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(Update: Michelle Nephew of Harping Monkey wrote in recently; she thanked me for the article, but also wanted to point out that the site is actually fan-owned and operated, and has no official business ties with Atlas Games. I'd like to thank her for the clarification.)

So, I'm glad to report that things with Second Life's infrastructure are starting to get better, and that I'm hoping the latest client upgrade (happening as we speak) will improve things even further. That means, of course, that I've started getting the chance to make it to all these creative projects that ITG readers are doing or enjoying, and who have let me know about them, so that I can do reports myself and/or interviews with the people involved. There are still plenty of things on the backlist, for me to hopefully make it to quickly over the next couple of weeks; one of the things I got a chance to recently visit, though, was the real-life photography exhibit "Viewscapes: Ireland," over at the House of the Harping Monkey [Ungnyo 177/15/53].

This is not just a wacky standalone creation, either, but rather the official grid presence of long-time website Harping Monkey, itself the corporate blog of RPG game company Atlas. Now, both Atlas and Harping Monkey (among other things) do a large amount of support for medieval and fantasy fans; so it'd make sense that the owners would also be interested in traditional Ireland, and would sponsor such a build and RL photo exhibit within the grid. That's one of the cool things about Harping Monkey's actual venue, in fact, something you see a lot in SL but is groovy each time nonetheless; how the owners can actually construct an entire building to fit the theme of the show itself (with the Harping Monkey HQ right now looking like an old Irish country pub and inn). Imagine in real life, tearing down your house and building a new one each time you want to match your shoes; in Second Life people actually do this! I love it!

Now, as much as I'm a fan of photography shows within the grid, and argue that it provides one's fans a way to interact with one's work in an entirely different way than just a website or Flickr account, there is still one issue about it all that bugs me; although I admit that it's merely an existential bug, something maybe even best "left up to the philosophers," as my grandpa used to say to me*. And that's something that I've mentioned here before, that for the grid to truly work as a conscious "reality" while you're there, it's important to block out as many references as you can to how the real world actually looks and behaves. You know, like Christopher Reeve in Somewhere In Time; there I am, finally with the chance to boink Jane Seymour on a regular basis, when all of a sudden I catch sight of a modern penny and am sucked back to the current world. I love checking out photography shows in the grid, but unfortunately they do produce this existential angst within me, as disruptive to my SL 'reality' as a RL phone call or knock on my door.

Of course, existential angst is a small price to pay, for something as cool as checking out photography shows from around the world for free, while interacting in real time with a group audience from around the world as well. There's a new gallery opening each week in the grid, it seems these days, and it's easy to see why; because it combines the small budget and fast turnaround of a website, the global reach of a Flickr or deviantART account, plus the real-time sociological element that previously only came from physical galleries and formal opening receptions. It's truly something all fans of the visual arts should try out at least once; consider it your "straw that broke the camel's back," for all of you who have been contemplating becoming a resident, or have been needing something to actually go do once there.

And if I haven't made this clear yet, you can definitely view visual work the traditional 2D way while there as well; simply position your camera perpendicular to the piece, then zoom in until it takes up your entire screen. That's the cool thing about showing one's work in the grid, and the thing sometimes difficult to get across in text reports: that you can simultaneously 'walk' from one piece to the next like a gallery, blow up on one piece like a webpage, or zoom back to see the entire exhibit at once, like a photoset at Flickr or a portfolio at deviantART. If you're there at the same time as other people, then, you can also add real-time discussion about each piece, like introducing attachments to a chat room, or perhaps adding free worldwide text messengering to a physical art gallery. The metaphors get ridiculous and complicated right away; like I said, it's something more to actually be experienced than read about.

Anyway, many thanks to my readers for letting me know about this show; anytime you have something you think I'd enjoy checking out, please let me know at inthegrid [at] gmail.com. In answer to many people's question: I prefer that you send press material as emails than as notecards within Second Life. Thanks!

*My grandpa never actually used to say that to me.