OK. One more from Oberon ...

Just to add a link to this blog from Brazil about the installation. Scroll down for English.

Sunset Quinell's blog

Oberon's final post!

Our installation made SL's Destination Guide a day before it comes down! Sachiko? Should we leave it up a bit longer? Or is someone else coming to start their residency?

Topophonia: Four Realizations in Sound

Oberon Onmura's project Topophonia: Four Realizations in Sound was created during his Yoshikaze up-in-the-air Second Life residency. By basing the starting point on sound, the chosen artists Alpha Auer, Maya Paris and Eupalinos Ugajin, were able to each create unique installations that tie into a central theme. Together with Oberon's own work they comprise Topophonia: Four Realization in Sound.

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TOPOPHONIA Exhibition

 

Yoshikaze "Up-In-The-Air" Second Life Residency presents

TOPOPHONIA: Four Realizations in Sound

Nine Rooms by Oberon Onmura

Listen ... by Alpha Auer

Bank Job by Maya Paris

Jazz on Bones by Eupalinos Ugajin

18 - 22 February 2012 @ HUMlab, Umeå University, Sweden

Opening Hours: 8am - 4pm

Opening: 18 February between 1am- 4pm

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"You will find four completely different pieces, four totally different visions of what that initial concept suggested. To me, the fact that our four versions are so different is tremendously exciting. It is further proof that the artist's mind is unlimited in its ability to make sense of the world, and to convey that sense to others."

(Review of "Topophonia" by Quan Lavender http://quanlavender.blogspot.de/2013/01/immersion-in-sounds-topophonia.html)

Between 15 October 2012 - 31 January 2013, Oberon Onmura held the residency at Yoshikaze as our artist-in-residence on HUMlab Island in Second Life, during which time he has completed a unique project entitled "Topophonia," involving three other SL artists in addition to completing his own artwork.

"The principal concept of "Topophonia" is the notion of bringing together a group of artists' to create artworks around a common concept. ….I was less interested in any sort of collaboration than in seeing how (or whether) other artists could understand and work from an artistic framework that I personally found interesting in creating a new piece….whether their resulting artworks in any way mirrored or complemented my own. So not a collaboration; rather, an experiment to test whether an artistic idea is share-able, and to see the result of each artist  independently operating on that idea in his or her unique fashion." (Oberon Onmura)

By basing its starting point on sound to guide the visitors, his chosen artists, Alpha Auer, Maya Paris and Eupalinos Ugajin, have each created an independent installation. Together with Oberon's own work they comprise "Topophonia: Four Realization in Sound."

Yoshikaze is very pleased to present "Topophonia" at RL HUMlab, Umeå University, between 18-22 February 2012.  Four machinimas filmed beautifully by Marx Catteneo will be shown on our screens alongside with four computer stations with avatars who will take the visitors to their inworld installations.

In conjunction to this RL show, Yoshikaze Studio will be open to the public.  We welcome you at http://www.slurl.com/secondlife/HUMlab/99/194/25 to experience "Topophonia" from your own loaction.

Oberon's artist statement of the project can be read on our blog at http://yoshikaze.blogspot.com/2013/02/oberon-16-artist-statement.html; about the participating artists at http://yoshikaze.blogspot.com/2013/01/oberon-9.html ; reviews at http://yoshikaze.blogspot.com/2013/01/here-are-some-blog-posts-about.html

Curated by Goodwind Seiling/Sachiko Hayashi in collaboration with HUMlab.  The poster design by Carl-Erik Engqvist from HUMlab.

Yoshikaze "Up-in-the-Air" Residency (www.slurl.com/secondlife/HUMlab/95/215/351) is a Second Life residency programme run by Sachiko Hayashi together with RL HUMlab art director Carl-Erik Engqvist, Umeå University, Sweden.  For inquiries, please contact: goodwind.seiling@gmail.com.

Yoshikaze is funded and hosted by HUMlab, Umeå University, Sweden.

Yoshikaze blog: http://yoshikaze.blogspot.com
Yoshikaze vimeo: http://vimeo.com/yoshikaze 

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Oberon #16 Artist Statement

"Topophonia: Four Realizations in Sound"

Artist Statement

The principal conceit of "Topophonia" is the notion of bringing together a group of artists' to create artworks around a common concept. I have participated in several projects loosely modeled after the Surrealist "Exquisite Corpse" idea where multiple artists gather together and, over time, collaboratively create a single (usually messy!) piece of art. In my experience, the more detailed the explanation, the more rule-bound the process, the less successful the outcome. (Success, here, meaning my subjective evaluation of the resulting art.)

"Topophonia" is not, however, an "Exquisite Corpse" project. I was less interested in any sort of collaboration than in seeing how (or whether) other artists could understand and work from an artistic framework that I personally found interesting in creating a new piece. And then, if that first step was possible, whether their resulting artworks in any way mirrored or complemented my own. So not a collaboration; rather, an experiment to test whether an artistic idea is share-able, and to see the result of each artist  independently operating on that idea in his or her unique fashion.

The concept was simple (or so I thought): create an installation in which a visitor progresses from the beginning toward a goal using sound only to guide them, avoiding the use of visual clues. The idea is, in a sense, anti-curatorial. A curator starts with a concept and assembles an exhibition of artworks that support the concept. This process also starts with the concept, but assembles artists to create works to illuminate the concept from multiple perspectives, not knowing in advance what those works would be.

It turned out to be extremely difficult to effectively explain the concept to the artists! I selected the three participating artists for their effective use of sound in their Second Life artworks, thinking that at least they all understood how sound is used in an installation setting. But, as it turned out, the idea of using sound as the primary artistic medium and using it to guide visitors through their installations was a foreign notion.


My own piece ("Nine Rooms") turned out to be a variant of a maze of nine rooms. Each room has two doors: one leading forward to the next room, one sending the visitor back to the beginning. Each door emits a sound, and those sound cues are the only means by which the visitor can determine which door to open. There is plenty to look at on the way through, but nothing visual can be used to determine the best path through the maze.

However, I didn't want to use a maze metaphor to explain the concept to the artists, simply because I didn't want to end up with four variations on mazes. So I tried to use words like "guide", "sound cues", "goal". And then, wanting to avoid hard-and-fast rules, I also wanted to leave considerable space for the artists to consider their own interpretations of what I was trying to convey.

The results are, for me, very exciting. You see four entirely different works, all rich with sound, and yet all completely different in their approach to the initial concept. As an experiment, I suppose this result shouldn't be surprising at all. Artists will, after all, generally find their own path toward the goal. And thank goodness for that!

I want to thank HUMlab and Umea University for offering me the Yoshikaze "Up in the Air" residency, and to Sachiko Hayashi for her patience and assistance during these past few months. I am tremendously grateful to Alpha, Eupalinos, and Maya for agreeing to participate in this adventure, and for their good cheer and hard work over these few months.

Oberon #15

Finally, four image links from Alpha Auer's installation "Listen ..."


"Listen ..." 1

"Listen ..." 2

"Listen ..." 3

"Listen ..." 4

Oberon #14

Links to images of Eupalinos Ugajin's installation "Jazz on Bones"

"Maison Rouge"

"Lightbox" 

"The Art of the Cannon" image by Cica Ghost

"Parachute Eye" image by Moti Moody

Oberon #13

Here are images from Maya Paris's build "Bank Job".