today are literally approaching it from the point of view that their avatar represents their ‘incarnation’ into the internet.” In contemporary culture, an avatar is our virtual representation.

Most people are familiar with avatars through video games. In World of Warcraft, for example, players create avatars then customize their appearance. People also use avatars as icons in instant messaging applications, social networking websites like Facebook and Twitter and through their email programs. Avatars are also represented in film and other forms of media. Max Headroom (1986) is an early manifestation of an avatar. The British virtual band Gorillaz (2006) is made up of cartoon figures representing its real life band members. Movies such as Tron (1982), The Lawnmower Man (1992), The Matrix (1999) and Avatar (2009) give examples within the plots of alternate realities in which the person has an alter ego or other persona: an avatar.

Besides the practical reasons for having an avatar, there are many psychological reasons. Because avatars offer anonymity, people use them as a way to escape reality. In his book I, Avatar, Mark Stephen Meadows discusses how people use avatars as masks. “We are more inclined to reveal ourselves when we use our avatars. We’re more inclined to reveal what we want, dislike, and think. But in a world where information is more important than physical proximity, we are not as safe as we might assume… After all, the word persona originally meant, in ancient Greek, ‘mask.’ Not as in a thing that hides your face, but one that shows what is truly underneath.”

SL offers people the freedom to explore changing identity dynamics. Experimentation is welcome. It is a safe environment which allows unlimited freedom to express oneself and consider boundaries/barriers that aren’t readily accepted in the physical world. “Computer screens are becoming the new location for our fantasies… The immateriality of cyberspace dissolves not only space and time, but our identities as well. For some this is a frightening prospect, for others perhaps the beginnings of a new empowerment.”

“The portraits I am taking have become a documentation of the lives of hundreds of people who to me are fearless. These people (yes I say people, because no matter how we represent ourselves online, we are all people on the other side of the computer) put themselves out there into the brave new world of virtual environments as explorers, searching for anything and everything. They are amazing, creative, soulful people who I am so honored to have in my project.

Each portrait represents a different personality, a singular life. Each person has a story to tell, a life to live. Does it matter if we know what these stories are? Does it matter if we know who is on the other side of the computer?

Thank you to everyone for your amazing support!!!

And one man in his time plays many parts by Kristine Schomaker

The video is out!!!!

Opening night!!!!

You can see all of the Flickr set on my Flickr page… http://www.flickr.com/photos/krisartlvr/sets/72157629984879521/

We had an amazing night!!! Thank you all so much for your love and support!!!

TOMORROW!!!!! Opening reception/performance Saturday May 5th 6-9pm slt!!

The Lost Generation meets ‘Midnight in Paris’ meets ‘Downton Abbey’ meets Second Life…

Join me this Saturday May 5th, 2012 6-9pm slt
for my mixed reality opening and performance in Los Angeles and SL simultaneously!!

http://www.1000avatars.wordpress.com
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Seraph%20City/134/204/107

Gallery 825/Los Angeles Art Association
825 N La CIenega
Los Angeles Ca 90069

Hope to see you here or there!!!

~Gracie Kendal/Kristine Schomaker

About the show/Artist Statement:

Avatar /avə-tär/
1. Chiefly Hinduism- a manifestation of a deity or released soul in bodily form on earth; an incarnate divine teacher.
2. An embodiment or personification, as of a principle, attitude, or view of life.
3. An icon or figure representing a particular person in a computer game, Internet forum, etc.

Using installation, text, photography, video and performance I explore notions of online identity specifically the construction of avatars, the community they inhabit and the blurring of digital media and the physical world. My work focuses on the complex social and cultural conventions that determine our identity. The avatar becomes a vehicle for personal and public reflection.

In these portraits, taken within the online 3D virtual world of Second Life, I explore the representation of the avatar as a construct, distinct from any traditional notion of the ‘self’. I examine the sitter’s identity and probe below the avatar surface to reveal and comment upon their character, personality and their diversity.

The subjects are neither simulacra, nor characters in a game; they are individual people- complete and complex identities with defined social roles.

How do avatars question and expose commonly held assumptions about stereotypes, judgment, self-awareness and those marginalized by race, gender, sexual preference and physical appearance?

