Well! What a night! I must say that I enjoyed the opening of this space almost as much as anything in Second Life. Mariposa Upshaw and Grimfiddle Dogpatch put together some unique entertainment, with a wonderful geisha performance by Amatsu Okiya and awesome fireworks.

Okay, so I have to update the teleporters. I got it. Point taken. I’ll do it!

But we honestly had a spectacular turnout, and nearly everyone I talked to was blown away by the visual feast we had laid before us last night!

Please do visit not only Grim’s space, but the spaces of all the artists at the gallery — we’ve done all we could to cut down on the lag issues, merely by being up 500+m in the air… but i don’t have to tell anyone that if you go to the Gallery at a time when we’re not running an event, there is virtually no lag to speak of.

The infamous Kronos Kirkorian was on hand with his magic camera, and he captured dozens of great shots of the evening… check out his web album!

http://picasaweb.google.com/laundra/Grimfiddle

And, in the spirit of getting some visuals of my own, you can visit mine at this link!

http://picasaweb.google.com/jmorgenrote/GrimfiddleDogpatchSGalleryOpening

Demigod’s Playground, by Grimfiddle Dogpatch, opens Monday, October 8th at 6 PM SLT at the gallery.

We have several small events within the larger scope of the opening… the agenda is as follows:

6:00-6:30 — people arriving, enjoying the new space

6:30 — Geisha performance

There will be gorgeous dancers from Amatsu Okiya, attired in traditional Geisha Kimonos. They will be performing two dances.. Autumn Harvest Dance and Silver Moonlight, accompanied by traditional Japanese instruments. A traditional Tale of Love will also be performed.

7:00 — Spectacular fireworks observed from the rooftop

Below is a little statement, written by Grim:

My installation at the Artisan’s Galleria represents my first attempt at taking some of my artwork into a new dimension. With this installation I am not only bringing my 2-dimensional work into the world of Second Life but also utilizing the unique tools found here to allow visitors to step into the artwork itself.

I draw my inspiration from many cultural traditions. The common thread being that we are all passengers on “Spaceship Earth”. To paraphrase Benjamin Franklin, ” If we do not hang together, we shall all certainly hang seperately.”

What all of my work challenges us to do is to set aside our own local interpretations of what is the one true “WAY” and begin to come to an accomodation that when the world changes, religions and mythologies struggle to respond. One central theme of my work is the concept of a “New Mythology”, together with the realities of the emergent global society. As a matrix within which to fit some of my ideas, I have developed a synthesis of the ancient mythology of Gaia, and the modern scientific theory that the earth and all of its systems represent a new paradigm for understanding our place within the panorama of human evolution and our place within the universe. I am interested in formulating a symbolic language that addresses the incredible diversity of our vast cultural heritages whle simultaneously embraceing individual psychology.