This entry was posted on 9/11/2006 7:07 PM and is filed under Ramblings

I learnt something new about art and design this past week, I got a short introduction to the world of of Hyperformalism. Over at (Frigo) 31,39,30 you'll find a creation by i7o Zhu and his neighbour Saajuk Bogamil. I was very dubious about this build but because the design brief for Burning Man includes "The Future" as one of it's themes it was really no surprise to see a space age construction somewhere.



From the outside the combined build looks a bit like..... hmmmm.... a bit like.... hell I can't tell work out what it reminds me of !!! I guess if I was pushed I'd say something out of the movie "TRON".

But when you take a closer look it becomes apparent that there are distinct differences between the builds even though they merge together. Saajuk appears to have taken a more Futuristic (in the artistic sense) approach with massive circles and ramps. His spaceship and robot figures also add to that almost retro-future feel. No it's not George Jetson but it could be his asian relatives place. It's also has an outward flow of energy whereas i7o's build is so more internal.

I got a chance to talk to i7o about the place and he told me about his passion for the work of Zaha Hadid, not a second life character, but a well known Iraqi born architect who is the only woman to have won the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize. He's taken inspiration from her and put it into this build. I looked online at some of her work and could see the parallels.

He really explains her work and his intentions better on his own notecard and there are places above and below ground where you can find a rotating picture with the card inside.

You make your way inside the building through a small hole ( elevator ) on the roof, there may be another way but I wasn't able to work out where that was. Anyway you drop into a stark world of flat walls and 3D floating sculptures. It is not pleasant as such, but it is interesting to say the least. As I said you should locate the notecard on this build as it gives you a lot better idea about where it's coming from.

From what I understand hyperformalism has several exponents in SL and there have been exhibitions of it in world before. When I looked it up the description included this: "mass art phenomena consisting of scores of personal computer users generating abstract, often spacially unique artworks". It sounds a lot like SL in general but still I see there's an extra flair in i7o's use of video and floating sculpture here.

But the place left me feeling uneasy.. as if I was in some giant futuristic, Kubrickesque flight lounge. The giant floating and rotating pieces symbolizing some part of the struggle which lead us to that point. But this feeling was not so obvious when a group of people were present... perhaps it's just me.... "Hello Dave".

There is a giant semi transparent ramp across the room which leads to a minimalistic gallery level, from here you can make your way over to a couple of added "picture windows". These are long tunnels which end in tinted windows. As I stood looking out the one in the picture above I couldn't help but feel a million miles from the world outside. It was like a picture into a distant world.

I don't know whether these are parts of the form that i7o hoped to convey, I can't say for certain. I can't even say I love the piece... because I don't. But what writing this blog has forced me to do is look pretty hard at what has been built. Some of it appears shallow and others are as deep as the ocean. But it's the middle ground is where, perhaps, the biggest questions are posed. Thanks i7o and Saajuk.