How do these digital bodies open up new worlds, new politics, new communities and new realities?

In the 1920’s, artists were drawn to Paris for the promise of freedom. They formed an artistic community that became a haven where they could be themselves and follow their passions.

Fast forward 90 years and cyberspace has become the new artistic community. Like Montparnasse in the 1920s, artists flock to the virtual world of Second Life to thrive in the creative, imaginative atmosphere where anything is possible.

Second Life in the early 21st century is fulfilling the promise of inspiration, innovation and experimentation just as Paris did in the early 20th century. A new art community has been created- a lost generation of sorts, where expatriates from the real world gather looking for artistic, intellectual, political, racial and sexual freedom.

Like Duchamp’s Rrose Selavy, identity can be re-created to allow alter-egos to emerge. Pseudonyms and “otherness” become prevalent forms of identification.

This current installation and performance is informed by years of research on avatars, social community and art collectives- such as Gertrude Stein’s salons in Paris. I have also been profoundly influenced by the performance art of Marina Abramovic, and by artists Cindy Sherman, Hannah Wilke, Eleanor Antin, Yasumasa Morimura and Lynn Hershmann who work with the construction of identity, transformation and the nature of representation.

Kristine Schomaker/Gracie Kendal

The Lost Generation meets ‘Midnight in Paris’ meets ‘Downton Abbey’ meets Second Life

Sneak peak of my new exhibition opening this Saturday May 5th 6-9pm pst in Los Angeles and Second Life (www.secondlife.com) simultaneously. (Gallery 825 @ 825 N La Cienega Blvd Los Angeles California)

Showcasing a selection from the 1000+ Avatar project, the exhibit will also feature a performance art ‘dinner party’ between people in the physical space of the gallery and people/avatars in the virtual space of Second Life.

(In progress)

Guess who’s coming to dinner???

Wanted to share a few photos of  my preparation for my upcoming show “And one man in his time plays many parts” Opening May 5th in Los Angeles and Second Life simultaneously.

Still need a few items and working on technology, but it’s getting there!! Wooooot!!!!

The photos include a sampling of 116 framed avatar portraits, furniture, the catalog and postcard, a photo of  the gallery where this installation will be created, china for the dinner party and some second life preparations. There is also a photo of the fireplace surround I am dreaming of getting…LOL Cross your fingers!! It would  fit perfectly in the show!!

My solo show!!!

Did you know I have a solo show coming up in May? It’s opening May 5th in Los Angeles and Second Life respectively. I am hosting a mixed reality dinner party between my friends in the virtual world of Second life and the physical world. The gallery is being created in a 1920’s dining room inspired by Gertrude Stein’s home and salon in Paris. I finished the 40 page catalog…

I have bought some chairs for the space…

Found some great items that will fit perfectly in the space too.

I have bought 107 frames which I am framing with avatar portraits and will be hung on the walls in a salon style.

Some of the larger prints for the show…

I have so much more to do…

I am thinking of the video/audio technology for the show, what to have for dinner, a dress, hair and make-up and paint for  the walls. I am still looking for a dining table and chairs and rug as well as more chairs and tables to sit in the space.

Hmmm I know there is more but can’t think now… I’m on my 3rd glass of sparking white zin…LOL

Keep an eye on the blog and I’ll try to post more pics and keep you updated on the show!! It’s coming along!!!

Less than a month to go!!!

15 hours to go!!!! Woooot!!!!!

Exhibition catalog cover…

Check out my indiegogo site for info on my upcoming show in May.

I’m getting closer to my goal!! Every little bit helps. It is an important show about equality, diversity and being free to be whoever you want to be.

Thank you all so much for your support!!!

Guess who’s coming to dinner???

Just got the postcards for my upcoming show!!! Woooot!!!!

I still need your help. I have 4 days left on my indiegogo site to help raise money for the installation/performance involving second life avatars. It is going to be such a great show and will  help bring the importance of virtual art even more into the real art world.

When I joined the virtual world of Second Life over 5 years ago, I was a painter showing digital copies of my work in virtual galleries. I immediately saw the potential of this online digital environment for artists, writers and musicians. I have met so many amazing and talented people from all over the world. I have often compared the art community in Second Life to Paris of the 1920s which attracted a similar group of artists, writers, poets and musicians who sought inspiration and an exchange of ideas.

