Hyperformalism in Second Life
An Artform that Feels at Home in Virtual Reality

by Rose Krasner

Seifert Surface calls his work Mathematical Art, Dancoyote Antonelli calles his Hyperformalism, but whatever you call it, sculptors are creating works in Second Life that could not exist in the outer world.  Based on number sequences and other mathematical algorithms, these works can be huge in scale and defy gravity, yet seem almost normal in a world where almost anything can happen.

Perhaps it's the reassuring familiarity of form that comes from basing artwork on a system that underlies the building blocks of nature. There is a discussion of Mathematical Art and Hyperformailsm on the BLOG.

Above: Seifert Surface exhibited a huge airborne mathematical artwork titled Spore.

Below: ArtWorld Market inside this work gives a sense of the scale.

Bathsheba Dorn uses the creative tools of this metaverse to build sculptures that evolved from Bathsheba's "real world" editions of 3-D bronze and stainless steel prints that you can order over the Internet. Read  ArtWorld Market's interview with Bathsheba.

Bathsheba Dorn's RhombdO

©2009 Richard Minsky