AYTONXR.COM updated web site

 I've recently improved & updated the AytonXR.com web site, where I've posted my recent XR (VR & AR) work. This features ConstellationXR, the large-scale AR piece I'm premiering at Ars Electronica in Linz, Austria in early September. It will be in the large open-air section of Postcity in Linz, where most of the Ars Electronica exhibits (called "gardens") will be located, I believe. Thanks go to Robert LiKamWa and ASU's Meteor Studio (where I'm Visiting Artist) for their support with this piece.

AytonXR.com web site home page

ConstellationXR at Ars Electronica 2023

 I'll be showing the large-scale AR installation, ConstellationXR at Ars Electronica in Linz, Austria in September. This is the premiere of an intended networked worldwide piece dealing with Hope, Empathy, Awe & Love (HEAL). If you happen to be attending, please come along & say hi. Here are a couple of screenshots of the VR version (in Unity):

ConstellationXR, 2023

ConstellationXR, 2023

3 Views of a Winged Head

 Returning to another old theme, the mythological winged head (Morpheus, Hypnos), partly inspired by the work of Belgian symbolist painter, Fernand Khnopff. 3 views of the same head.

3 views of a Winged Head, Blender, 2023

3 views of a Winged Head, Blender, 2023

The Acolyte (digital sculpture)

 It's been a while since I've posted here--between the Pandemic & being busy teaching...but here's a little digital sculpture I just made in Blender, a robed figure. It's a theme I've used before, but I think I found something new in there.

The Acolyte, 2023, sculpted in Blender

The Acolyte, 2023, sculpted in Blender

The War Room VR in Barcelona

 

Forgotten Idol of Tomorrow

 I just took this new one up to the Limner Gallery in Hudson NY for the upcoming "Show of Heads". I believe it's currently displayed in the window. It came out well, it kind of has an amber glow about it, which offsets the post-apocalyptic subject matter a little. I took this photo outdoors, on the back deck by the kitchen window, trivia fans.

Forgotten Idol of Tomorrow, 2021, acrylic on panel, 14" x 11"

Occimore / Sette Occhi

Interestingly, I've had two paintings published on book covers recently (in the last year or so, but Covid has slowed things down, so I only recently received them). Both paintings were from the same series, created in 2019 (called the Revelations series). Both authors are young, one is French-Lebanese (Paul Rizk), the other is Italian (Enzo Ciruolo), so, both basically European. Even the names of the books are slightly similar, "Sette Occhi" & "Occimore", though they are in different languages & have different meanings. Life is full of coincidences...

Occimore by Paul Rizk & Sette Occhi by Enzo Ciruolo

Occimore is published by Editions Glyphe in Paris, France.
Sette Occhi is published by 0111 Edizioni in Cocquio-Trevisago, Lombardy, Italy.

The Collapsing Edifice of a Dream

 Another one of my more intricate drawings, done today, using soluble carbon instead of ink. In some ways it's a bit easier to use. 

The Collapsing Edifice of a Dream, 2021, soluble carbon on paper, 17" x 11"

The Non-Human

 This is a little head I sculpted today in Blender. It's quite a simple artwork. However I was experimenting with lighting & textures, which gave the piece a lot more depth & interest than just the bare sculpture. These are various versions of the piece...the red one was more post-processed than the others.

The sculpture without texturing

Digital Medusa

 As part of a series of mythological figures that I've worked on over the years (drawings & paintings mostly), here is a digital sculpture done in Blender. I'll probably be reworking some of my other themes in coming days & weeks...\

Digital Medusa, 2021, sculpted & rendered in Blender

The Dream Wings of Night

 An important thing about the Blender 3D digital sculptures that I make is that they can be almost endlessly recomposed, textured, lit, post-processed and so on. Like a photographer or painter with a favorite subject, there are infinite variations to be discovered and displayed. (See previous posting for another version of this one.)

The Dream Wings of Night, 2021, digital Blender image

The Mists of Time

 A new variation on the "winged head" theme...going back to classical mythology (Hypnos, Morpheus) & Symbolists like Fernand Khnopff...post-processed with noise & reducing of contrast.

The Mists of Time, 2021, digital image

Monochrome Melancholy

The good thing about sculpting in Blender (& sculpting in general), is that with a 3D object you should ideally have a multitude of angles from which to view the piece & appreciate the interplay of forms.

With Blender's texturing, lighting, coloring etc., options, the possibilities are multiplied. Add to that the ability to insert a background image or objects, & then post-process (I set the image levels to "auto" & added noise), & you can almost endlessly recycle the images and find something new to present.

I also like the way the exposed mesh structure of the piece in places can resemble chisel marks, giving the work a handmade quality of sorts, whilst still maintaining its digital origins.

Monochrome Melancholy, digital Blender image

The Pact

This is a 3D rendered image created in Blender of 2 angels (of the somewhat terrifying, Rilkean variety) coming to an agreement of how to share the mundane world, perhaps. That's what seems to be happening here, but I never really know. I prefer to allude to narratives and let the viewer fill in the rest, which makes the piece more interactive, I think.

The Pact, digital Blender image

The Chaos Series

 I've been working on a series of around 20 (currently 18 done as of this writing) drawings that I've entitled The Chaos Series, as the intention was to do something more intense, improvised & chaotic than my usual work (which can often also be described in the foregoing terms to some extent). So, these are taken to some kind of an extreme & with little forethought, which might be a good recipe for disaster, but so far I'm liking the results. Here is one example, the rest are in an album on my Flickr.

A Head for Figures (Chaos Series), 2021, brush & soluble carbon on paper, 17" x 14".