Please check out the indiegogo  site and become a patron. Every little bit helps!! Check out the great perks you will receive for donating. http://www.indiegogo.com/And-one-man-in-his-time-plays-many-parts

Thank you all so much for your support and friendship!! You guys rock!!!

What’s next, you ask???

Hi there… So yep, I am continuing the 1000+ Avatar project by bringing it even further into RL…YAY!!!

Right now I am working on a mixed reality show that will take place in Los Angeles and Second Life opening May 5th. I started an indiegogo site to help support the project. If you could share the site with your friends, that would be wonderful!!! http://www.indiegogo.com/And-one-man-in-his-time-plays-many-parts?a=389801

Here are some images for the show…

Still have a couple copies available!

Self–Published by Kristine Schomaker, 2011.
Edited by Nickola Martynov
With contributions by Garrett Cobarr and Patrick Millard

Still autographed copies of the 1000 Avatar books available!! I have 6 copies of Volume 1 and 3 copies of Volume 2 available

You can reserve your signed copy  today by sending $65.95 USD plus shipping to my Paypal account at krisartlvr@verizon.net. (Please click gift if you can to save on paypal charges.. thank you for this.)

Please include your mailing address.

You can also pay in Lindens!!!!! Contact me for more info!!

Vol 1 $65.95 USD plus shipping (still available)

Vol 2 $65.95 USD plus shipping

Vol 1 and Vol 2 as a set $124.90 USD plus shipping

**Shipping**
$5 North America
$13.95 Canada and Europe

$18 Australia

Please contact Gracie Kendal inworld or by emailing krisartlvr@verizon.net if you have any questions.

Check out previous posts for recent articles, a video and photos of the  book.

Have a wonderful day!!!!

THEY’RE HERE!!!!!

I’ll be getting these out in the mail over the next few days!!! YAY!!!!!!

(and YES, that is a sonic screwdriver pen!!)

I ordered a few extra’s if you still would like an autographed copy. Drop me an email: krisartlvr@verizon.net

1000 Avatars Fine Art Books on Blurb

1000 Avatars v…

By Kristine Schomaker

Book Preview

1000 Avatars v…

By Kristine Schomaker

Book Preview

In Memory of Formatting Heliosense/Patrick Millard

It is  with a very heavy heart and much sadness to write of our dear friend Formatting Heliosense/Patrick Millard sudden passing over the weekend. Words cannot express how much we will miss him. We were very lucky to have Formatting in our lives for the time we did and I will cherish all of the memories. I wanted to share a part of the essay he wrote for the 2nd volume of the 1000 Avatars project.

Photography began with the portrait – a way to immortalize the self, to live beyond the inevitable, to sidestep death, to reappear again in the generations that follow.  The reasons were plentiful, but the fact of the matter has always been that an individual could leave behind a piece of themselves, of their personality, for those who later looked upon that image to find a connection – no matter the distance of time and space between what the French theorist and semiotician Roland Barthes referred to as the spectator and spectrum.  We use the most common form of photography, the portrait, to enshrine our inner selves for our friends, family and loved ones both during and after our lifetime.

What better way to leave behind the truth of our personhood than through the avatar?  The very nature of the avatar allows for a person to wrap themselves into iconic truth through image and object.

Other quotes by Formatting/Patrick that I love:

“Photography rarely makes money, it makes happy” by Patrick Millard

“When I get older, will I still be me?” – Patrick Millard

This quote was posted by someone on his Facebook wall. I think  it is lovely:

“”Captain, my religious belief teaches me to feel as safe in battle as in bed. God has fixed the time for my death. I do not concern myself about that, but to be always ready, no matter when it may overtake me.” He added, after a pause, looking me full in the face: “That is the way all men should live, and then all would be equally brave” -Stonewall Jackson

“Die when I may, I want it said of me by those who knew me best, that I always plucked a thistle and planted a flower where I thought a flower would grow.” ~ Abraham Lincoln

Patrick Millard- Stories
An Interview that Patrick did while he was at the biosphere

RIP my dear friend. We will miss you very much!!! You will always be in our hearts and memories. You will never be forgotten!!!

