An educator looks at the UWA Centenary 3D Art Challenge: REFLECTIONS

Well, yesterday Pio was feeling a little blue and just wanted to rest for a while. So, she went to her new house and wanted to just float on the sea, listen to the waves crashing on the shore, the wind on the palms and some nice background music, when she got an IM from her dear friend Jayjay Zifanwe. Jayjay is the passionate educator behind the UWA Centenary 3D Art Challenge: REFLECTIONS. He invited her to act as a judge to come and see UWA's 3D art Challenge.

Of course, she felt really honored to have been invited to judge such great work of arts presented by artists from all over the world. She went like... mmm.. but I am just a professor of languages, what do I know about art? he said, you have brought your students to our exhibitions and have worked in projects with your graphic design students... and then she thought,... well, yep.. I am an educator who tries to show her students how to connect to the world in both real and virtual life.. and art is something I really enjoy... when I bring my students to see 3D art we learn together about it. We discuss it. If you love something and look at something and comment about it and learn from others .. well, then you can at least give your opinion, set on some of the requirements the work of art were supposed to have for this... so, there she went accepting a challenge... It was not an easy task... 64 work of arts.. all great shows of human creativity. 

Picking 10 of them was challenging but exciting to do. Pio felt she was doing something that mattered, participating a little more. The opportunity to look closer at art and think became a learning adventure itself. Also, she met a young avatar who at first was rude to her but later was convinced  to look at the works of art and forget about his rudeness finally enjoying what he was looking at. 

The UWA is holding two great events to celebrate their Centenary: A 3D Art Challenge and a Machinima Challenge. The Grand Finale Winners announcements for UWA Centenary 3D Art Challenge: REFLECTIONS will be held in August, along with the winners announcements for the Machinima Challenge. They have on display at UWA 64 artworks from all corners of the globe. One of these artworks will be awarded the L$100,000 Grand Prize in AUGUST 2013! This is where you can go and see for yourself in SL: http://slurl.com/secondlife/UWA/64/132/249  

Well, here these are some of the works Pio got to enjoy in her visit. They are not in any particular order but they made a good impression on her.. so that's why she's sharing them. She loved looking at them, reading their notecards.... She felt really engaged by some of them.. She couldn't avoid taking some of them as a background for a nice picture of herself... ;) She only regretted not being able to bring her students this time... but, she'll show them the photos she collected and tells them about it...  she'll make sure to ask Jayjay when he has another exhibition on.  Here you can see 330 photos of the exhibition.

• The Thinker by Ama Avro (Strasbourg, France)

• Quantum by Barry Richez (Toulouse, France)

• Looking Back  by Carmsie Melodie & Struthious (Australia  & USA)

• Cogito ergo sum by Cherry Manga (Parts Unknown, France)

• I Have Walked This Way Before by  Chic Aeon (Corvallis, Oregon, USA)

This art installation was made in part as a film set for "No Regrets", a machinima entered in the sister event, MachinimUWA VI: REFLECTIONS (6th UWA Short Animated Film Festival).

• Reflections of a Star by Dusty Canning (Perth, Australia)

My entry, 'Reflections of a Star', is my tribute to a pioneer and master of the moving picture industry and is inspired by a scene from the 1928 Charlie Chaplin movie 'The Circus'.

• The Journey - Reflections of a SL Artist by Fae Varriale (West Wales, UK)

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• Timely Reflections by Jess Oranos (Cincinnati, OH, USA)

• Mirror With 4 Virgins on the Shores of their Depravity by Jipe Loon (Haute Savoie, France)

• REFLECTIONS - Through the eyes of UWA by London Junkers (London, England)

• Reflections of a Diva by Luna Enigma (Illinois, USA)

• Reflexions of Reflections Carousel by Yepar Saez (Martinique Island, Carribean, France)

• Emerging from the Chrysalis by Talia Sunsong (Berkeley, California, USA) 

• Avatars-Reflection by Surfaqua Oh (Luzern, Switzerland) 

• Neuron Sphere by Shenn Coleman (Avignon, France) (Machinima by Deirdre Thor)

• Lines of investigation/Reflection Upon by Serra Qendra (Melbourne, Australia) 

Well, it was really interesting... But pio ended up really tired... next time she will try to come in earlier so she can enjoy and reflect a little more... but in the end, she felt satisfied with what she accomplished and all the learning, thoughts, ideas, feelings, sounds,... people... she got to experience when visiting the art exhibition.. something that in real life will hardly happen... since she doesn't go out much or art is not that popular in her real life city... Feels thankful to Jayjay for the invite.

Keep on shining everyone... sorry for the length of the post but.... too many interesting.. a shame many were left out...  A hug!

Pionia Destiny