Next World Design: December 2008

Anna Lo Bello: Artist of the Virtual and the Real

Anna Lo Bello is a painter living in Turin,Italy, at the foot of the Alps. She populates her imaginary worlds with fruit and flowers, with human figures, characters and costumes, exhibiting her work, among other places, in the virtual world, Second Life. Read more about Anna, here.

New York Couture Comes to YouTube

Real world art combines with virtual world design as the story of Georgia O'Keeffe's "Oriental Poppies" inspires Second Life couture. Our video features a short bio of O'Keeffe, her emgergence as an artist in New York, several of the nude photos by her husband, Albert Stieglitz, that propelled her to a somewhat unwelcome notoriety, reproductions of her paintings, and, of course, a video of our model dancing in the Oriental Poppy Dress on site in New Mexico's "painted desert."

It's All About Love

The week the 5th "Le Web" conference is unfolding in Paris. As explained by conference co-founder and organizer Loic Le Meur, the gathering is not about technology, business, or even social networking, "It's all about love." Embedded in his remarks is the weighty claim that the web itself, together with human community, commerce and, yes, spirituality, all center around love. Le Meur has a point, and he talks about it ecstatically. But, beyond his enthusiasm, the scientific and theological underpinnings of this conviction call for further thought, not to mention serious research. It's one of the fundamental questions this blog is exploring.

The Future of Virtual Reality

Some informed interviews recently posted on YouTube with people at the Online Educa Conferenced in Berlin. Click here for more.

Virtual Reality Hits You Tube

Talk about mixed media ... virtual reality is one thing, You Tube video is another. Combine the two and what have you got? Virtual You Tube? or Tubular Reality? Some of this stuff is totally serious, and some completely silly. I suggest starting with this one: "Hitler Explains Second Life"

Click here for more.

Slow Dancing

New York Couture model Charlene Myoo moves across a northern Italian landscape to the beat of John Legend's Slow Dance. She is showing off in Alba Rossini's long black dress. See her move now.

Sensual Dancing

New York Couture model Charlene Myoo moves to the remix of Sensual by the DJs Cosi Costi. All this to show off the Alba Rossini "Rainbow" dress. See her in action now.

Wild in the Dogwood

New York Couture's Charlene Myoo models "Wild in the Dogwood" against the backdrop of California's Death Valley. The venue is the lowest, driest and hottest place in the United States, though life can clearly be found here. Dogwoods do not bloom in this valley, but the colorful fabric of this gown, with its pink and white blossoms folding and unfolding with every move, suggests that in any place on earth, virtual or real, life can triumph over death!