[-empyre-] closing a dimensional discussion.. lab3d

["Melinda Rackham" <melinda@unsw.edu.au>]

Thank you so much to all the guests and empyre subscribers who have made
this a dimensional and textured month.   The earlier parts of the month were
some of the busiest seen here in the past 18 months of -empyre-s existence,
creating entwined interactions around the nature and renderings of 3d space,
3d games in opposition to 3d art, the creation of  narratives within virtual
environments, and the cultural specificity of 3d art. There was a passing
moment when we accidentally, but perhaps inevitably, dialled into Matrix2.

In the second part of the month we meandered  at a more leisurely pace
around  the aura of the 3d art object,  and the place of 3d projections and
objects in museum space, We touched on virtual environments as reactive
organisms or artificial life..  a topic I am personally fascinated by
currently and would like to continue to discuss. And we also moved into the
aesthetics of single and multiuser worlds and the specific, though not
insurmountable issues of showing and funding 3d interactive networked art
works in a gallery and museum system set up to show less physically
interactive art forms.

It feels impossible to summarise this forum further tonight,  and I think it
is always good to leave with the feeling that there is something more to
come.. and there is!  Remember the freeware Reader, edited from this online
lab3d forum and the hardspace symposium held at Manchester in late May.
Edited by Taylor and Melinda, and co-produced by Cornerhouse and Folly, it
will be available later in the year, (September) for web download from
Cornerhouse UK,  -empyre - or from other participating organizations. Please
note that no posts will be included in this reader without the author's
specific permission, and we will be contacting you in August in that regard.

And it seems that the discussions started here will continue in other
arenas. I agree with Adam and Steve that there is sufficient interest to set
up a dedicated artist friendly mailing list that has a holistic approach to
networked 3D. I'd join as I find that I can't really extricate issues that
concern the code from ones that concern the context. Quite often simple code
type questions resonate into larger theoretical issues. Re administering
it..  ..don't do yahoo!!  Mailman is usually easy to use ..tho I think an
older version than the one -empyre- is running on [version 2.1.2] is simpler
and better for a smaller group.

Again.. thank you all for your contributions this month,

Melinda and Taylor


lab3d June guests:
Kathy Rae Huffman (UK), Tamiko Thiel (Germany/Japan), Adam Nash (Australia),
Simon Biggs (UK), Steve Guynup (USA),  John Klima (USA), Grégoire Zabé
(France), Tom Betts (UK), Roya Jakoby (USA), Melentie Pandilovski
(Australia), Michael Arnold Mages (USA), Ayoub Sarouphim (Lebanon/USA),
Anthony Rowe of SquidSoup (UK), Patrick Keller (Switzerland),  Ales Vaupotic
& Narvika Bovcon (Slovinia), Edward Tang & Przemyslaw Moskal (USA), Taylor
Nuttall (UK), Melinda Rackham (Australia)