News and more blog posts on Haveit Neox's "Bleeding Books"

I'm rather behind, but here are some updates on Haveit Neox's Bleeding Books:

• It was selected as an SL Destination Guide Editor's Pick
• Inara Pey wrote a very insightful commentary on her blog.
• It was also covered by Kara Trapdoor and Maddy Gynoid (in German)

Striking a blow for the little guy, Radegast

I'm a fan of Radegast, a lightweight SL viewer that pares down graphics and other functions.  I use it when I just want to do something simple like clear messages or chat in IM (especially if I'm on my backup computer), but some artists (like Jo Ellsmere and Oberon Onmura) use it to run bots that are part of their work. Radegast was orphaned when its developer passed away, but fortunately someone volunteered to take it over and it's alive again. (Thank you, Cinder Roxley!)

A few ago, Norton Security stopped me from using it by cutting off its access to my internet, thinking it's a malicious program. After a few days of this, I was pretty annoyed. So I made a "false positive" report to Norton and -- hurrah! -- they just told me they'll take it off their blacklist.  Might take a day or two for that to appear in their updates. Lesson: Complain, because sometimes it works.

Blog post by Caitlin Tobias about "Bleeding Books"

Caitlin Tobias has written a blog post about Haveit Neox's Bleeding Books. It includes a machinima she created which gives a great sense of the installation. Thanks, Caitlin!

Haveit Neox: "Bleeding Books" at Split Screen

Haveit Neox creates some of the most recognizable art in Second Life, partly because of his style, and partly because of certain recurring motifs (such as centaurs). In Bleeding Books, now open at Split Screen through 30 April, the main returning motifs are ships, architecture, and -- most prominently in this installation -- writing. Books hang in the sky, and from some of them a torrent of letters pours out, raining on the people below. Letters also form twisting bands hanging down into the space. At ground level there is a large building where, among other things, letters can be found imprisoned. Haveit writes:

Bleeding Books begins in the sky, and drops to the large fortress at ground level. It is a story in my ongoing series on abuse as seen through the lens of language. What happens when knowledge is so disrespected that it is freely contaminated with doses of falsehood? There are avenues to properly sort facts in this information age, yet we easily turn a blind eye to certain evidence if it goes counter to our beliefs – even when our choices may cause immeasurable harm. In the exhibit, the texts of books bleed falling letters of the alphabet, for they can no longer contain any structure of value.

Bleeding Books by Haveit Neox

As Haveit's note suggests, there is often a political edge to his work. He is, in my view, one of the few artists in SL who manages to integrate political thought into his work in a highly effective manner.

The installation uses a windlight: "Phototools- Got It Light." If you're using Firestorm it should apply automatically; otherwise, select it within your viewer for the intended effect.

Bleeding Books is at Split Screen (http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Amra/52/128/130) for the next two months. Visitors interested in Haveit's work should also see his installation, The Haul, now on view at MetaLES.