“And one man in his time plays many parts”

Sneak peak of my upcoming installation/performance using the 1000+ Avatars project- opening May 5th 2012 at Gallery 825 in Los Angeles and in Second Life.

PARTY!!!! and LAST DAY TO ORDER AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY!!!!

Ok this is it!!! Today is the day!!! The end of the project/book launch celebration!!! Woooot!!!!

Plus it is the very last day you can purchase an autographed copy of the 1000 Avatars Vol 2 Fine Art Book in RL. (Info Below) Let me know if you have any questions!!

Party Time!!!

Please join us Today Dec 6th starting at 12pm slt for the release party of the 1000 Avatars Vol 2 Fine Art Book in real life.
Performances include:

12pm-2pm slt DJ Walton Vieria
2pm-3pm slt Skye Galaxy
3pm-4pm slt music
4pm-6pm slt DJ Gwen Carillon
6pm-7pm slt Juel Resistance
7pm-8pm slt Zachh Cale

8pm slt Afterparty!?!

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Coyote/103/157/1430

Self–Published by Kristine Schomaker, 2011.
Edited by Nickola Martynov
With contributions by Garrett Cobarr and Patrick Millard

Still time to order!!!!

Get the 1000 Avatars Volume 2 autographed fine art book in real life!!!

Release date is set for December 6th, with the final order placed within that week!! YAY!!!!!

We are hoping for a Holiday delivery to your mail boxes but we can’t guarantee it based on potential supplier delays, Holiday mail rush, International timeframes and the US postal service..LOL

All copies ordered through me by December 6th will be autographed by Kristine Schomaker/Gracie Kendal.

You can reserve your signed copy today by sending $65.95 USD plus shipping to my Paypal account at krisartlvr@verizon.net. (Please click gift if you can to save on paypal charges.. thank you for this.)

Please include your mailing address.

You can also pay in Lindens!!!!! Contact me for more info!!

Vol 1 $65.95 USD plus shipping (still available)

Vol 2 $65.95 USD plus shipping

Vol 1 and Vol 2 as a set $124.90 USD plus shipping

**Shipping**
$5 North America
$13.95 Canada and Europe

$18 Australia

Please contact Gracie Kendal inworld or by emailing krisartlvr@verizon.net if you have any questions.

Check out previous posts for recent articles, a video and photos of the  book.

I hope you will come celebrate with us today!!! See you soon!!!

Have a wonderful day!!!!

Last chance to buy an autographed copy of the 1000 Avatars Vol 2 in RL!!!

Just wanted to let you know, tomorrow is the last day to purchase an autographed copy of the 1000 Avatars Vol 2 Fine Art Book!!! 

And don’t forget about the party tomorrow starting at 12 noon slt!!!!

Check it out… I received the proof copy in the mail a couple days ago and it’s really gorgeous. I am so proud of it!!! And so excited to share it with all of you!!

Self–Published by Kristine Schomaker, 2011.
Edited by Nickola Martynov
With contributions by Garrett Cobarr and Patrick Millard

Still time to order!!!!

Get the 1000 Avatars Volume 2 autographed fine art book in real life!!!

Release date is set for December 6th, with the final order placed within that week!! YAY!!!!!

We are hoping for a Holiday delivery to your mail boxes but we can’t guarantee it based on potential supplier delays, Holiday mail rush, International timeframes and the US postal service..LOL

All copies ordered through me by December 6th will be autographed by Kristine Schomaker/Gracie Kendal.

You can reserve your signed copy today by sending $65.95 USD plus shipping to my Paypal account at krisartlvr@verizon.net. (Please click gift if you can to save on paypal charges.. thank you for this.)

Please include your mailing address.

You can also pay in Lindens!!!!! Contact me for more info!!

Vol 1 $65.95 USD plus shipping (still available)

Vol 2 $65.95 USD plus shipping

Vol 1 and Vol 2 as a set $124.90 USD plus shipping

**Shipping**
$5 North America
$13.95 Canada and Europe

$18 Australia

Please contact Gracie Kendal inworld or by emailing krisartlvr@verizon.net if you have any questions.

Don’t forget the Party on Dec 6th too!!!! 8 hours of Dj’s and live music including the amazing artists; Skye Galaxy, Juel Resistance and Zachh Cale.